Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Voyage of the Darned
WTF? moment, when Capt. Francesco Schettino of the Costa Concordia suggested that the rocks his ship hit weren't on the charts. You mean, I thought, that the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Carthaginians, the Italians, all, over the past 3,000 years of sailing those waters, failed to notice them? Not that Capt. Schettino was gaining many defenders after it was revealed he abandoned ship ahead of his passengers.
Contemporary cruise ships are so self-contained, so luxurious, that it must have come as an unbelievable shock to passengers when Costa Concordia suddenly listed to starboard & all the food, drinks, & roulette chips slipped off the tables, & the disco floor became undanceable. Reminded them they were on a ship on an ocean, 90 minutes passed before abandon ship orders were issued, & by then many of the lifeboats were useless, & the ship crews didn't know how to lower them anyway,
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Contemporary cruise ships are so self-contained, so luxurious, that it must have come as an unbelievable shock to passengers when Costa Concordia suddenly listed to starboard & all the food, drinks, & roulette chips slipped off the tables, & the disco floor became undanceable. Reminded them they were on a ship on an ocean, 90 minutes passed before abandon ship orders were issued, & by then many of the lifeboats were useless, & the ship crews didn't know how to lower them anyway,
