Circumnavigation (99+40) Sweet Sorrow

[JimCarter]

Well luckily, the goat is safe which means no worries about Circumnavigation coming to an abrupt halt.

 

I tend to believe that this is in fact CJ. Afterall, he was quite comfortable up on a cliff for 5 days and soon as someone got close to him, he bolted off.

 

You can read all about it and watch CJ make a huge leap here.

 

 

No way that was Cj he didn't even try to bite the guy on the ass. CJ would have gotten a little taste.

Edited October 17, 2012 by JimCarter

[C James]

................... I see a 'sticky wicket' moment as the Brits are fond of saying. Will Trevor realize they are being followed? will he order a turn from the boats and the assassin follow his boat instead of the Kookaburra. That 30-06 can do some major damage to a boat, clearly this is a certified cliffhanger as the Kookaburra is in danger of being imploded. The careful eye, the reporter has shot photos of both boats and will reveal the the switch. Grey has fucked up the mission, will Bridget be pleased with him? Her main target is now away, and I would guess Fowler knows something could be on the boat. Realizing the new danger, Fowler will tell the boys to leave the area and provide an escort. I now muse the idea of traversing the panama canal, or would Trevor decide to take the southern route around south America? Then again could a helicopter light the Aries/Atlantis aboard a US naval ship?

 

Benji!!!

This is not a cliffhanger!! There is absolutely zero danger of either boat being imploded! I can prove it; implosion use of explosives to collapse something in upon itself, such as the core of plutonium-fuel bomb, or a building being demolished, etc. The bombs we know have been planted would do no such things; they would explode the boats, not implode them. See? Nothing to worry about; there's no risk of an implosion.

 

Another great chapter though now I will have to go to research the depths of the ocean floor off of Australia's coast to get a handle on just when the explosives might be set off. I can't wait for the goat to let another week pass being so close to a cliff.

 

Speaking of cliffs - Just wondering if anyone has seen CJ lately? There was on Yahoo, a link to a video of a goat that has been stuck on a cliffside ledge for 5 days...apparently when rescuers approached he pulled a baffling move. Unfortunately Yahoo servers were having a problem so couldn't show the video. I wonder what that goat did?

 

:-)

 

Here's a bathymetric map of the area.

I'm safe and sound in the high mountains of Arizona. And of course, nowhere near a cliff.

Well luckily, the goat is safe which means no worries about Circumnavigation coming to an abrupt halt.

 

I tend to believe that this is in fact CJ. Afterall, he was quite comfortable up on a cliff for 5 days and soon as someone got close to him, he bolted off.

 

You can read all about it and watch CJ make a huge leap here.

 

Now you know I'd never go anywhere near a cliff.

Great fun reading this as the story's end (Hopefully not the end of Trevor or Shane, etc.) rapidly approaches.

 

Love when someone in an earlier review called the things I don't see any more HINTS. lol

 

Maybe there are some cliffs under the water....

 

I think "hints" is an excellent term! It's just subtle foreshadowing of possible future happenings.

 

In the current chapter, the story could have ended with a bang. But it didn't - thanks to Bridget.

 

And no worries, no underwater cliffs. Remember, they are in the southern hemisphere, so everything is upside down.

 

Looks like we need to get the barbecue pit ready and lube up the spit to make sure all the good guys live. Love the great story CJ.!!!!!

 

ACK!! Goat roasting? Yipes...

_{wot can I say Another Great Chapter,A Lot Of Things Explained And A Lot Of Things Not. Its Going To Be A Long Week}

 

But it was a nice, relaxing ending; the two boats sailing off together...

 

I can't believe how close we are to the end! I realised today its been around a year since I've been looking forward to each tuesday/wednesday to read another chapter , imagine every chapter from here will be an absolute cliff free rollercoaster ride im sure! (a small small part of me still wants bridget to live, I just can't see how unless the other heads turn on her she'd end up being killed.)

 

Bridget is indeed resourceful.

 

And absolutely, this entire novel will be entirely cliffhanger-free!

No way that was Cj he didn't even try to bite the guy on the ass. CJ would have gotten a little taste.

 

Who? Me?

[Nick Deverill]

Follow on the epoxy though, the great enemy of any gluing process is grease as you don't get a good bond to the surface. While I've never applied it to a boat, I'd be fairly certain that glass fibre release agent would also greatly impede the bond as well as any anti-fouling treatment applied. Bet the instructions with the glue say to both clean and abrade the surface.

 

Certainly in my world, I can do a lot with glue, but my mantra is thoroughly degrease, and then, do it again.

[RickMD]

Another great chapter, Thanks CJ!

 

We like the idea that the plastique may reside on the Atlantis. We can imagine Gray with his night vision binoculars sitting on the hotel balcony radioing misinformation to his mystery accomplice,,, set up by the change in the catamarans silhouette? We can't wait for Trevor to use the 30-06, ripping through the large powerboats engine block.

 

Fowler forshadows 'an interesting trip', do ya think?? We can't figure out yet how Bluey and Bonzer are gonna help. Fowler suggests a decoy... They left under the cloak of darkness, though we believe somehow our goat will use them, maybe set them as targets in the turmoil to come!!

 

We are holding our breath for the next chapter...

[Benji]

.......... Nick brought up a good point about epoxy, and I wonder if our nervous diver did a through job? Or did he do a half-ass on just to get the hell out of there, and what if the entire bomb becomes loose and falls away;

 

“A big one. Being in croc-infested waters at night is bloody bonkers. I was expecting to be attacked every fucking second.”

 

I had to get creative due to only having access underwater this time. We molded the explosive into two long narrow blisters atop a sheet of waterproof flexboard, which had some netting loosely stapled to it. The explosive we used is much like modeling clay so it was easy to form, and it’ll hold its shape. The netting in it makes sure it stays put. The diver stuck the flexboard side on with epoxy, right up from each keel. Twenty-five kilos of high explosive for each hull.

 

I wonder if with the poorly placed bomb and the speed of the cat, if it all could come loose, wouldn't it be a riot if it was able to float and was beside the powerboat when the guy pulls the trigger, and the last thing he sees is it starboard side his boat?

Edited October 18, 2012 by Benji

[Ricky_writer]

The 30 '06 Mauser rifle overall is a good choice simply because of its long lived popularity and the extremely wide range of cartridges available.

 

I was surprised though at your choice as I would have expected a British .303 rifle using the mauser action since we are talking Australia here.

 

As a side note the BEST sniper rifles are still made in Great Britain in the .303 calibre. Next in line is the U.S. made sniper rifles in Winchester .308 (or, if you will .308 NATO). Both the British and the U.S. also make .50 calibre sniper rifles which are very accurate out to 3000 meters. The British came out with a titanium barrel .50 calibre that is lighter (11 pounds lighter), but kicks a great deal.

 

Let’s see… Oh yeah, ammunition. Too much hype has been given to the Teflon coated bullet. The original armor piercing bullet, whose performance has never been surpassed, is the bronze bullet. It is made from mixing (by weight) 10 parts copper with 1 part tin. It’s what is called canon grade bronze.

Thank you for continuing Circumnavigation.

[MikeL]

Both the British and the U.S. also make .50 calibre sniper rifles which are very accurate out to 3000 meters.

 

The Barrett M107A1 for example, made in Murfreesboro, TN.

 

 

Edited October 19, 2012 by MikeL

[C James]

Follow on the epoxy though, the great enemy of any gluing process is grease as you don't get a good bond to the surface. While I've never applied it to a boat, I'd be fairly certain that glass fibre release agent would also greatly impede the bond as well as any anti-fouling treatment applied. Bet the instructions with the glue say to both clean and abrade the surface.

 

Certainly in my world, I can do a lot with glue, but my mantra is thoroughly degrease, and then, do it again.

 

Totally agreed; when I'm using adhesives, I make sure the surface is clean. Under a boat for these purposes, I'd also prep the surface with course-grit sandpaper, totally agreed on that.

 

We don't know what the diver did, specifically, because we only have Gray's abbreviated recount to Bridget, plus a few words by the diver himself. The good news, from their point of view, is they are dealing with a lateral sheering force, so all they need to do is stop the sheer plane from slipping.

 

The diver was pressed for time and in fear; those waters are home to salty crocs. (there's a sizable population of them in Trinity Inlet). Did he take the needed care? We don't know. He'd also have a fear of Gray if he didn't, so could have gone either way.

 

Another great chapter, Thanks CJ!

 

We like the idea that the plastique may reside on the Atlantis. We can imagine Gray with his night vision binoculars sitting on the hotel balcony radioing misinformation to his mystery accomplice,,, set up by the change in the catamarans silhouette? We can't wait for Trevor to use the 30-06, ripping through the large powerboats engine block.

 

Fowler forshadows 'an interesting trip', do ya think?? We can't figure out yet how Bluey and Bonzer are gonna help. Fowler suggests a decoy... They left under the cloak of darkness, though we believe somehow our goat will use them, maybe set them as targets in the turmoil to come!!

 

We are holding our breath for the next chapter...

 

The next chapter... has a lot happening.

 

Bluey tends to just blurt stuff out. I think Fowler might have been tempted to reconsider by that "old and fat" comment.

 

.......... Nick brought up a good point about epoxy, and I wonder if our nervous diver did a through job? Or did he do a half-ass on just to get the hell out of there, and what if the entire bomb becomes loose and falls away;

 

“A big one. Being in croc-infested waters at night is bloody bonkers. I was expecting to be attacked every fucking second.”

 

I had to get creative due to only having access underwater this time. We molded the explosive into two long narrow blisters atop a sheet of waterproof flexboard, which had some netting loosely stapled to it. The explosive we used is much like modeling clay so it was easy to form, and it’ll hold its shape. The netting in it makes sure it stays put. The diver stuck the flexboard side on with epoxy, right up from each keel. Twenty-five kilos of high explosive for each hull.

 

I wonder if with the poorly placed bomb and the speed of the cat, if it all could come loose, wouldn't it be a riot if it was able to float and was beside the powerboat when the guy pulls the trigger, and the last thing he sees is it starboard side his boat?

 

If he put the epoxy on properly, it'd stay put. If it didn't it probably wouldn't. It would, though, be IMHO an incongruous stroke of good luck if the bombs just fall off.

 

The 30 '06 Mauser rifle overall is a good choice simply because of its long lived popularity and the extremely wide range of cartridges available.

 

I was surprised though at your choice as I would have expected a British .303 rifle using the mauser action since we are talking Australia here.

 

As a side note the BEST sniper rifles are still made in Great Britain in the .303 calibre. Next in line is the U.S. made sniper rifles in Winchester .308 (or, if you will .308 NATO). Both the British and the U.S. also make .50 calibre sniper rifles which are very accurate out to 3000 meters. The British came out with a titanium barrel .50 calibre that is lighter (11 pounds lighter), but kicks a great deal.

 

Let’s see… Oh yeah, ammunition. Too much hype has been given to the Teflon coated bullet. The original armor piercing bullet, whose performance has never been surpassed, is the bronze bullet. It is made from mixing (by weight) 10 parts copper with 1 part tin. It’s what is called canon grade bronze.

Thank you for continuing Circumnavigation.

 

I'll be honest, one of the reasons I picked the 30-06 is the same reason I picked all the other gun types in this and other stories; I prefer using ones I either own or at least use a lot.

 

For taking out an engine block, I prefer the 30-06, due to the greater propellant load (longer cartridge) and using the 180 grain bullet as a benchmark, you get 200FPS more velocity out of the 30-06 (2700 vs. 2500). It's a small difference though.

 

I've never fired Teflon tipped, I use the hard bronze or steel-cored in the main, though a friend of mine made some hollow-point loads for the 30-06 that I find super useful for trimming high tree branches around my house, and also for getting holly out of oaks.

 

I agree on the .50 cal, that would be ideal. If I were to ever try sailing around the world or in dangerous areas, I'd probably go with a .50 cal, plus a couple of Makarov pistols for close range needs. (I'm very partial to some of the Russian guns for durability.) That's the thing in a pirate attack; if the target boat can keep the bad guys from closing the range, it wins, so I'd much prefer to have one 30-06 or .50 cal to a boatload of AKs. Of course, I'd much prefer a Ma Deuce to either, but those are kinda hard to get.

 

*************************

 

Okay, time to announce the next chapter name: FULL CIRCLE

 

CJ

[wildone]

Okay, so I'm embarrassed to ask this..since my dad was a sniper in the infantry and knows everything about guns. He never allowed me to hold a gun or shoot one until I was 18 and willing to take a course first. Funny thing is I've never been interested guns and have limited knowledge.

 

In the story, I believe you mentioned the gun as a 30-06. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this pronounced as a thirty odd six? If so, what exactly does that mean? I do believe a .22 refers to the bullet being 22 millimeters in diameter. So does that mean the 30-06 is 36 mm in diameter? If so, why not be a .36?

 

Just curious

[MikeL]

In the story, I believe you mentioned the gun as a 30-06. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this pronounced as a thirty odd six? If so, what exactly does that mean? I do believe a .22 refers to the bullet being 22 millimeters in diameter. So does that mean the 30-06 is 36 mm in diameter? If so, why not be a .36?

 

LOL. That's thirty aught six, aught meaning zero as in 1906 (nineteen aught six), the year the Springfield 30-06 cartridge was first used by the US Army and designated as M1906. It is actually a 7.62x63 mm cartridge. There's quite a difference between a 22mm and a 63mm cartridge, oddly enough.

 

Edited October 19, 2012 by MikeL

[Ricky_writer]

Of course, if 'I' were to go the around the world cruise on a private catamaran I kinda like the weapon the U.S. coast Guard likes to use on their boats. It's a 60mm motar... :-) Although it is expensive to shoot. *giggles* The .50 cal is like $3.00 a round to practice with. ouch!

[Low Flyer]

LOL. That's thirty aught six, aught meaning zero as in 1906 (nineteen aught six), the year the Springfield 30-06 cartridge was first used by the US Army and designated as M1906. It is actually a 7.62x63 mm cartridge. There's quite a difference between a 22mm and a 63mm cartridge, oddly enough.

 

OK, so the "06" is 1906, but what does the 30 mean?

[MikeL]

OK, so the "06" is 1906, but what does the 30 mean?

 

That's the bore diameter in inches. The 30-06 cartridge is fired from a rifle with an internal barrel diameter of 0.30". Most .30 caliber rifles can fire a 30-06 cartridge.

[Low Flyer]

That's the bore diameter in inches. The 30-06 cartridge is fired from a rifle with an internal barrel diameter of 0.30". Most .30 caliber rifles can fire a 30-06 cartridge.

 

Thanks, Mike. One lives and learns.

[wildone]

Yes, thanks Mike!

 

Like I said, I know absolutely nothing about guns or their ammo. I can see the reason I'm confused too with some being metric and some being imperial as well. As far as the aught, I have heard it said in movies and such, but always thought they were saying odd. Never new there was a word 'aught' before.

 

See, CJ's forum is educational as well (if you want to build nuclear bombs, learn about guns and ammo, and other like things )

[C James]

Of course, if 'I' were to go the around the world cruise on a private catamaran I kinda like the weapon the U.S. coast Guard likes to use on their boats. It's a 60mm motar... :-) Although it is expensive to shoot. *giggles* The .50 cal is like $3.00 a round to practice with. ouch!

 

If I had unlimited funds and resources, and was heading into pirate waters, I'd outfit a boat like Atlantis with one of the 16 inch gun turrets from the Iowa class battleships. I'd have nothing to fear from pirates then - they'd never got to me on the bottom of the sea, where all that weight would take me very quickly.

 

Yes, thanks Mike!

 

Like I said, I know absolutely nothing about guns or their ammo. I can see the reason I'm confused too with some being metric and some being imperial as well. As far as the aught, I have heard it said in movies and such, but always thought they were saying odd. Never new there was a word 'aught' before.

 

See, CJ's forum is educational as well (if you want to build nuclear bombs, learn about guns and ammo, and other like things )

 

And who doesn't?

[Ricky_writer]

hahahaha... The 16 inch gun can propel a projectile of 2200 pounds 22-28 miles, and when it hits, each one creates a hole 50 feet deep and 500 feet across. BAD NEWS INDEED for the opposition!!! Those guns sank an island off Vietnam many years ago when they started shelling at dusk and stopped at sunrise. There was NOTHING left of the island.

[MikeL]

Naval guns are not known for accuracy...not that accuracy matters in their case.