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Gulf of Oman Escort |
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I'm sure most of you are aware of the pirates who ply the waters off
the Somali coast along the horn of Africa. With simply - automatic
weapons, a few grappling hooks and the athletic ability to climb the
ropes to board the ships, these pirates have successfully captured,
and held for ransom, lots of ships in this area - dozens of LARGE
ships, and far more smaller private boats. And this has been going
on for YEARS! I remember sailing these waters twice before, once,
when I was on Semester at Sea, when we pulled all drapes and shades,
and extinguished all the external lights, and sailed totally
darkened during the night through these waters. The other time, our
ship used spotlights, and played them constantly all over the waters
surrounding our ship. We didn't see any pirates, but we DID see a
ton of those red, white, and black 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 foot long sea
snakes floating on the top of the water - they are supposedly one of
the more poisonous critters on the face of the earth!!
Pretty little suckers, but DEADLY!!. YIKES! |
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From Mombassa we embarked on our four day journey to Oman, on the Saudi Arabian peninsula. This journey brought us up along the horn of Africa, through the pirate infested waters off the Somalia coastline. As we passed out of the harbor, to embark through these treacherous waters, we passed a ship which met its demise on the coral reefs, even before facing Captain Hook and his band of merry men!!!
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