Chandlers latest update - bit sad

[Ubergeekian]

What do expect with pro-communist, anti war (unless the US f'ing A tell them to!), leftist Labour government!

Unfortunately, as this shower of cowards and swindlers now employ most of the population (the civil serpents) the turkeys who voted them in, wont have the balls to vote them out.

Are you saying that they should be paying ransoms or killing hostages?

 

[TheCrimsonVicar]

you don't have any instinctive empathy full stop.
I feel sorry for you - W

Just a thought, in view of recent events there, isn't a comment like that more suitable for The Lounge?
That's by the by. I think HMG inaction over the Chandlers is disgraceful. They're British citizens and are entitled to our protection anywhere in the world.
That numpty Gordon Brown is probably delaying a rescue operation until the eve of the Election for his own self glorifying, self important, self serving reasons. Baroness Thatcher would have sent in the gunboats long ago, bless her.
I send my best wishes to the Chandlers.

 

[puddock]

I don't have any instinctive empathy for these two middle aged gap year ocean joy riders who wilfully ignored local advice and navigated into trouble. However their firsthand account of the performance of the Royal Navy (or lack of) would be a fascinating read, gotta be worth 1/2 million quid to spring em from the clink for the story alone.

I'm pretty thick skinned but that comment was pretty low by anyones standards.

 

[webcraft]

the term "individual responsibility" is an anathema to your generation.

Eh? How old are you Jonjo?

- W

 

[reginaldon]

I expect I would be in a position to say to Jonjoe "you're only a kid!' as my dad said to an 89 year old, however I feel compassion for the couple. I must say, however, that it is not a
decision I would have made, had I been in their shoes, knowing the incredible inaction of the World's navies, especially the RN. Gov'ts & the judiciary of late, however, have only taken action AGAINST those who take a stand against injustice

Stop the World I want to get off!

 

[jonjo]

Eh? How old are you Jonjo?

Probably 12 years younger than you.

Think episode of Absolutely Fabulous if you are struggling with the role reversal here

 

[jonjo]

however I feel compassion for the couple.

So do I, their daily situation must be miserable. But I cannot empathise with the Chandlers or the prevailing YBW.com opinion that they must be returned at any cost. IMO the Chandlers irresponsibly sailed into trouble.

I do want the Chandlers returned but for different more ruthless real-politic reasoning. The Chandlers first hand account of the bungled RN intervention will provide a very useful litmus test that will help us decide as a nation whether the Royal Navy is worth preserving.

6 months from now it is likely that Prime Minister Cameron will projectile vomit across the cabinet Room conference table as he is told the true awfulness of of Britain's parlous financial situation.

Putting aside daft pre election promisses to protect public spending on Health, Education, Law & Order, old people, young people, the credit crunched unemployed people and small business i.e. 80% of total, the Government will have to slash 50 to 100 billion off public spending.

This means 10 billion off the health service and 5 billion off defence. Where should the defence axe fall? On present evidence most of it on the RN and that means keeping the subs, cancelling the carriers and whittling down the surface fleet to 6 destroyers, 6 frigates and 6 mine sweepers.

 

[30boat]

At this stage a ransom cannot be paid without weakening Britain's position but if it is made very clear that from now on pirates will be shot on sight and that is actually done I would think that the kidnappers might be pressured into releasing the Chandlers by the rest of the pirate community.They don't want that kind of heat on them for sure.

 

[Marsupial]

So do I, their daily situation must be miserable. But I cannot empathise with the Chandlers or the prevailing YBW.com opinion that they must be returned at any cost. IMO the Chandlers irresponsibly sailed into trouble.

I do want the Chandlers returned but for different more ruthless real-politic reasoning. The Chandlers first hand account of the bungled RN intervention will provide a very useful litmus test that will help us decide as a nation whether the Royal Navy is worth preserving.

6 months from now it is likely that Prime Minister Cameron will projectile vomit across the cabinet Room conference table as he is told the true awfulness of of Britain's parlous financial situation.

Putting aside daft pre election promisses to protect public spending on Health, Education, Law & Order, old people, young people, the credit crunched unemployed people and small business i.e. 80% of total, the Government will have to slash 50 to 100 billion off public spending.

This means 10 billion off the health service and 5 billion off defence. Where should the defence axe fall? On present evidence most of it on the RN and that means keeping the subs, cancelling the carriers and whittling down the surface fleet to 6 destroyers, 6 frigates and 6 mine sweepers.

Well I think the banks are an obvious place to start to look for money, after all they all seem to be doing very well thank you since the WE bailed them out so perhaps the taxpayer should sieze ALL their profits for next X years until WE think WE've had enough!

I still think WE should have let them go to the wall, its hard to see how much worse it could be.

As for the Chandlers there but for the grace of god go we, whatever the outcome we must lobby to get a commitment out of the politicians in return for a vote.

 

[Major Catastrophe]

Jonjo4. Yes, we know about the shortcomings of the RN/RFA (in)action, but we have a cultural tradition of taking part in expeditions, whether for pleasure or for endurance. In the old days, people disappeared without trace, but now we we expect some support from our government, and indeed from other governments, and as the RAF will fly a Sea King into the Atlantic to save the life of some foolhardy French yachtsman, the Australians to despatch a ship to pick up Bullimore, the Chandlers thought they were safe, but for whatever reason - we don't know, for example, that they may have been given duff information in the Seychelles - that resulted in them making set sail.

I believe that paying the ransom would be wrong for a country that has always resisted paying them, and I am sure that there is a lot of background stuff going on to try and locate them, just as has been going on in Iraq to find, without success, the engineers and their guards (There is still one unaccounted for). Are they just as foolish to opt to work in Iraq? Should they have been condemned and abandoned as well?

 

[jonic]

I don't have any instinctive empathy for these two middle aged gap year ocean joy riders who wilfully ignored local advice and navigated into trouble. However their firsthand account of the performance of the Royal Navy (or lack of) would be a fascinating read, gotta be worth 1/2 million quid to spring em from the clink for the story alone.

I really don't know what to write in response to this........so out of interest how much long distance long term cruising have you done jonjo?

 

[webcraft]

I really don't know what to write in response to this........so out of interest how much long distance long term cruising have you done jonjo?

Don't be silly, he sails a Bavaria

- W

 

[longjohnsilver]

I don't have any instinctive empathy for these two middle aged gap year ocean joy riders who wilfully ignored local advice and navigated into trouble. However their firsthand account of the performance of the Royal Navy (or lack of) would be a fascinating read, gotta be worth 1/2 million quid to spring em from the clink for the story alone.

Joy riders gives the impression you think they stole their boat. Presumably using the phrase "gap year" is meant as a form of insult?

Hardly appropraite in the circumstances, don't you think?

 

[jonic]

Don't be silly, he sails a Bavaria

- W

Did you find that on his profile page? All I could find was this : "Jonjo4 hasn't made any friends yet".

I have a lot of empathy for the Chandlers, having sailed many miles to many foreign ports. If you follow their blog you can see they took a very safe and conservative route (in the circumstances) through the Gulf of Aden. At 60 miles off the Seychelles having already run through Pirate Alley they would have felt reasonably safe.

At that time, the cruising community was of the opinion that the chance of harm to a small private sail boat was low. There were a few articles in the yachting press to that effect. I was particularly interested because at that time I was planning on going to the Pacific then coming home via the Red Sea . I spoke to a lot of people and did a lot of research, yes there was a risk but for small private yachts who took precautions it was considered low.

The consensus was the Pirates were only interested in high value cargo ships, not small yachts. It was also considered to become an improving situation as so many Warships were now operating in the area.

The Chandlers were very unfortunate not stupid. It's the thugs with the AK47's and RPG's pointed at Mrs Chandlers head who deserve any insulting posts on here.

I, as a sailor who is naturally concerned for all those in peril on the sea, wish them a speedy, happy ending to the absolute unthinkable nightmare they are in.

 

[tcm]

absolutely right jonic - i distinctly remember stuff about pirate risk being at a low point.

Nonetheless, our intrepid Webcraft does love to stir things up, and is always good for starting an e-barfight, doncha think? Although his generally fair nature means that he doesn't really go in hard enough, imho.

Obviously, if I'd started this, well, hah jonjo4 wassisname braindead fickwut would be on the ropes early and hard, usual stuff, good repeated kicking on the original thread and then follow him around the forums for a week or so, picking him up on his lack of boaty knowledge, low IQ, loose grip on geography and current affairs, very poor grasp of English, all that, and generally blowing him to smithereeens whilst all the time cultivating background forum support until he either lost it in a blaze of foul language and/or admitted complete and utter defeat, and then publicly agreed to mend his ways - or cleared off. Which is just what the RN should be doing to the real bad guys, and of course in similar style.

 

[jonic]

absolutely right jonic - i distinctly remember stuff about pirate risk being at a low point.

Nonetheless, our intrepid Webcraft does love to stir things up, and is always good for starting an e-barfight, doncha think? Although his generally fair nature means that he doesn't really go in hard enough, imho.

Obviously, if I'd started this, well, hah jonjo4 wassisname braindead fickwut would be on the ropes early and hard, usual stuff, good repeated kicking on the original thread and then follow him around the forums for a week or so, picking him up on his lack of boaty knowledge, low IQ, loose grip on geography and current affairs, very poor grasp of English, all that, and generally blowing him to smithereeens whilst all the time cultivating background forum support until he either lost it in a blaze of foul language and/or admitted complete and utter defeat, and then publicly agreed to mend his ways - or cleared off. Which is just what the RN should be doing to the real bad guys, and of course in similar style.

Vintage TCM post.

 

[Major Catastrophe]

absolutely right jonic - i distinctly remember stuff about pirate risk being at a low point.

Nonetheless, our intrepid Webcraft does love to stir things up, and is always good for starting an e-barfight, doncha think? Although his generally fair nature means that he doesn't really go in hard enough, imho.

Obviously, if I'd started this, well, hah jonjo4 wassisname braindead fickwut would be on the ropes early and hard, usual stuff, good repeated kicking on the original thread and then follow him around the forums for a week or so, picking him up on his lack of boaty knowledge, low IQ, loose grip on geography and current affairs, very poor grasp of English, all that, and generally blowing him to smithereeens whilst all the time cultivating background forum support until he either lost it in a blaze of foul language and/or admitted complete and utter defeat, and then publicly agreed to mend his ways - or cleared off. Which is just what the RN should be doing to the real bad guys, and of course in similar style.

Oh, I see you've met Webby?

 

[Twister_Ken]

"A second gang member, who claimed he was the pirates' negotiator, said: 'The woman was unfortunately beaten. She was injured but we have arranged for her to get medical treatment.'"

He's hardly going to say that the Chandlers are healthy, well and enjoying life in Somalia, is he? FFS, he's trying to put pressure on HMG.

 

[jonjo]

Don't be silly, he sails a Bavaria

I am confident I have done more singlehanded offshore sailing in the past 3 years than you WebCraft.

 

[jonjo]

so out of interest how much long distance long term cruising have you done jonjo?

I did 6 months of nautical hitchhiking in my 20's, left the Canaries 1 week after the first ARC, Martinique, got chucked out of Antigua for political reasons (was on a South African boat pre President Mandela), St Maarten.