No worries about my surfing gear Captain Richie, it is bulky but I do have lots of diving gear like my underwater camera. How about my underwater submersible scooter? only 40kg and it can move at 10 knots with camera attached. I can even control it remotely for deep depths, by wire for very deep stuff. Your sonar sounding gear is very good but a remote controlled submersible with a top camera adds the icing to the cake. Do you have shark repellant emitters Richie? I have my old one as a spare. My new one is cited to be 85% and holding my speargun adds to that. My old one is rated at 75% and anyone is welcome to borrow it. I have a nice selection of Divers knives and tools. What sort of Sand Suction model do you have? I like the Ryobee. A pescatarian is someone like me who only eats seafood. Not strictly vego as I will eat eggs but not bacon nor any mammal or bird meat. Never Whale nor Dolphin tho, that's an anathema to me. Like Squid and Octopi and Cuttlefish as they are intelligent and sentient, nor dumb tuna or shark for all the mercury they have internalized. Snapper and Prawns and Salmon are the best, and Lobster....I love Lobster even tho they're a bottom feeder. You must try my Prawn Red Thai Curry, my favourite. I brought an extra lot of seafood, tinned and frozen. I explained this to Cpt Richie and Cook Mario who let out a sigh of relief.
A pleasure to meet you at last Dr Carrol and your assistant Mr Wardell. I'm JJ, a professional diver and Pescatarian. Jim to you. Jim Jones the Surfer actually, son of Neptune. ha hee. I googled all about you two and am very impressed and honoured to serve you. I bunk up with Mario our Cook in cabB which is overflowing with all my diving gear, and stashed tins of gormet food. Can I help stowing away your gear? No Surfboards tho. Captain 's orders, sorry Tim. Ah here's Mitzi, she'll help you settle in. I look forward to working for you. What's this heavy tough water proof suitcase for? Joking, sort of....
The suitcase is just in case we find some pirate gold. We can take it to the bottom and fill it with gold doubloons instead of bringing them up in our pockets a few at a time. We set sail from Charleston, SC. We have food and water enough for 3 months. Plenty of fish for JJ and pork chops, steak, hamburger, sausage, bacon, eggs and dry milk for the rest of the crew. Canned and frozen veggies and potatoes, also. We will eat well if nothing else. Oranges to prevent scurvy. It’s a beautiful spring day. The sun is warm and there is just a bit of breeze. We are all excited. We are going on an adventure!
Captain Ritchie here.. Ritchie to my friends. We are now fully stocked with all we will need for our three month adventure and will set out for Charleston in the morning.. I am surprised no one has inquired about my boat's name as it is unusual. Mitzi you tell our guests the story behind why I gave it this name. Mitzi had been Ritchie's girl for two years and the two had much in common and enjoyed each other's interests., specially diving. She was short, auburn-haired, some would say pretty with a petite figure and a heart melting smile. She explained that Darlene Arviso played a big part in the Navajo nation by being named as the Lady of the Water. Born on the Navajo reservation near Thoreau, New Mexico, she grew up hauling water miles from the local church to her and surrounding villages. For almost the past 15 years Darlene has worked for the St. Bonaventure Indian Mission in Thoreau delivering water to the more isolated villages across the Navajo Nation. She is a tireless worker even tho she is now in her mid 60s. Naming his boat after this wonderful Navajo woman is Ritchie's way of paying tribute to her. His boat too is a Lady of the Water. Richie has a current photo of Darlene.
Lady of the Water or Darlene Arviso is an interesting name and tale Cpt Richie, maybe an Aquarian too being a water bearer? or a Pisces!
As the Lady of the Water pulled away from the dock, a pod of dolphins circled around her, jumping and “Talking” as if to say, “Y’all have fun while on your great adventure.” They followed her out to sea. I think they may play a part in our story later.
JJ first names. No formality on my boat. What part do you think the dolphins will play in our adventure Lillian. Just curious but how did you choose to bring Tim with you as your assistant. You did teach at Florida University for a time. Is he a colleague or maybe a former student?
Thanks Richie, I'm not too formal myself. I love Dolphins myself and once saw a pod of them playing with a young Whale. I have the pics and video of that precious moment. Smarter anf more empathic than many Humans. It feels great to be away from land. Tapping into Satellites I see the way ahead being fairly calm but sudden Hurricanes are a concern more nowadays with that Global Warming stuff. The Gulf of Mexico can be deadly so I'm happy to keep an eye on net weather channels. People first. Here's a map or more I downloaded:
Paranormal explanations Triangle writers have used a number of supernatural concepts to explain the events. One explanation pins the blame on leftover technology from the mythical lost continent of Atlantis. Sometimes connected to the Atlantis story is the submerged rock formation known as the Bimini Road off the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, which is in the Triangle by some definitions. Followers of the purported psychic Edgar Cayce take his prediction that evidence of Atlantis would be found in 1968, as referring to the discovery of the Bimini Road. Believers describe the formation as a road, wall, or other structure, but the Bimini Road is of natural origin. Some hypothesize that a parallel universe exists in the Bermuda Triangle region, causing a time/space warp that sucks the objects around it into a parallel universe. Others attribute the events to UFOs.Charles Berlitz, author of various books on anomalous phenomena, lists several theories attributing the losses in the Triangle to anomalous or unexplained forces. Natural explanations Compass variations Compass problems are one of the cited phrases in many Triangle incidents. While some have theorized that unusual local magnetic anomalies may exist in the area, such anomalies have not been found. Compasses have natural magnetic variations in relation to the magnetic poles, a fact which navigators have known for centuries. Magnetic (compass) north and geographic (true) north are exactly the same only for a small number of places – for example, as of 2000, in the United States, only those places on a line running from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico. But the public may not be as informed, and think there is something mysterious about a compass "changing" across an area as large as the Triangle, which it naturally will. False-color image of the Gulf Stream flowing north through the western Atlantic Ocean. (NASA) Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream is a major surface current, primarily driven by thermohaline circulation that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and then flows through the Straits of Florida into the North Atlantic. In essence, it is a river within an ocean, and, like a river, it can and does carry floating objects. It has a maximum surface velocity of about 2 m/s (6.6 ft/s). A small plane making a water landing or a boat having engine trouble can be carried away from its reported position by the current. Human error One of the most cited explanations in official inquiries as to the loss of any aircraft or vessel is human error. Human stubbornness may have caused businessman Harvey Conover to lose his sailing yacht, Revonoc, as he sailed into the teeth of a storm south of Florida on January 1, 1958.[ Violent weather Hurricanes are powerful storms that form in tropical waters and have historically cost thousands of lives and caused billions of dollars in damage. The sinking of Francisco de Bobadilla's Spanish fleet in 1502 was the first recorded instance of a destructive hurricane. These storms have in the past caused a number of incidents related to the Triangle. Many Atlantic hurricanes pass through the Triangle as they recurve off the Eastern Seaboard, and, before the advent of weather satellite, ships often had little to no warning of a hurricane's approach. Tracks of all Atlantic hurricanes between 1851 and 2019. Many storms pass through the Bermuda Triangle. A powerful downdraft of cold air was suspected to be a cause in the sinking of Pride of Baltimore on May 14, 1986. The crew of the sunken vessel noted the wind suddenly shifted and increased velocity from 32 km/h (20 mph) to 97–145 km/h (60–90 mph). A National Hurricane Center satellite specialist, James Lushine, stated "during very unstable weather conditions the downburst of cold air from aloft can hit the surface like a bomb, exploding outward like a giant squall line of wind and water." A similar event occurred to Concordia in 2010, off the coast of Brazil. Scientists are currently investigating whether "hexagonal" clouds may be the source of these up-to-170 mph (270 km/h) "air bombs". Methane hydrates Further information: Methane clathrate Worldwide distribution of confirmed or inferred offshore gas hydrate-bearing sediments, 1996. Source: United States Geological Survey An explanation for some of the disappearances has focused on the presence of large fields of methane hydrates (a form of natural gas) on the continental shelves. Laboratory experiments carried out in Australia have proven that bubbles can, indeed, sink a scale model ship by decreasing the density of the water; any wreckage consequently rising to the surface would be rapidly dispersed by the Gulf Stream. It has been hypothesized that periodic methane eruptions (sometimes called "mud volcanoes") may produce regions of frothy water that are no longer capable of providing adequate buoyancy for ships. If this were the case, such an area forming around a ship could cause it to sink very rapidly and without warning.
Where has Dr Carrol gotten to JJ. Can not be far as the Lady of the Water is a rather small boat. We will reach Charleston by dusk. I will need to juice up the old lady so I suggest we stay a day or so there to refresh before our next long hop to Jacksonville, Florida. Carlos can you start preparing dinner buddy.
Ritchie, we have already left Charleston. Remember the dolphins swimming around the Lady? We are quite a ways out to sea and the dolphins still follow us. The weather is glorious. It is pleasantly warm with a slight breeze. There are gentle swells that only rock the Lady enough to make sleeping good. But there is a disturbance off the coast of Africa. It could become a hurricane. We need to watch the weather and if it becomes a bad storm, make for a safe port.
Ritchie, we have already left Charleston. Misread your post Shirley. Ok so we are on our way to Jacksonville but may be in the way of a hurricane. Now that is not good news as the Lady is not built to withstand one of those. Ok a safe port.. where will we set land for.
In between watching satellite weather reports JJ confesses to Cpt Richie he did bring a small fishing hand reel with top lures, and is doing some trail fishing. Two large Snappers caught which will make a delicious meal for all. I confess, I even got Tim and Carlos and Mario helped watching the reel, mea culpa. It beeps when it catches something. I'll walk the plank if you wish Richie! I did discuss at length with Mario the recipe for Goan fish Curry with Basmati rice. We both agreed Snapper is the best fish for this dish. Carlos listened too and said he can sort out the spicy ingredients, given all the ones I brought too, gratis. Truly Richie, you've made me anxious about those mud volcanoes creating frothy waters able to sink ships, and the magnetic variations. I hope that does'nt affect our GPS devices? I actually have a quality compass which I put into the forward steering cabin for all to watch and a log to note anomalous variations from satellite data. If I may? Dr Carrol, I really hope we can fill your sea case with golden coins. Is your assistant Tim a diver, or can act as an overseer? I did see he had some scuba gear. I can check him and his gear out. Even topping up oxygen cylinders from 'Lady of the Waters' ample stores. Even some fine wines..., I would like to talk to all sometime about film rights. I have some top cameras and can happily lend it to someone called Tim. Cpt Richie, yours will be the biggest share, followed by Tim, Dr Caroll, an agreed set of shares over fresh grilled snapper and some bottles of Sauvignon blancs... What, we're headed to Jackonsville to a avoid a Hurricane! ? Wise move Captain Richie! They have a great Seafood restaurant there. My treat for the whole crew! 'Saltie's Seafood Specialities", top shelf. I texted my wife Gloria to sort the paperwork and get some guards to watch over the 'Lady of the Waters'. Some rumours she said. I listen.
JJ, The fish curry sounds delicious. I like fish but have never had it that way. I'm an experienced fisherwoman so I'd be tickled pink to help catch our supper. I'll also be going down to look for treasure if we find a likely spot. Mostly, though, we are looking for anything that could explain the strange disappearances of planes and ships through the years. That's why we have all the scientific devices aboard. It will be wise to have guards aboard the Lady while we are in Jacksonville to guard the equipment. We'll talk about film rights when our mission is over. They could be worth billions if we succeed.