Airborne Assaults

Serendipity
David Caukill
Mon 9 Sep 2013 10:15

Monday September 9th   2013, Gulf of Carpentaria,  North of Australia   10.50.9S  134:35.5E  

Today's Blog by David (Time zone BST +8.50; UTC +9.5)

 

Situation I

 

Sometimes, after the event has happened, one thinks back about a riposte or reply that would have made you feel better.  It probably wouldn’t have done you any good,  but you would feel better for it.   So here is the conversation I might have liked to have had today:

 

“Yacht in Position 10 Degrees 13 minutes South, 135 degrees 32 minutes E. This is Maritime Airborne  Patrol”

 

Much scratching about on Serendipity.

 

“Maritime Airborne Control, errr…. this is Yacht Serendipity” ( for we decide that we are she)

 

“Yacht Serendipity, Maritime Airborne Patrol. Please spell your boat name, and tell me you port of registration, last port and next port.”  

 

At this point a white unmarked aeroplane, streaming black exhaust smoke from each of its four turboprop engines,  zooms past at about 150knots and  at about 100ft deafening us fir several seconds.

 

“Maritime Airborne Patrol, this is Serendipity”.

 

“Yacht Serendipity, Maritime Airborne Patrol”

 

“Maritime Airborne Patrol, Serendipity. I am sorry, some idiot in an unmarked plane just overflew me at wave top height -  I could not understand your message.”

 

“Yacht Serendipity, Maritime Airborne Patrol. The plane you saw was  the Maritime Airborne Patrol. Please spell your boat name, and tell me your port of registration, last port and next port”

 

“Maritime Airborne Patrol, Serendipity.  I say old fellow, if you are going to fly around like that you are going to frighten my passengers.”

 

“Yacht Serendipity, Maritime Airborne Patrol. And what passengers might they be?”

 

“Maritime Airborne Patrol, Serendipity.. Passengers? Oh, none at all old boy. Just me and my two crew.”

 

Cue arrival of Royal Australian Navy……….

 

 

Situation II

 

The other airborne attack was from a flying machine no more than 20cm long.  It approached from the North West (Java) circled us for a few minutes and then landed on the wheel. Finding that an inherently unstable place (because the autopilot kept moving it) it resettled on the guard rail, thus

 

 

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Our preliminary identification – subject to correction as usual – is that is a Bee Eater, probably a Rainbow Bee Eater.

 

Whatever it was, it too stopped to leave its mark on us. It crapped everywhere before it set off again towards the Australian Coast.

 

PS. What is the similarity between Darwin and Dehli?   The both have stupid time  systems which are half an hour out of sync with the real world. (See title)