A Pirate Bay server, confiscated by police last year, on display in Stockholm's Technical Museum.
Meanwhile real pirates are causing chaos off the coast of Somalia and nothing seems to be done to stop them.
Captain Richard Phillips, whose container ship the Maersk Alabama was attacked off the Somali coast, has thankfully survived after being taken hostage so that his crew could escape.
Some years ago my landlord sailed round the world with his wife in their 50 foot yacht.
They had a lucky escape after being attacked by pirates in the South China sea. The pirates were eventually 'persuaded' not to board his vessel because he was pointing a 12-gauge shotgun at them.
Unfortunately his voyage ended in tragedy, when, only 14 miles from his home port in the Adriatic Sea, they were fighting to control the boat in a storm when his wife fell overboard.
He threw her a rope, which she caught, but because of the violent motion of the boat, it was ripped from her hands.
By the time he had turned the boat round, she had disappeared. Despite the help of 6 other boats and the Italian Coastguard Service, she was never seen again.
I've always had a hard time trying to get it through my kids' heads...just because you 'can' download it doesn't mean you 'should', even when Dad's not around.
ReplyDeleteThe law of the sea ultimately lies in Neptune's hand.
Ironic tale, GW.
Pirates are panzies when they're lookin' down the business end of a rod.
The TG and I had quite a few adventures and narrow escapes on boats - the Mediterranean particularly, is very dangerous. The storms arrive very suddenly from nowhere and due to the increased salinity of the water, the waves heap up very differently from the oceans...... [good post GW]
ReplyDeleteJohn: I understand downloading some files can load nasty bits of spyware too.
ReplyDeleteDP: yes, it was very sad, apparently his Doctor was worried about him losing his mind for some months after.
what a sad tale there GW .....
ReplyDeletewhy don't the pirates look like Johnny Depp anymore ..... the old pirates were far more stylish
Sad tale GW.. and as to what DP said about your post, I concur.
ReplyDelete70steen, I have a feeling the old pirates didn't exactly look like Johnny Depp either... but like you, I'll continue to pretend. ;-)
70s & Fracas: I have a feeling the old pirates were a lot more brutal than their Hollywood portrayal.
ReplyDeleteEven though these Somalis are armed to the teeth, they seem to run it like a business, all they're interested in is the ransom.
Must be a terrifying experience for the sailors though.
You would be correct GW. I've read about some awful torturous devices pirates used... one where they tie a person beneath the ship and some device basically tears them to shreds while they're drowning... or something like that.
ReplyDeleteAnd then there's that fact they all probably stank. Gak. Awful. I hate stink.
Fracas:I think you're talking about 'keelhauling'. The victim had ropes attached to each limb and was thrown overboard at one end of the ship. Two ropes were then taken each side of the deck, and then walked to the other end. The barnacles growing on the keel had the effect of a cheese grater on the skin.
ReplyDelete