Posted on 04/30/2009 1:00:54 PM PDT by george76
When pirates attacked the cruise ship MSC Melody on Saturday, the captain was making small talk at the bar. Passengers ...were the first to defend the ship and they are now criticizing the crew, who have been portrayed as heroes.
The captain was relaxed as he enjoyed a drink at the bar ...chatting ... The women asked him if the bands of marauding pirates posed a problem for the cruise. Never, the experienced seaman told them. After all, the ship was far -- 1,000 sea miles -- away from the Somali coast ... It was unimaginable, virtually impossible even, that flip-flop wearing pirates could attack them here.
But the small talk came to an abrupt end. According to eyewitnesses, two passengers came screaming into the bar and gesticulated wildly as they addressed the captain. A speed boat had appeared at the stern and several armed men were preparing to board the cruise ship... One was already trying to scale the vessel. Several passengers were desperately grabbing deck chairs and tables and hurling them down at the men trying to board the ship.
That's when the first shots were fired. It was also the point at which the captain understood what was happening -- his ship was being attacked by pirates.
The fact that the cruise ship's crew were armed apparently surprised the pirates...
Without hesitation, passengers began to grab whatever they could find around them. "We immediately began throwing tables and deck chairs at the rope," said Tayler. One hit a pirate scaling it. He fell off ...
they are certain that the fact that chairs and tables were thrown at the pirates saved the ship.
more than a few passengers are irritated by the captain's posturing, and they in no way view him as a hero.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
hoax
Really? :-)
I don’t have a problem that the captain was entertaining the guests, that is part of his job. I also think it is reasonable that once the attackers were trying to board that the passengers who have no duties would have noticed them first.
I do however wonder how its possible this pirate boat got this close without anyone noticing its approach. Radar? passengers watching the horizon? I don’t get it.
LOL! The 4 and 5 knott thing inside 12 miles is funny.
Ahhhh the good times to be had with those little green army men... We used blackcats as well as the “hairspray” blowtorches..LOL Also when we could a little gasoline “Napalm”...ok so I was a little firebug...But I never burned anything down!! LOL
Ahhhh the good times to be had with those little green army men... We used blackcats as well as the “hairspray” blowtorches..LOL Also when we could a little gasoline “Napalm”...ok so I was a little firebug...But I never burned anything down!! LOL
LOL, brilliant! The testimonials read spot-on, fantastic!
Oh, I see an opportunity for a retired Navy Seal who wants to conduct a series of passenger trio teams in simultaneous headshot classes. (Passenger lore has it that anyone who muffs his or her shot has to down a shot of tequila before being allowed to finish off the kill.)
I’m adapting tactics in a changing world.
A load of 12 guage would certainly discourage them
"You use that word a lot...I do not think it means what you think it means. "
Exactly.
Don’t know if you made this up (wrote it) or found it somewhere, but it is so hilarious I am emailing it to everyone I know!!!!
No, I didn’t write it, I received it in an email. I sent it to everyone in my address book too. :-)
Isn’t this the cruise ship that had the Israeli security on board?
Many cruise ships offer trap shooting off the fantail. Even a dose of #8 shot to the face would make a pirate think twice.
heheh. Yes, but once aboard, those single armed ones are much, much more dangerous than the married ones.
ROFLOL!
That would be a dream cruise, if it were real.
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