12 36N 43 21E

Dany II to the Philippines
John Ridsdel
Mon 17 Aug 2009 05:59
12 36N  43 21E
Aug. 15, 2009
Dany II...we've now thru the "funnel'" & heading E in the Gulf of Aden...only 115 mi. to Aden...this is also now known as "pirate alley"...we're amazed that such a relatively small groupe of people can continue to harrass & terrorize this area...the first 3 ships we passed heading W were traveling at 20-25knts & staying close together...the first one was running lots of water from the stern & port & stbd. quarters...presumabely to keep pirates from climbing up the stern...it would definately make it more difficult for anyone trying to scale an vertical sterrn almost 100' high...I'm sitting here looking at Dany II's transome which is about 10" off the water...hum...should we get the squirt guns out now?...we've decided to stay about 8-10mi. off the Yaman coast tonight...& we will also run our tri-color mast head light...we're as ready as we can possibly be, with the VHF on & the Iridium phone on "speed dial"...so far this evening, the local fishing boats have continued to ignore us which is good...& at least the ones we've seen so far only have 2 or 3 men in them, unlike the ones off the coast of Sudan which had 25-30 guys in them!...the good thing right now is that the water temps have dropped a few degrees, & the breeze comming off the water is a bit cooler...we might even have to put on a t-shirt tonight!...