C James

Sorry to have to do this, but I'm still behind. Also, some of the coming chapters (in beta and editing already) are far larger than normal, and are close to two chapter's worth. There won't be a posting today. Chapter 72 of Circumnavigation will post in one week. It's called "Surprises".

Interesting points! One I can address is the pictures and Florida registration number. I based the Atlantis page on many for sale and charter listing pages. One thing I noticed early on; those pages have pictures of the boat at different times, showing differing fittings in some cases. Also, it's not uncommon for them to throw in pics of a different boat of the same model. So, that's what I did here. That's actually an excuse, because my real motive was gathering an adequate supply of pics for illustration purposes, and this made it easier. I then proceeded to photoshop where needed, changing rigging details, names, etc. The wind turbines are one example; not all the pics have them. The pole-mounted radar is another; as currently equipped, Atlantis has a mast-mount, not a pole mount. (I should really fix that one...). However, the photo may have been taken years before, when she may have had one. I did consider registration issues. For the Sea Witch, Bridget has removable adhesive decals to change the name and reg number. (that's actually illegal, but Bridget might not be adverse to a minor infraction of the law). Here's an interesting thing I found when I was building the Atlantis page... the hull registration placement guidelines in Florida are for the reg number to be on each side of the hull (or the outer side of each hull for a cat). The validation decal goes next to it on the port side. The requirement appears to be for three inch tall lettering, but... I did a web search for Florida yachts (image search) and could not find a single one (other than small one) where the lettering was visible. I tried Florida boats for the search, and found exactly one (bigger than 20 ft) where the reg was actually discernible as being there, so, I assumed that a great many boats don't go the full regulation size and color scheme (the one I saw looks like 2 inch letters, if that) and went with it. Also, we're dealing with a boat nearly 60 feet long. Would the lettering even be visible in these low-res pictures? But, Atlantis absolutely does have a Florida registration, even though she's foreign-built. The transom-mounted hull number is also required in Florida, though it can be smaller. That will actually be shown fairly soon. I can't say much of anything regarding what Gonzalez thinks, or what happened to Ares. However, I can point out that, while the narrator has to be accurate and truthful, characters (like any people) can be untruthful, or mistaken, or not tell what they actually think. But you are raising excellent points. CJ BTW... could this be the flag you saw? that's a Bahamian flag pennant, as one would fly as a courtesy flag in Bahamian waters. (It is common practice to fly the flag (often in the form of a pennant) of the country you're in, regardless of your registration country). We saw this early on, when Trevor was having to deal with courtesy flags, quarantine flags, etc. :-)

I love this post!!! :2thumbs: :2thumbs: Okay, I can weigh in with a few little info bits, like some detail from prior chapters, and some general data on the Lagoon 55 and 57, but I can't say anything about most of the points raised without giving spoilers. Anyone else can, but I can't. (For most of it, not even my teams knows the answers) Great point! The case against Dirk for Rachel's murder is weak on its own; no body, that radio call, etc. However, they do have those oddly-timed divorce papers and stuff like the insurance issues mentioned in 71. I have to limit my comments to what's been in the story (such as Dirk's attempted changes to the insurance right before, mentioned in 71) so I'll shut up now. One detail I'd like to mention is Bridget mentioned, quite a few chapters ago, finding a few bits of debris. She was the first on the scene. She concealed them. But there were only a few bits, and it appears that she is the only one to find anything at all. Ares had flotation tanks (Watertight voids in the hull)like Atlantis, but it was mentioned early on that Trevor had filled Atlantis's with foam. Ares thus may have had empty voids for flotation cells (fairly standard). If so, a moderate bomb could have cracked open enough cells to sink her. So too could getting run down by a big ship (Which, BTW, has sunk a lot of yachts). On the flip side of that fact is another; it would need to be hit (or bombed) just right to avoid a major debris field. And even then, there's a lot that would remain on the surface. The main reason cats like Atlantis are so hard to sink is they don't have ballast; a monohull boat with a keel would be carting around one or more tons of iron of lead ballast in the keel. On Atlantis, the only big heavy weights are the engines, and even though bigger than normal, they weigh a heck of a lot less than a monohull's ballast. The Lagoon 57 was the following model to the 55, but the key difference was the slight change in length resulting from a change in shape of the bows (the shape change had some advantages in sea-handling and drag characteristics). There were other changes to the fittings, etc, but the only way to tell the difference directly is how Trevor did it. How many 57's were built? I'd like to be able to answer that, but I can't... I don't know and haven't been able to find out. From the look of what I've found, and the length of the production run, there are more 57's than 55's by about double. If I'm off on that, it's probably on the low side. The next model change was to the Lagoon 570. What changed there was some interior changes (bigger doorways, etc, which weakens the hull a bit) and the vertical instead of sloping salon windows. CJ

I'm also prone to giving somewhat definitive answers, though they might be a tad hard to quantify. For example, I recall someone asking me (I can't recall who) when we were working on chapter 48 (when Trevor had his little pirate problem) whether he was dead. I replied that I could say definitively that he was absolutely in one of two conditions; dead, or alive. And further, if he was dead, he would likely remain in that condition, though the same continuity may or may not apply if he is alive.

No one knows the answer to most of the thoughts raised here. Well, rumor has it that I do, but no one else does. This of course means that I can't comment on many of the points raised. I love them, but I dare not say anything. That's the way I see it too. Thanks for noticing on the launch dates. :great:I was careful to get those right. Same with the position Rachel was at off Kennedy Space Center; that was as close as you could get, but those ranges no longer apply; after 9-11, they were increased significantly. I had one hell of a hard time finding what the actual rules were in 1997. Who? Sweet, innocent me? ACK!! But but but... I never use cliffhangers!

Much is about to change regarding Trevor being an unwitting victim. And when he finds it all out, so do we. :-) BTW, a note to everyone: don't forget to stop by the forum (linked at the end of every chapter) because story information is sometimes discussed there.

Cliffhangers? But I never use cliffhangers!

Oh, that's one reason... another might be that my eyes can be a touch on the red side... I prefer to stay off the menu... as an ingredient, at least. That looks like Henry Clay III, the Mayor of Lajes, Texas! He's famous for his beer drinking, and is the third goat to hold that office. Henry does have a meeting with Joel and Lisa schedules for Friday. :-) Yep, poor Trevor... he's around Shane 24/7, and he very much has it bad, compounded by his tendency to walk into thing/fall over things when distracted by a hot guy, and he finds Shane so veeeery distracting. Shark Bay sounds like the perfect place for parasailing! Seeing all the sharks from above... that would be the perfect way to do it. Well, it could get kinda exciting if the towline breaks, I suppose... but that's almost impossible, unless they're worn out or something. Hrmmm, Trevor still hates canned hot dogs (I sure can't blame him, ever being stuck eating nothing but for weeks on end !) for those that haven't had canned hot dogs, they aren't quite like the packaged ones. They are much closer to canned Vienna sausages, and eating those cold for a couple of months... ugh!

I also need to report a change to the prior chapter: I bungled Officer Fowler's name. His name is Greg Fowler, not Jim Fowler, and I had the latter in the chapter until a few minutes ago when it dawned on me that I'd goofed.. Ooops.

Chapter 71, Cabra Borracha, is up! I won't say what the title means. But, you'll see it explained in the chapter.

:blink: :blink: How could a demon possibly look like sweet, innocent, angelic me? :blink:

Thanks Jan!!!! That sounds great!

Chapter 71: Cabra Borracha It was a gritty little restaurant, set in a dusty, neglected parking lot just outside of Ft. Pierce. Henry Wesson had found it only with the help of his GPS, which was not high on the list of things a professional investigator liked to admit. He looked up at the sign, which was faded and peeling. ‘Cabra Borracha’, it proclaimed, in all its faded glory, lit by the waning sunset. Henry heard mariachi music from inside, and glanced around the parking lot, noting th

Yep, being blond near Trevor at the moment puts one at hazard of becoming a few inches shorter. Cliffhanger?!!?? But I never use cliffhangers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been hiding a great many clues over the past few chapters. Clues to many things... Who? Me? LoL. Texas? If you mean me, I'm in Arizona. Thanks! Martin is mentioned as living near Geraldton; he drove up to meet the guys, and I'd sure hate to try that from Northam, which is inland from Perth (and a couple of days drive each way from Shark Bay). I wonder if the title of the coming chapter might relate to it? I hope not... The title of chapter 71 is Cabra Borracho For those who don't know what it means, no worries: it's explained in the chapter.

The stories that go out under my name are a team effort. Working on other people's stories is all too often a hard and thankless task. The author gets the credit, but what of the team? I'm a big fan of Team Appreciation Month, but I think there should be twelve of them in a year. The only fair way to do this is alphabetically; Bondwriter, Emoe, Graeme, MikeL, Red A, Talonrider. Thanks you, for working with me to bring these stories to life. They are very much our stories, not merely mine alone. You guys are the best. Thank you also, to Myr and everyone who works so hard at GA to create this place and keep it running.

Kookaburra, like Atlantis, has a built-in refrigerator-freezer in the galley, basically two doors... hard to describe, so I'll add a picture: The upper one would be the refrigerator, and you're right, with it backed with groceries, it would be hard to spot something in the back. Yep, Trevor is in a great place with great company. And, those other issues, which I call minor inconveniences (Bridget, Sanchez, bombs, pirates, etc) are just the little foibles that make life interesting. Trevor and Shane, as it was mentioned during the fight and when pulling off the bait-and-switch with the press, look a little alike. Or they did, until Shane dyed Trevor's hair. They aren't that close in appearance (like twins would be) just a similar height, tan, build, and hair color. Trevor needling Shane for not wearing a shirt was a favorite scene for me... and it ties in with a similar one; when Ned made a snide remark about Shane's shirt-avoidance, and then had to quickly backpedal when realized he'd put his foot in it: he'd never seen Trevor, his employer in this case, wear one. Trevor, though, has that little affliction of his; guys he finds very hot tend to make him walk into bulkheads or otherwise get rattled. Even Julie used to tease him about that, way back at the start of the novel. I think being around Shane put's Trevor's life at risk, from repeated collisions with trees and other objects. And yep, it would take Joel about 30 seconds to forget and scream "Sexual Harassment!", especially with beer involved. So, Trevor has to come out pretty quick or Shane would find out anyway. Thanks! Trevor is trying hard to avoid his troubles. A pie floater?!?!?! You mean they want to kill Trevor!!?!?!? A hot dog casserole? That would turn things about: Trevor would want to kill them. A very interesting and thought-provoking post! You're right, the clock does stop, on every offense, when someone is a fugitive from justice from any offense, per 18 U.S.C. § 3290 “No statute of limitations shall extend to any person fleeing from justice.” That’s a Federal statue, and courts have held that it applies to all cases, not just Federal ones. (and in this case, some of the charges are Federal anyway). I dare not say much at this point... but... ummm... I really can't think of a way to approach this without giving a spoiler. I do think it needs clarifying though, so I added a paragraph of narration to chapter 71. The actual action related to this issue was already in there, but the narrative explanation for the reason wasn't. Thank you for raising this issue; I think it's one that needed to be addressed, and it prompted me to clarify it.

Chapter 70, Meetings and Concerns, is up. Fear not, it is entirely pie floater free!!! BTW, I know many of you were expecting to wait until next week for a chapter. However, thanks to my wonderful team and their tireless work, we have a chapter today.

Chapter 70: Meetings and Concerns Kookaburra, sailing at eleven knots, churned through the blue, sparkling waters of Hamelin Pool. The first hour had required careful handling, in order to navigate the narrow, winding channels through the shoals of Faure Sill. But now they were through and in the deeper waters, as Kookaburra made good use of the breeze. Trevor stayed at the helm, Shane by his side, enjoying the warm morning air as they chatted about Shark Bay, Western Australia in genera

Thanks! This one and a few others are a break from the prior pace, and... hrmmm, I'm not sure I can say much else without giving a spoiler, but I often uses chapters like this for background and setup (plus character development). We're getting very close to the statute of limitations expiry; It's the end of November in the chapter being posted today, and the statures finish expiring on Dec 16th. The pace of time (days per chapter) accelerates soon, so yep, we'll be finding out soon. Thanks! That's a very interesting point! Yes, I do write, to a degree, a novel more than a serial. Serials are more episodic, like a TV show, where you have a situation and resolution in one or two episodes, though there may be overarching plot arcs in some cases. Reading addiction? Good, because I have a writing addiction. On the other hand, writing, proofreading, polishing, and then all the work my team does, then formatting and posting, is quite a lot of work. My motive (the only reward I get for doing this) is this forum and other feedback, so if everyone waited until the end, they'd be waiting forever because my motive for posting would be gone. I'd still write, of course.. that's an addiction. Sharing my stories, on the other hand, is a choice. Without ongoing reader interaction (such as we have here in the forum, e-mail, PM) I'd have no motive to post my work on the 'net. Welcome to my sig! You're right; Kookaburra, if she's not fast enough to do the sonar towing, would be no use at all, so why take her to Florida, even if they could? And you're absolutely right; it can't be a cliffhanger. It would be a heck of a voyage. From Carnarvon, the fastest way to Florida is to keep going, becuase it's past the halfway point in a Circumnavigation. Also, if he did go west instead, the best route would be via Suez (and Somalia) again. So, he'd have to go east. Going around Australia's top end would be hard; it would mean going against the prevailing winds. So, he has to go south. That means the fastest way home would be south of Australia, pst Tasmania, then the roaring 40's across the pacific to Cape Horn, then hang a left and up the Atlantic. Going via Panama is shorter, but the central pacific winds are less reliable and more likely to be adverse. So if speed is the goal, it'd be a roaring 40's (or lower) transpacific run to Cape Horn. From Carnarvon, the fastest way to Florida is to keep on heading east. Trevor wasn't thinking of sailing west; any mention of the Horn of Africa was related to a return route from Florida. Great point on Kline being found by Ned. Ned might not take kindly to trespassers. Ahhem! It can't be a cliffhanger. From the look of things now, Trevor would be a lot better off if he stayed out of Carnarvon. Thanks! ************************** BTW, a chapter (Meetings and Concerns) will be posted in a few hours.

Thanks!! Red A explains one possible reason well just below, though there might be other, or additional, reasons. For whatever reasons, he's compelled to wait. It's just a couple of more weeks. (The last statutes expire Dec 16th, and it's already the end of November in the current chapter.) Well said. I can't confirm or deny if that's it, but that's certainly a likely aspect. Thanks!! I do indeed try to add a bit of suspense, combined with unexpected twists. I also leave clues to coming events (I like forshadowing). Beware trying to serve a pie floater to anyone.. that would be a clear violation of several biological warfare treaties and the Geneva conventions. If Trevor does find a way to borrow Kookaburra, he'd be setting himself up for a high-speed race to Florida and back, and high-speed runs can be highly dangerous. But, right now, he doesn't know for sure when he has to be back for the search for Ares, so he's willing to let Shane's idea of using Kookaburra pass, for now. Yes... and we don't yet know who in Australia Sanchez called... Coincidence? Perhaps... Thank you! Calm before the storm? Just because Trevor and Shane have started toying with the idea of an insane dash to the literal ends of the earth? Or Sanchez wanting Trevor's literal head, or the press closing it? Yep, Shane is filling the hole in Trevor's life that Joel left, and he's very similar to Joel in personality (and to a degree, in appearance). The "blight" was Trevor's crack about the pie floater being the Great Australian Blight. Poor Trevor is not much use in the galley... but like Joel, Shane can cook. Shane is, unquestionably, very fond of Shane. Good point on the engines. Ares and Atlantis had very powerful engines compared to normal for that type of boat. ROFL! Yep, Shane would give Trevor canned hot dogs at his peril. I've eaten canned hot dogs, and they're not too good at the best of times. After living on the things for nearly two months, if will be a long time, if ever, until Trevor can even look at a can again. In fairness to Graeme (Even though I'd love to blame him for inflicting such a horrific things into the story), I didn't get the pie floater info from him. It's just something I'd heard of long ago, and remembered a few months back. It's a meta pie floating in thick green pea soup. Here's the Wikipedia entry.. Now, just imagine that made with a mutton pie... <shudder!>:wacko: Thank you!!!!!!!!! :worship: And welcome to my sig file! :2thumbs:

But but but.. I never use cliffhangers! CJ

I've been focusing on Trevor's adaption to his arrival in Australia, so for a few chapters it's been a daily account of his activities (he's been in Australia less than a week). That's not the normal pace, but there's a reason for it in this case (I can't say what, but there are many clues in the chapters) We'll see more of goings on in Florida starting in chapter 71.

Poor Trevor; he's always had that problem... even Julie figured him out by that: walking into bulkheads when they had a hot surfer aboard as part of a charter.

Chapter 69, the Great Australian Blight, is up. And nope, the last word of the title is not a typo.

Thank you, and welcome to the forum! I have 2 questions: What is your time zone? What is the name of the new chapter? Thank you BTW DID ANYONE NOTICE HOW QUIET THE FOREM IS THIS WEEK? I'm on Mountain Standard Time; I'm in Arizona, and we don't have daylight saving time, so at this time of year that puts me in the same timezone as the US west coast. The title to the new chapter is "The Great Australian Blight". It should be up in the next couple of hours. Update: it's up now.