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Officers and Gentlemen
Dartmouth (UK) and Annapolis (USA) Graduates Shortly after leaving Oman we started across the infamous Gulf of Aden, home to the world’s most active pirate fleet. Regent went to great lengths to assure a safe passage for her flagship, the Voyager, and her boat load of passengers and crew. First off the ship was equipped with an LRAD---long range acoustic device---which when activated directs an ear shattering cone of noise at a target. This device was used by the Seabourn Spirit in 2005 to deter a Somali pirate attack. The LRAD was attached to the aft railing of the ship behind the Horizon Lounge—right where we have our parties. Next, four young Israeli security guards were brought on board for the transit. The ship’s regular security forces are Gurkhas. These Nepalese men are renowned for their fierce fighting ability and have been employed by the cruise line for years. The head of the British anti-piracy task force was also sailing with us as an advisor and communication link with the naval forces whose duty it is to protect all ships transiting this area. The UN has a joint task force of patrol ships and many countries such as China and India have a naval presence in the
LRAD Noise Device
They say it will blow out your ear drums. area. On board the ship, 24 hour watches and round the clock patrols were initiated. High powered water hoses lined the lower deck of the ship.
Commander Dave Bancroft of the United Kingdom Anti-Piracy Team gave a briefing to all passengers on our planned route and security precautions while in the Gulf. Captain Dag told us that if pirates are spotted it will be necessary for all passengers to go into the hallways and lay on the floor until we are given the “all clear.” It would be just like a block party— we hope they serve wine and cheese! On the ship our neighbor told us that her brother was on the Seabourn Spirit when she was attacked. Their cabin was hit with a RPG—rocket propelled grenade. Fortunately all of the passengers had been moved to the dining room so no one was injured although their cabin did sustain some damage. When Captain Dag was asked if the ship had weapons on board he was somewhat evasive. But later on, one of our passengers said that he saw a bag full of weapons by the LRAD on the aft deck. Who knows?? Maybe we had guns and maybe
The Security Squad
Asaf and Amos---Professionals to the core. we didn’t! The cruise lines do not like to reveal all of their security measures.
Our transit coincided with a sharp increase in pirate attacks. As a matter of fact during the 48 hours we were in that area a record number of attacks took place. We always like to be where the action is! We began our transit in a convoy of freighters, tankers and barges. It is recommended that all ships travel at full speed or at least a minimum of 15 knots. Of course we were not able to because of the damaged pod which only allowed us to travel at about 12-13 knots. So all of these ships kept passing us--which bugged Captain Dag to no end. We saw a number of warships patrolling the transit zone. At one point, due to some suspicious fishing boats in the area, our ship requested a military helicopter to investigate. The bridge was on full alert and in constant contact with the security forces. It is almost impossible to tell the difference between fishing boats and potential hijackers. We read that often the pirates will mingle within a group of fishing boats and then dart out and nab
Cocktails @ Sunset
Bruce organized us to watch for the Manned Space Station, but all we saw were Pirates. a passing freighter. The Maersk Alabama was hijacked at the same time we were in the Gulf of Aden. We followed the unfolding drama with great interest and rejoiced with the rest of the world when Captain Phillips was rescued by the US Navy Seals on Easter Sunday. We later heard from Captain Dag that a British ship, the Malaspina Castle was hijacked while sailing just 30 minutes behind us.
So it was heavy drama and high excitement for a few days as we all kept a sharp lookout for likely pirates. Maybe everyone was hoping to see Jack Sparrow or Captain Kidd pop up on the horizon but I think these Somali pirates don’t quite fit the romantic image of Johnny Depp. Most of these pirates are young kids who have been shanghaied by Somali warlords to do their dirty work. Something will have to be done to thwart these sea marauders as most of the worlds’ shipping must transit this area either to or from the Suez Canal.
While all of this excitement was going on Kevin and I celebrated our 36th wedding anniversary. Mary arranged for a special party on the eve of our anniversary
PIRATE BOOTY?
This is a sister ship to the hi-jacked Maersk Alabama. in the Prime 7 Steakhouse, complete with LaGrande Dame Champagne and baked Alaska. Dr Tinkle and Betty and the ship’s destination specialist, John Tabbut-McCarthy joined in the festivities. The next night we had a private dinner on our balcony to mark three plus decades of making whoopee.
After two days we passed out of harm’s way and through “Devil’s Gate” which is the southern entrance to the Red Sea. The acoustic device and the pressure hoses were put away, the British Commander and the Israeli guys were able to relax and enjoy the cruise and the constant buzz on board changed to more mundane subjects like broken engines, packing and travel arrangements for the end of the cruise in Rome. But in the meantime we still had two more fascinating countries to visit—Egypt and Jordan—before we would be steaming north across the Mediterranean to Europe.
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