Showing posts with label the. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the. Show all posts
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Throwing stuff away or packing for the move!
(The "boat" closet)
We are moving from a 1500 sqft house to a 36 ft sailboat. I'm not sure of the exact square footage of the boat, but I'm guessing it's about a third of that! What to do with all of our stuff? Before you think this doesn't apply to you, I have several friends who have lost family members lately, and they are left to dispose of a lifetime of a possessions. If you've never done this, you may not be familiar with the problem. Much of what you own means NOTHING to anyone else. Our dirty little secret? Even though I considered our decorating style "minimalist", I'm a good organizer. Therefore, we had a LOT of junk stashed in our house. Husband has been known to drag things to the basement that were supposed to go to the curb (ie. the flat screen tv that had to be disassembled to get it back up the stairs to the dumpster. "It went down no problem. Gravity.")
We've been planning this move for awhile. For at least 3 years, we've made an attempt to quit bringing things into the house that wouldn't go the boat (no new clothes, no new paperbacks, no new furniture!) Then, I've attempted to get rid of the books that two fanatical readers accumulated over almost 20 years together. (When Husband finally agreed to part with his portion, he "couldn't watch.") We sold some. We gave some to friends. We donated A LOT (many were worth less than $1/each, according to Amazon). We've also tried to cut down on the clothes. We consider ourselves "jeans-and-t-shirt people", but we had at least 4 times as much as we needed. Husband has pilot clothes, mechanic clothes, golf clothes and bicycle clothes (oh, the bicycle clothes!). I had an obscene amount of charcoal grey turtle necks (a few will go into STORAGE. I won't need them where we're going!) I made monthly passes through the house. Each time, parting with more books and clothing and bric-a-brac. I even returned all the antiques that I had "borrowed" from my sister's house. (A former antique dealer, she was surprised at how much I had "accumulated" over the years!)
As we started prepping the house for sale, we sold some bigger items to friends and family. We sold a few things on ebay. We had a moderately successful garage sale (as garage sale virgins, it's interesting what people will and won't buy. Used guest bedroom set--SOLD. I wish we had three sets! Loveseat SOLD! Tools and kitchen appliances--meh). After the garage sale, the donating started in earnest. One truck-load was picked up at the house. Then at least 10 more car loads to various charities. And finally, trash. I could fill a trash can with just one hall closet. At least 5 small dumpsters were filled with things we couldn't GIVE away. It was difficult to part with some possessions, but the most depressing part was the amount of money we threw in a dumpster. Our current stage is: one closet is full of the plastic tubs that go to the boat. The other closet is full of the tubs that will go to storage. When they get full, we'll unpack and throw more stuff away! (And yes, the cat has her own bin!) The end result will be is a FULL minivan and few pieces of furniture in storage.
("MOMMY, did you pack Moppy?! I CAN'T FIND IT!")
The moral of the story is, clean out your house! A majority of what you own is worth nothing to your friends, neighbors or family--and you aren't using it either. Yes, there is the occasional thing I might want later, but the house is infinitely easier to keep clean. It's also very liberating to not be the caretaker of SO MUCH STUFF! We've vowed that, even if we move back to a house, we will never own that much stuff JUNK again. (Do you have company in those guest bedrooms more than twice a year? Or just use them to store stuff? Do you use that office? Or sit in the living room with your laptop? How often do you sit at the dining room table? A couple times a year?) If you can't get started, consider moving. We've been in this house for 14 years, which allowed things to be stuffed in the back of cabinets and forgotten. And honestly, we found multiples of things we knew we had, but couldn't find. When you look at something and think, "is it worth packing and driving it across the country?", suddenly things aren't as important as you thought they were. Now go throw some stuff away!
(More "boat" stuff)
(More "boat" stuff)
Monday, May 29, 2017
Calpe and Altea Sailing the Costa del Blanco of Spain
October 1-2, 2012
If you want to get a bird’s eye view of Calpe, its white beaches that give this coast its name, and the surrounding countryside, then the way to do it is to climb the famous Penon D'Ifach, the huge rock headland dominating the landscape. It was high on Rob’s agenda on this stop as he didn’t get a chance to do it when we were here earlier in the year on Moksha.
Marc decided a gentle walking exploration of the town was more in order while Karen wisely decided the climb may not be advisable given the track to the top is described in Lonely Planet as very physical with the warning that you ‘take your life in your own hands.’
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| Morning coffee looking out at our boat still has us pinching ourselves to check it's real |
After a coffee stop at a beach front café we all headed off on our separate adventures with the plan to meet for lunch two hours later.
The going up the rock proved to be quite varied and ranged from easy paths lower down until a rough, unlit tunnel through to the seaward side is reached. There’s a sign in multiple languages at the entrance with the English text simply stating that ‘It is dangerous to go beyond this point’. Very reassuring. It’s very steep and the limestone has been polished to a slippery sheen by all the feet that have passed through over the years. The ropes strung on each side are needed to pull yourself up and onwards in a number of places.
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| Beyond this point things get very interesting |
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| Tthe famous Penon D'Ifach rock at Calpe is not the place to slip off the trail |
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| This is the widest and safest part of the track up Penon D'Ifach rock at Calpe. |
Emerging into the light you’re greeted with a very narrow path of equally treacherous polished rock and need to hug the cliff face as you make your way across to where the trail becomes a little less frightening for a short while. The climb continues to be quite steep as you progress upwards and the path splits into various trails different people have blazed. It becomes necessary to stop and take a good look at what goes where before choosing a route. It’s all quite steep and by the time you eventually approach the top some rugged bolder hopping is required. Grab ropes are very few and far between. Australian health and safety officers no doubt would have a nightmares if they ever saw this place.
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| WOW FACTOR PLUS. The white speck nearest the breakwater is Alcheringa. |
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| Every minute of the twenty minutes at the top was needed for re-oxygenation. |
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| OK - Time to go down, down, down. |
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| Meanwhile Karen and Marc were sipping drinks waiting for lunch on the beachfront |
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| Karen in control as we say goodbye Calpe |
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| Cruising past the church on the hill at Altea peaked our interest to have a look |
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| So calm, so peaceful, so nice. |
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| Alcheringa with Calpe in the background |
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| Up, up and up some more at Altea |
We then climbed up through the steep lanes and narrow streets to reach the big church on the hill that dominates all views of the bay. The church is fronted by a delightful square lined with cafes that we soon discovered were all priced for the Northern European tourist market. As usual, we were required to drop the obligatory gold coin in the box at the door to enter the church. Rob still struggles with that concept. After all, the churches of the world aren’t exactly doing great business these days and charging at the door is unlikely to encourage new clients.
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| Time for a breather halfway to the top |
After viewing more beautifully decorated altars, idols and some magnificent art we wound our way down through more delightful cobblestone streets devoid of motor vehicles and discovered the Cellar Bar. It was hot. We’d walked a long way and we needed some rehydration plus it offered free WIFI and Rob had been lugging his lap top around all day waiting to upload the latest chapter of our travels. The appropriate blog sacrifice was soon offered up to the gods of the cyberworld while we consumed 2 beers, 2 wines and 4 tapas all for a grand total of 5.50 Euro ($6.85). We had a hard time keeping a straight face as we paid the bill. How can anyone be making money at that?
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| All roads lead to the Celler Bar - well eventually they do. |
Our next task was choosing one of the many beach front café/restaurants to have lunch at. In the end we settled on a huge bowl of steamed mussels each accompanied by lashings of fresh crispy bread all washed down with the obligatory bottle of vino tinto (red wine) for the price of a Big Mac Meal at home in Australia. This was developing into a very good day.
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| It was a long way back to Alcheringa anchored up in the lee of the point |
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We then embarked on our ‘great march’ mark two to return the five kilometres back to the beach where Alcheringa was bobbing gently in thankfully still very calm seas just a hundred metres from the sand.
Some people have asked how we get any exercise cooped up on a 13.2 metre long yacht. Well apart from cranking winches, pulling on lines and constantly working muscles to balance ourselves to the constant movement of the boat when underway, if you think back on our activities in this chapter of the blog you’ll get an insight into our fitness regime. Other than the very, very occasional taxi ride, we walk everywhere. We haven’t actually driven a car since being in the UK in early June. Hopefully this will keep us fit enough to sail the globe for many years to come.
For more about our travels check out and 'like' our Dreamtimesail facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/DreamtimeSail?ref=hl
For more about our travels check out and 'like' our Dreamtimesail facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/DreamtimeSail?ref=hl
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| Altea turned on an awesome sunset to cap off a fantastic day |
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Machining front discs brakes to suit the Hillman Imp
The kits we bring in have been a regular item and from the same supplier in the UK.
We use local Ford calipers and purchase new imported discs and brake pads.
The caliper has been refurbished by a specialist company, the new brake disc will be bored to take the Imps 4" PCD stud centers. In this case the 239mm diameter Ford KA disc is too large for the Imps standard 12"steel rim, we need to have the disc cut down to a diameter of 220mm only.
This brake needs no servo, the change to a 0.070" brake cylinder is recommended but the original 0.065 cylinder on the standard Imp works quite well, the client will be given the option, which will cost around GBP50 so about R800 or so.
He has already supplied the silicone brake fluid he wants, a good idea on any classic car, there will be no degrade in the fluid as the years goes by.
How easy is that.
Roy
We use local Ford calipers and purchase new imported discs and brake pads.
The caliper has been refurbished by a specialist company, the new brake disc will be bored to take the Imps 4" PCD stud centers. In this case the 239mm diameter Ford KA disc is too large for the Imps standard 12"steel rim, we need to have the disc cut down to a diameter of 220mm only.
This brake needs no servo, the change to a 0.070" brake cylinder is recommended but the original 0.065 cylinder on the standard Imp works quite well, the client will be given the option, which will cost around GBP50 so about R800 or so.
Working with new off the shelf parts is such a pleasure!
He has already supplied the silicone brake fluid he wants, a good idea on any classic car, there will be no degrade in the fluid as the years goes by.
How easy is that.
Roy
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Oh the horror filthy bilges dirty jobs
I open the hatch, look down into the engine room, and reel back in dismay. Several inches of black oily water, intermingled with amorphous brown lumps sloshing at the keel. Every place you could put your on feet is covered with black slime. The once white engines are now grayish, and look like Jackson Pollock had painted them with a pallet that consisted of only used black engine oil. Old egg crate insulation foam crumbles into dust at the slightest touch. "You gotta be kidding. Is this a joke, you want me to work down there? Do I look like I own a Hazmat suit? I have one word for you, "Soap" and lots of it. Have you heard about this stuff? After seeing this, I know I don't want to see what the head looks like. Not a chance, hire someone to clean up this pigsty if you can't, and don't call me until it's looking better. Believe it or not even marine installers have some marginal standards."
This is a true description, with the exception of some exaggeration of my comments to the owner. I was a little more circumspect in my dealings with him, which had more of the flavor of pedantic advice about good maintenance, and its importance. but I still wasn't about to work on the boat until the engine room was in a cleaner condition.
Your engine room and bilges are truly the guts of your vessel, and you would be a very sick person if this is what your insides looked like. There are endless reasons why your bilges, and engine room should be kept clean, starting with you can immediately spot a problem in a clean environment. It's hard to spot a new oil leak, if the engine room is already coated with a cornucopia of mixed fluids, and has a miasma laden odor.
I know that there are many places in boats that are akin the the junk drawer in the kitchen, or that corner in the basement that you're afraid to look in. Access to the nether regions of the vessel is also rarely easy, but never the less, these areas should be inspected periodically, and cleaned if needed. Your house can't sink, but your boat can. This offers the benefit of being able to examine not oft looked at equipment, and through hull fittings. Out of sight can often be translated to corroding into oblivion.
Here are some of the benefits of having a nice clean bilge and engine room. They won't find your dirty body five days later after you slip on grease in the bilge, hit your head on the engine and expire. "Oh John, the boat smells so fresh, and you know how that makes me feel darling." You can check the oil in the white tux you're wearing for the party. Over a thousand dollars worth of spare parts were found because I cleaned up the engine room. Little Fifi didn't have a drop of oil on her after she snuck into the engine room and whizzed on the floor, here are the paper towels dear. The shareholders of Simple Green cleaner send you a thank you note for the huge purchase. A bad hose was found, and replaced, on the toilet outflow, saving you an ever bigger and malodorous clean up project downstream. Your mechanic will once again return your calls. Marina management says it's okay to remove the oil booms that surround your boat. The guests on the boat won't get oil behind their eyes like the aliens on the X Files. The marine surveyor comments on the great condition of the engine room. Rats packed up their suitcases, and left complaining the neighborhood was going uphill.
Look into your engine room, and decided what the "Engine Room Status" gauge would indicate. If it's pegged over hard, it's time to do something about it.
The two before and after photos of the remarkable bilge make over were borrowed from Steve and Lynn Steakley's cruising blog SV Wand'rin Star . It was a job well done.
The dirty bilge photo is courtesy of professional photographer Simon Atkins.
Oil sheen photograph is by the Installer.
The Engine Room Status gauge is the intellectual property of "The National Marine Entropy Association".
One of the concepts of entropy is that nature moves from order, to disorder in isolated systems.
This is a true description, with the exception of some exaggeration of my comments to the owner. I was a little more circumspect in my dealings with him, which had more of the flavor of pedantic advice about good maintenance, and its importance. but I still wasn't about to work on the boat until the engine room was in a cleaner condition.
You can almost always tell the real condition of a vessel by the condition of its engine room. If it is immaculate, you know the owner really cares about the boat, and everything else will be that way. At the other extreme, if the engine room is "Horrific" you know the rest of the boat will be that way also. I'm not a marine surveyor, but I suspect the tone for every survey is set by one quick look at the engine room.
Your engine room and bilges are truly the guts of your vessel, and you would be a very sick person if this is what your insides looked like. There are endless reasons why your bilges, and engine room should be kept clean, starting with you can immediately spot a problem in a clean environment. It's hard to spot a new oil leak, if the engine room is already coated with a cornucopia of mixed fluids, and has a miasma laden odor.
I know that there are many places in boats that are akin the the junk drawer in the kitchen, or that corner in the basement that you're afraid to look in. Access to the nether regions of the vessel is also rarely easy, but never the less, these areas should be inspected periodically, and cleaned if needed. Your house can't sink, but your boat can. This offers the benefit of being able to examine not oft looked at equipment, and through hull fittings. Out of sight can often be translated to corroding into oblivion.
Here are some of the benefits of having a nice clean bilge and engine room. They won't find your dirty body five days later after you slip on grease in the bilge, hit your head on the engine and expire. "Oh John, the boat smells so fresh, and you know how that makes me feel darling." You can check the oil in the white tux you're wearing for the party. Over a thousand dollars worth of spare parts were found because I cleaned up the engine room. Little Fifi didn't have a drop of oil on her after she snuck into the engine room and whizzed on the floor, here are the paper towels dear. The shareholders of Simple Green cleaner send you a thank you note for the huge purchase. A bad hose was found, and replaced, on the toilet outflow, saving you an ever bigger and malodorous clean up project downstream. Your mechanic will once again return your calls. Marina management says it's okay to remove the oil booms that surround your boat. The guests on the boat won't get oil behind their eyes like the aliens on the X Files. The marine surveyor comments on the great condition of the engine room. Rats packed up their suitcases, and left complaining the neighborhood was going uphill.
Look into your engine room, and decided what the "Engine Room Status" gauge would indicate. If it's pegged over hard, it's time to do something about it.
The two before and after photos of the remarkable bilge make over were borrowed from Steve and Lynn Steakley's cruising blog SV Wand'rin Star . It was a job well done.
The dirty bilge photo is courtesy of professional photographer Simon Atkins.
Oil sheen photograph is by the Installer.
The Engine Room Status gauge is the intellectual property of "The National Marine Entropy Association".
One of the concepts of entropy is that nature moves from order, to disorder in isolated systems.
Monday, February 27, 2017
Its not about the grouper it wasnt even square Yates v Feds
This Supreme Court case revolves around local commercial fisherman John Yates. The facts of his original case in many ways no longer matter. Unfortunately for Mr. Yates he is now at the center of a maelstrom about the application of a Federal law. It's also a sad story. It made Mr. Yates a felon, destroyed his livelihood, and represents a legal overreach that could potentially happen to anyone. Common sense has apparently left the Federal prosecution system.
A short summary of what happened is as follows. Mr Yates and and his crew were fishing for Red Grouper offshore when his vessel was boarded by a Florida Fish & Wildlife officer. The officer had been deputized to operate in Federal waters where the vessel was located. The officer found some of the 1700 pounds of Red Grouper frozen in the hold were undersized. 72 of them to be exact.
I just want to interject a couple of notes here regarding some of Mr. Yates defense arguments. He alleges that the officer did not follow Federal statutes (50 C.F.R. § 622.2) regarding how to measure fish. I will save you some of the pain of grinding through the document, and now you will know how to measure a fish.
"The straight-line distance from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail (caudal fin), excluding any caudal filament, while the fish is lying on its side. The mouth of the fish may be closed and/or the tail may be squeezed together to give the greatest overall measurement."
The second argument he tendered is fish when frozen, which is critical in the hot Florida temperatures, are shorter than when thawed. I have talked with local fishermen, and they agree. Not in exactly how much smaller, but all say a frozen bent fish is hard to measure in the first place.
This in the end, is also no longer important either. To continue the story, 72 undersized fish are put in a container and Mr. Yates is ordered to retain them until he reaches port for inspection by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Before returning to port Mr. Yates ordered the crew to dump the fish and replace them with fish of nearly the correct size. Are you ready?
Most of us have seen The Deadliest Catch on TV. They use a handheld gauge to measure the crab's shell. When you watch them sorting a catch, they can spot the obviously large ones and they go straight to the tank. The questionable ones get measured. I think in every large haul in the quest to get things done quickly occasionally a few that are slightly undersized will get through. I also think the phrase "Close enough for government work" is in play."
When the boat reaches port the container has only 69 slightly undersized fish. Three are missing. A crew member later admits that sequestered fish had been dumped overboard and replaced. This is the real start of the story.
Like the crab fishermen, if you you're caught with undersized fish, you get a penalty. It's a civil matter like a parking ticket. And in this case Mr. Yates was cited and penalized. The matter was put to bed.
Three long years later Mr. Yates was charged by Federal Prosecutors under, hold your breath now, 18 U.S.C. 1519 - DESTRUCTION, ALTERATION, OR FALSIFICATION OF RECORDS IN FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONS AND BANKRUPTCY, TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, CHAPTER 73 - OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, SEC. 1519 - DESTRUCTION, ALTERATION, OR FALSIFICATION OF RECORDS IN FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONS AND BANKRUPTCY, which reads as follows:
"Whoever knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States or any case filed under title 11, or in relation to or contemplation of any such matter or case, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both." The highlighted words "Tangible Object," that's the three missing Red Grouper.
This law is more colloquially known as the Sarbanes–Oxley act and or Sarbox. The section of the law above is known as the anti-shredding provision. This was legislation that arose out of the collapse of Enron, Tyco Int'l, Worldcom and others. In simple words the intent of this piece of legislation was to make it illegal to shred or destroy documents, computer records and similar materials that were required for a Federal investigation of a corporation's activities. I don't know about anyone else, but the intent seems clear, and I can't see how at any practical level that it can be construed to now apply to a fisherman and some missing grouper.
Mr. Yates has two other Federal charges added to the above, goes to court, and loses on two of three charges. The judge buys the Federal Prosecutors argument that a "tangible object" as described in the Sarbanes–Oxley act can be a fish. Since a fish is now a tangible object, and it was destroyed by dumping it overboard, Mr Yates loses the case and is sentenced to 30 days in prison. It could have been much worse, the penalty can be up to 20 years in prison. He appeals his conviction and now the Supremes get to decide what a "Tangible Object" really is.
One of the other defences Mr. Yates argues is "Lack of Fair Notice." What this means is there is no way he could have reasonably, or possibly known that his act of discarding the said three grouper was a Federal crime as it was applied to Sarbox. I certainly didn't know this was possible, and I think few if any readers know this either.
This court case and conversation is in part about the subject of "Over criminalization." Today there are over 4500 Federal laws governing criminal behavior. Add to this the about 300,000 criminal Federal regulations. These are estimates because of the difficulty involved in even trying to count them. Mix well, and add a dash of Sarbox out of context. You have just provided Federal Prosecutors with almost limitless ways to make anyone they want a criminal. The application of the Sarbanes–Oxley act anti-shredding provision is the icing on what could be a very onerous cake for the public.
The Government's case is the words "Tangible Object" means anything solid, and would most likely include things not quite so tangible like oxygen gas. The term they apply is "Natural Meaning", and they argue the context in which "Tangible Object" is used in the Sarbox legislation has no bearing. A law is a law, if it looks like a duck....
The defense is saying two things. The application of the Sarbanes–Oxley act was inappropriate, and not the law's purpose or intent, and the use of "Tangible Object" should be placed in context with the other words used in the description like record, document et al. Hard drive, computer disks, thumb drives and the ilk fit the "Tangible Object" context well. Fish, not so much.
My take is if the original writers of the legislation had added fish to the list they would have laughed later about it over a beer, and removed it promptly before anyone saw it. I would suggest to the Justices they should do this and see how well it seems to fit the the intent. Here is what is looks like.
"Whoever knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, fish or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction....."
Hmmm... when you do that, fish seems out of context and not inline with the purpose of the act. This doesn't appear to be rocket science!
The real crime here wasn't the undersized grouper, but the unfathomable and unbelievably inane, and bordering on cruelty behavior of the prosecutors who used Federal law, and huge sums of the publics money to pursue this minor infraction in the first place. They must have been too busy working on this case when the bankers and their collective greed caused the near collapse of the US economy and the recession. Few involved with that were ever prosecuted. I guess the ones who made hundreds of millions of dollars peddling bad mortgages wore expensive suits and seemed be be nice folks, unlike a weathered fisherman in Cortez Florida.
"It will be of little avail to the people if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood" James Madison
This is one of the many amicus curiae briefs filed on behalf of Mr. Yates
The second argument he tendered is fish when frozen, which is critical in the hot Florida temperatures, are shorter than when thawed. I have talked with local fishermen, and they agree. Not in exactly how much smaller, but all say a frozen bent fish is hard to measure in the first place.
This in the end, is also no longer important either. To continue the story, 72 undersized fish are put in a container and Mr. Yates is ordered to retain them until he reaches port for inspection by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Before returning to port Mr. Yates ordered the crew to dump the fish and replace them with fish of nearly the correct size. Are you ready?
Most of us have seen The Deadliest Catch on TV. They use a handheld gauge to measure the crab's shell. When you watch them sorting a catch, they can spot the obviously large ones and they go straight to the tank. The questionable ones get measured. I think in every large haul in the quest to get things done quickly occasionally a few that are slightly undersized will get through. I also think the phrase "Close enough for government work" is in play."
When the boat reaches port the container has only 69 slightly undersized fish. Three are missing. A crew member later admits that sequestered fish had been dumped overboard and replaced. This is the real start of the story.
Like the crab fishermen, if you you're caught with undersized fish, you get a penalty. It's a civil matter like a parking ticket. And in this case Mr. Yates was cited and penalized. The matter was put to bed.
Three long years later Mr. Yates was charged by Federal Prosecutors under, hold your breath now, 18 U.S.C. 1519 - DESTRUCTION, ALTERATION, OR FALSIFICATION OF RECORDS IN FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONS AND BANKRUPTCY, TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, CHAPTER 73 - OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, SEC. 1519 - DESTRUCTION, ALTERATION, OR FALSIFICATION OF RECORDS IN FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONS AND BANKRUPTCY, which reads as follows:
"Whoever knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States or any case filed under title 11, or in relation to or contemplation of any such matter or case, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both." The highlighted words "Tangible Object," that's the three missing Red Grouper.
This law is more colloquially known as the Sarbanes–Oxley act and or Sarbox. The section of the law above is known as the anti-shredding provision. This was legislation that arose out of the collapse of Enron, Tyco Int'l, Worldcom and others. In simple words the intent of this piece of legislation was to make it illegal to shred or destroy documents, computer records and similar materials that were required for a Federal investigation of a corporation's activities. I don't know about anyone else, but the intent seems clear, and I can't see how at any practical level that it can be construed to now apply to a fisherman and some missing grouper.
Mr. Yates has two other Federal charges added to the above, goes to court, and loses on two of three charges. The judge buys the Federal Prosecutors argument that a "tangible object" as described in the Sarbanes–Oxley act can be a fish. Since a fish is now a tangible object, and it was destroyed by dumping it overboard, Mr Yates loses the case and is sentenced to 30 days in prison. It could have been much worse, the penalty can be up to 20 years in prison. He appeals his conviction and now the Supremes get to decide what a "Tangible Object" really is.
One of the other defences Mr. Yates argues is "Lack of Fair Notice." What this means is there is no way he could have reasonably, or possibly known that his act of discarding the said three grouper was a Federal crime as it was applied to Sarbox. I certainly didn't know this was possible, and I think few if any readers know this either.
This court case and conversation is in part about the subject of "Over criminalization." Today there are over 4500 Federal laws governing criminal behavior. Add to this the about 300,000 criminal Federal regulations. These are estimates because of the difficulty involved in even trying to count them. Mix well, and add a dash of Sarbox out of context. You have just provided Federal Prosecutors with almost limitless ways to make anyone they want a criminal. The application of the Sarbanes–Oxley act anti-shredding provision is the icing on what could be a very onerous cake for the public.
The Government's case is the words "Tangible Object" means anything solid, and would most likely include things not quite so tangible like oxygen gas. The term they apply is "Natural Meaning", and they argue the context in which "Tangible Object" is used in the Sarbox legislation has no bearing. A law is a law, if it looks like a duck....
The defense is saying two things. The application of the Sarbanes–Oxley act was inappropriate, and not the law's purpose or intent, and the use of "Tangible Object" should be placed in context with the other words used in the description like record, document et al. Hard drive, computer disks, thumb drives and the ilk fit the "Tangible Object" context well. Fish, not so much.
My take is if the original writers of the legislation had added fish to the list they would have laughed later about it over a beer, and removed it promptly before anyone saw it. I would suggest to the Justices they should do this and see how well it seems to fit the the intent. Here is what is looks like.
"Whoever knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, fish or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction....."
Hmmm... when you do that, fish seems out of context and not inline with the purpose of the act. This doesn't appear to be rocket science!
The real crime here wasn't the undersized grouper, but the unfathomable and unbelievably inane, and bordering on cruelty behavior of the prosecutors who used Federal law, and huge sums of the publics money to pursue this minor infraction in the first place. They must have been too busy working on this case when the bankers and their collective greed caused the near collapse of the US economy and the recession. Few involved with that were ever prosecuted. I guess the ones who made hundreds of millions of dollars peddling bad mortgages wore expensive suits and seemed be be nice folks, unlike a weathered fisherman in Cortez Florida.
"It will be of little avail to the people if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood" James Madison
This is one of the many amicus curiae briefs filed on behalf of Mr. Yates
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Building the popular mechanics canoe
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Wednesday, October 5, 2016
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Thursday, September 29, 2016
Delayed in the boatyard Whod have guessed
March 21 – 2013
Well we were supposed to be going back in the water tomorrow (Friday) but the boatyard have informed us they're running behind and of course they don't work Saturdays. It will now be Monday, hopefully, that Alcheringa will be eased back into the wet stuff with pretty new antifouling covering her bum, her hull polished all shiny, a new AIS system installed and even her recalcitrant, seized through hull valve replaced.
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| Alcheringa looks like a bathtub toy suspended under the huge travel lift at Ceuta more accustomed to lifting giant mega-yachts out of the water |
In the meantime we've enjoyed a three day trip across the border in Morocco which has been awesome. We're heading back to Ceuta tomorrow and, with a bit of luck, will find time over the weekend to post a full chapter about our visit to beautiful Chefchaouen high up in the mountains. It has been awesome.
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| We'll update you about our awesome side-trip into Morocco soon |
We’re chomping at the bit to start working our way east along the Spanish Coast and really get our 2013 cruising adventures underway. The next two days will be a bit frustrating sitting in a hostel room across the road from the harbour looking at our yacht locked up in the boatyard with nothing happening on it but such is life.
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If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway.
We hope you enjoy reading the previous posts to catch up on our story.
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Sailing the awesome Amalfi Coast – Part 1
August 3, 2013
From the time we first started dreaming about sailing the Mediterranean, cruising along the world famous Amalfi Coast has been right up the top of our Must dolist and now we were finally going to tick that box. After a fantastic stay at the Isle of Capri we were up with the sun and on our way.
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| Karen standing lookout on the bow as we head for the narrow gap between two of the Isle of Capri's Faraglioni. |
We made the most of the early start and lack of other boats on the move took the opportunity to set our course straight between Capri’s Faraglioni. That is the Italian term used to refer to stacks or what we would often refer to as pinnacles of rock. The most famous faraglioni are the three stacks located off the island of Capri in the Bay of Naples. The stacks have been given their own names: Stella (still attached to the main island), Mezzo and Scopolo. Their heights are 109 m, 82 m and 106 m, respectively with quite deep water right up to their vertical faces.
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| Made it! |
Mezzo is inhabited by the Podarcis sicula coerulea and the only place in the world in which this particular species of lizard has been found. It is believed that the amphibians' blue colored skin is the result of evolutionary adaption, which occurred following the separation of the rock from the mainland. Mezzo also features a large central cavity, through which small boats can easily navigate but we had to settle for slipping through the gap between it and Stellawhich was a cool enough photo opp for us.
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| Karen's Father, Trevor, on the bow and watching the coast slide by. |
The conditions were dead still. No good for sailing but a glorious day to motor along one of the world’s most picturesque coastlines. We crossed the strait and made our way towards Positano under the towering cliffs of the peninsula. There are a number of marine reserves in this area where no navigation at all is permitted other than if you’re making your way to pre-booked, authorised mooring buoys. Even that must be done at slow speed. The pilot guides provide very specific warnings about these. They are clearly marked on all charts and plotters and their boundaries are even marked by large, bright yellow buoys. While we zigged and zagged staying clear, it appeared nobody has actually mentioned them to the Italians. We were quite entertained watching everything from small fishing boats, some trolling lines, to huge pleasure craft and commercial ferries blasted straight through the no fishing, no anchoring, no navigation marine protection areas at high speed. No doubt if we’d cut a corner anywhere we would have ended up with one of the big fines they talk about.
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| There's no shortage of expensive super-yachts along the Amalfi coast. |
There were a number of very impressive villas, houses and even a couple of small towns dotted along the shore and on the cliff sides but reaching the town of Positano really signalled to us that this is indeed a very special piece of coast line. It is simply stunning. We were in no doubt the best views of this remarkable slice of heaven on earth are from the water. We were extremely thankful it was such a calm, sunny day and we could motor slowly, close to the shore and enjoy the full beauty of all that we were passing.
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| We'd looked forward to sailing this area for a long, long time. |
We’ve included many photos in this blog chapter to provide a bit of a glimpse but if you’d like to see more of the Amalfi coast from the sea, click over to our Dreamtime Sail Facebook Amalfi Coast album for the complete set.
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| Many resorts perched on the cliffs provide very exclusive sun bathing spots |
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| Every point we rounded revealed more stunning Amalfi scenes |
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| Spectacular stone buildings are plentiful along the Amalfi coast. |
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| We spied these buildings on cliff edges atop massive caves near Amalfi. |
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| Trevor and Joy soaked up the sun and atmosphere. |
We were certainly in no rush and wound in and out of the bays adding a few miles to our track but still reached the harbour in time for lunch. We’d kept our options open as there are spots you can anchor off at Amalfi in settled weather but, with a bit of on shore breeze predicted for the evening , we elected to see if we could find a berth. This proved a little easier said than done and we circled around in the outer harbour as Karen made a series of phone calls to the various listings in the pilot guide before hitting pay dirt. Minutes later a dingy came out to meet us but, rather than guide us in, the mariner came aboard and secured his dingy alongside before taking over the helm from Rob saying ‘Welcome to Amalfi. I am Captain now.’
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| Rob appreciated the valet parking service provided at Amalfi harbour |
When we saw the tight, tight, tight spot he manoeuvred our 43 foot yacht into without the benefit of a bow thrusters, Rob was more than happy to be a passenger but was quick to ask ‘Getting us back out of here is also part of the service, isn’t it?’
At 160 Euro a night, plus 23% if you don’t pay cash because heaven forbid they would have to pay tax if you use credit card, it was certainly not a cheap berth but it was right in the centre of Amalfi and the water was even very clean. So clean we all dived in straight off the boat which was an absolute first for us inside a harbour.
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| Isle of Capri to Amalfi – 19.9 Nautical Miles – 4 Hours 25 Minutes Average Speed 4.5 Knots – Max 6.0 Knots |
As you’d expect in the height of the summer season, the town was very busy with tourists but we still enjoyed window shopping through the narrow streets and laneways and having a good look around. We had an excellent dinner that evening at an outdoor restaurant right beside the Cathedral stairs and then settled back in Alcheringa’s cockpit with some local wines to enjoy the twilight. We’d no sooner pulled the cork on the first bottle than the entertainment started.
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| They pack them in here. Note the dingy used to push the white boat over |
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| Karen and Joy were first into Amalfi's clear water |
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| We had a great dinner in the Amalfi town square. |
Two, rather large and already well spiritually fortified Russian gentlemen arrived back at their huge, chartered motor boat gin palace accompanied by a couple of local young ladies of the night complete in short, short dresses and ridiculously high stilettos. Perfect boating attire of course. They then sent their skipper and crew off on a long walk, jacked up the stereo, popped the expensive champagne and began dancing with their equally expensive looking companions on the back deck. Well they thought they were dancing but it looked more like some deranged Cossack version of mad cow disease. Their loud efforts to impress all and sundry by singing along with the English language pop songs were so ludicrous all sense of polite decorum disappeared in the marina with boaties everywhere appearing on deck to see the show and making no effort to conceal laughter and ridicule. As a child of six or seven on the boat next to us started to imitate the inebriated dance moves even their hired female companions struggled to keep a straight face.
The drunken disco on deck lasted for almost two hours before the foursome suddenly disappeared below decks. The two girls reappeared just minutes later and headed off down the dock, prompting one wag on nearby boat to suggest ‘Considering what it probably just cost them, those guys should have spent a lot less time dancing.’
MARINA REVIEW: Amalfi Harbour **
Nightly rate for our 43 foot (13.2m) yacht – 160 Euro (Cash price excluding VAT. Includes water & power)
Boats located on permanent moorings make this is very tight harbour in places with a number of concessionaires controlling different sections of the available berths. We can only comment on where we berthed. The positives were that it was ideally located for easy access to the centre of the old town. It was also well inside the harbour offering good protection from the weather. On the negative side, the only bathroom facilities were public toilets ashore which were locked at night. There are no showers at all.
The staff are very friendly and helpful and the location is good but lack of facilities and exorbitant price means only two stars on the value meter from us.
Sometimes we’re so busy out doing things we don’t have enough time to write about doing things and our blog slips a little behind time. We’re working at getting it all back to current at the moment but to stay right up to date with what we’re up to these days and see lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at Dreamtime Sail on Facebook
If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway. We hope you enjoy reading the previous posts to catch up on our story.
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