A warning that the Super Maramu "Carre D'as IV", captured by Somalian Pirates a week ago, may be under use as a decoy vessel attacking other ships. The current pirates are demanding a ransom of $1.4M for the French crew, and the release of the 6 Le Ponant pirates from Paris.

Click here to read the full article

Related Articles:

• Piracy (news about piracy)
• Piracy Somalia (news about piracy and pirate attacks in Somalia)
• Le Ponant Yacht - French Hostages
  
• Playa de Bakio -  Pirates Attack Boat in Somalia
• German Hostages kept by Pirates in Somalia
• Somalia Piracy Out of Control
• Pirates Kidnap French Yacht Crew (original article about the pirate attack on the yacht Carré d'As IV)
• Somalia Pirates - French Hostages Phone Home
• Captured Yacht Decoy for Somalian Pirates?

Lo yacht si staglia, bianco e lucente, di fronte a S.Marco. È enorme. Ha ponti, controponti, cabine, salottino in vista e pista d'atterraggio per elicotteri. La sola scialuppa, appesa alla fiancata, è grande quanto mezzo vaporetto.

L'equipaggio ha divise linde. Si affanna a lucidare la prua, con lunghi scopettoni.

Lui è affacciato fuori dall'oblò della cabina principale. È elegante, vestito di lino bianco, con una barba grigia, ben curata. Guarda il paesaggio, una mano sotto il mento, e l'aria incredibilmente triste e depressa.

Per annoiarsi così tanto, in fondo, gli sarebbe bastato un gommone.

Add a French yacht and an Egyptian cargo ship to the list of approximately 10 vessels that are now being held hostage by pirates off the coast of Somalia.  The French vessel is a sail boat with 3 people on board, and the Egyptian ship has a crew of 25.  The Egyptian vessel, the M/V Al Mansourah was laden with cement and enroute to Djibouti when it was attacked.    Article here and here.

The government of Malaysia has had enough and is sending 3 warships to the region.  Two of the ten ships currently being held are Malaysian flagged, the Bunga Melati Dua and the Bunga Melati 5.

From the BBC:

Officials in the semi-autonomous Somali region of Puntland say the ships are being held at the port of Eyl, a lawless outpost controlled by gangs.

Puntland's minister for mines, who is leading a delegation to investigate the hijackings, told the BBC Somali Service from a hill overlooking the port that he could count eight captured vessels.

He said another two were reported to be on their way to Eyl.

The delegation had spoken to local elders, he said, but it had not approached the pirates.

The latest vessel to be hijacked was an Egyptian ship which was reported missing on Thursday.

Earlier this week a French sailing boat with two crew was seized.

Pirates holding that boat are reportedly seeking a ransom of more than $1m (£0.56m).

Puntland's ports minister said after the capture of the French boat that pirates in the region were well-armed and employ a lot of people.

He said there was little co-ordination between those trying to tackle them.

In June, the UN Security Council voted to allow countries to send warships into Somalia's waters to tackle the pirates, but the ports minister complained that international vessels "don't intervene".

I think that with this much intel and information available, it must compel the international forces in the area, particularly the U.S. Fifth Fleet to take decisive action to recover these ships and crew members from the hands of lawless terrorists.  To do anything else would be toleration of their acts.

Photo by Guillaume Plisson

Last week-end, the superyacht "A" was moored in the Bay of Cannes for a truly unique birthday celebration with amazing fireworks and Lenny Kravitz Live. Some Cannois were lucky to view the show from afar, from the ground or from a boat. The show was magnificent, but what to think of the yacht?   

The superyacht was designed by Philippe Starck for billionaire Andreï Melnichenko for the modest sum of 250 millions euros. Starck wanted it to be"elegant, hi-tech and luxurious". For the little story, the yacht was named "A" after his wife Alexandra (ex-Miss Yugoslavia).

Since then the superyacht has been in the middle of a controversy, and has been voted by the Wall Street Journal "the ugliest yacht of the world". I am not too sure what to think of it, at night it was magnificent but at day its lines (especially the front) made me think more a war submarine than anything else.

What do you think?

Photo by Guillaume Plisson

Le week-end dernier, le superyacht "A" etait ancré dans la baie de Cannes pour une fête d'anniversaire unique, un feu d'artifice digne du 14 juillet et un concert de Lenny Kravitz. Les Cannois chanceux ont pu profité du spectacle même de loin (du bord de mer ou d'un bateau). La fête était grandiose mais que penser du yacht?   

Le superyacht a été créé par Philippe Starck à la demande du milliardaire Andreï Melnichenko et a couté la modique somme de 250 millions d'euros. Starck voulait faire un yacht "élégant, hi-tech et luxueux". Pour la petite histoire , le yacht porte le nom "A" pour sa femme Alexandra (ex-Miss Yugoslavia). C'est aussi la première lettre de son prénom à lui, pratique non?

Depuis son apparation, le superyacht est sujet de discussions houleuses, pour le the Wall Street Journal c'est le "yacht le plus laid du monde". Quand à moi je ne sais pas trop quoi en penser, la nuit il est magnifique mais le jour ses lignes me font plus penser à navire de guerre qu'à un yacht.

Et vous vous en pensez quoi?

To know more about ishopforyou.fr, click here, pour en savoir plus sur ishopforyou.fr cliquez ici

This is the third pirate attack on a yacht in 2008, although there are attacks on large cargo ships in the Gulf of Aden ond off the coast of Somalia all the time. In fact there are currently over 100 hostages being kept in Somalia.

Warning to all cruising sailboats and motor yachts: Do not transit the Gulf of Aden, or get anywhere near the Somalia coastline until the pirate situation settles down.

Read more about the Pirate Attack in Somalia

Check out more articles about Piracy in Somalia:

• Piracy Somalia (many articles about pirates and piracy in Somalia)
• Le Ponant Yacht - French Hostages
  
• Playa de Bakio - Pirates Attack Spanish Boat in Somalia
• German Hostages kept by Pirates in Somalia
• Somalia Piracy Out of Control
• Pirates Attack Yacht - French Hostages

When the breeze got up K2 would luff up hard into wind, so I brought her in and added some twist to the main sail by loosening the kicking strap. The luffs were back under control then and a couple of clicks of rudder lee helm trim had K2 free sailing a tack very nicely. De-powering the main sail with the kicking strap tension will tame strong luffing in gusts on many boats. When that no longer works it is past time to switch to a smaller set of sails. Give that a try on your boat.

The carbon strip forestay did it's job and will definitely be in the kit now. With just enough forestay tension to hold the jib pivot up, the carbon strip holds the luff edge of the jib straight and true. A straight jib leading edge really improves the jib efficiency which is why bigger boats have a back stay to support the mast against the pull of a normal forestay.

Despite the larger sail area I would judge that K2 puts her bow under on the run less than the original Kittiwake. The battery is now located at the rear of the radio bay which clearly helps. Driving hard on a broad reach K2 seems to keep her bow up and transom down better too.

Overall K2 looks like a quick boat and I will be keen to race her against the fleet at the first opportunity. With this new carbon boom rig K2 will be faster 'out of the box' for those people who are racing Kittiwakes. For the fun sailor the rig will still work over a good wind speed range with a little lower top limit than the original Kittiwake sail plan. Of course the original sails will still be available for use on K2 as well as drawings for the class legal 'B-rig' for home construction.

OK it's back to the workshop and get this kit together for you guys!

Happy sailing, Graham

Johnny Depp, star of 'Pirates of the Caribbean',  was first seen vacationing on his yacht with Vanessa in the Mediterranean near the island of Elba.  Elba is Italian just of Sardinia  - between the French Island of Corsica and the Italian mainland near to Pisa, Tuscany.  Napoleon Bonaparte was famously was excelled there.

Johnny Depp actually owns the luxury motor yacht and he called it Vajoliroja.  It was built by Proteksan Turquoise was built in turkey in 2001 and is a large modern classic luxury superyacht 47m (156ft)  long.

The name Vajoliroja is a combination of Johnny's family's names. Va for Vanessa, Jo for Johnny, LiRo for his 9 year old daughter Lily Rose and Ja for his son Jack. It sounds like ‘The Jolly Roger’ if you say it just right.

Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Depp have been in a relationship since 1998. Vanessa Chantal Paradis is a French singer and actress who won the 2008 Victoire De La Musique Female Performer of the Year and Pop Album of the Year. 

Here is a recent photo of Johnny's yacht the Vajoliroja docked in Florida, USA last week. Johnny was in Florida with his family for the Sheila Witkin Memorial Concert.

Johnny Depp is a versatile and gifted actor who has been nominated for 3 Oscars.  His list of work includes:  

Sin City 3 (2011)
The Rum Diary (2009)
Dark Shadows (2010) Barnabas Collins
Shantaram (2009) 
Public Enemies (2009) John Dillinger
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) .... Sweeney Todd
... aka Sweeney Todd
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) .... Jack Sparrow
... aka Pirates 3 (USA: informal short title)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) .... Jack Sparrow
... aka Pirates 2 (USA: informal short title)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow (2006) (VG) (voice) .... Jack Sparrow
Corpse Bride (2005) (voice)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) .... Willy Wonka
The Libertine (2004)
Finding Neverland (2004)(2004)And They Lived Happily Ever After
    - Hank's Back (2004)
Secret Window (2004)
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) .... Sands
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) .... Jack Sparrow
From Hell (2001)
Blow (2001)
Chocolat (2000)
The Man Who Cried (2000)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
The Astronaut's Wife (1999)
The Ninth Gate (1999)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) ....
The Brave (1997)
Donnie Brasco (1997)
Nick of Time (1995)
Dead Man (1995)
Don Juan DeMarco (1995)
Ed Wood (1994)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
Benny & Joon (1993)
Arizona Dream (1993)
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
"21 Jump Street"
Cry-Baby (1990)
Platoon (1986)
Slow Burn (1986) (TV)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

 
Anyway, when I noticed one lady in three quarter length trousers I knew it was time I showed you guys why I believe 3 quarter length trousers SUCK. So there I went into town yesterday , and the pictures below are the fruit of my labour.
 
Please check out the examples below. Avoid three-quarter length trousers because they make legs look shorter. Trousers should be full length, falling to the bottom of the heel.  You might be able to get a way with it if you are a stick figure and have great ankles but otherwise, stay away! 

[caption id="attachment_218" align="aligncenter" width="402" caption="exhibit E and F"][/caption]

Am really excited about seeing this band and looking forward to Jona's moves onstage. Also did I mention they sell Sambucca for £1.50 per shot? Oh yes am going in hungover on Wednesday.

Here's some of the antics to be expected: