BOW WAVE 380

Bow Wave Issue 380--At a Tangent edition

news and views on trade, insurance and risk

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Wavy Line	sam@wavyline.com
(c)2007 WavyLine.com	Issue No 380 05 Mar 07
Published free of charge to Readers
Editor: Sam Ignarski
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In this issue:

1. Welcome
2. The Psychology of Security
3. Olympics New Lock Takes Trucks off the Road
4. The Yangtze Business Network 2007
5. Shipping's Own Repo Man
6. And Finally...

1. Welcome

Poem of the Week

The Face that Launched a Thousand Ships

Was this the face that launched a thousand ships? And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss:
Her lips suck forth my soul, see where it flies:
And all is dross that is not Helena:
I will be Paris, and for love of thee,
Instead of Troy shall Wertenberg be sack'd,
And I will combat with weak Menelaus,
And wear thy colours on my plumed crest:
Yea I will wound Achillis in the heel,
And then return to Helen for a kiss.
O thou art fairer than the evening air,
Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars,
Brighter art thou than flaming Jupiter,
When he appear'd to hapless Semele,
More lovely than the monarch of the sky
In wanton Arethusa's azur'd arms,
And none but thou shalt be my paramour.

Christopher Marlowe, from Doctor Faustus

New Readers this week include:-

Pia Lundberg of Gielisch-Pace
Melanie Odell of the Navigators
Henning Stroeh of Chevron
Kristian Lindhartsen of Oslo Lawyers Thommessen et al S Bonsall of Spinnaker

News of Readers

Peter Taylor has sent in word of the Gala Celebration of International Womens Day on 08MAR07 at the Glaziers Hall and held under the auspices of the Russia House. All manner of entertainments are promised.

Find out more from:-

RussiaHouse@btinternet.com

Readers Write

From Peter Glover:-

You've probably already been inundated by the views of numerous 'ancient mariners' on the spelling of 'way' (Bow Wave Issue 279) , so as someone who also fits into that category I'll add my few pennywor' .

I find it extraordinary that anyone thought it had anything to do with weighing anchors. The word 'way' appears in numerous guises where in it clearly associated with proceeding or making progress , and while many of these also have a nautical affiliation , many do not .

A fairway is a stretch of water where it is 'fair' - ie safe to proceed in a ship , while a waterway is confined channel where it is safe to do the same . However , ashore we have pathways , bridleways , highways as all being places to proceed safely by various means of transport be it by foot , horse or carriage . Golfers of course have also adopted the nautical expression of a f airway. There are many other uses too.

To any mariner, 'way' has always been associated with proceeding though not necessarily under any sort of propulsion or even forwards . Perhaps the obvious refuting of the suggestion of the use of 'weigh' is that once a ship weighs anchor it immediately starts to move by means of tide, current, wind or engine and is under way but it will only start to make way by use of its sails or engines . Headway is forward motion , while sternway is backward motion .

While I note the suggestion of Dutch origin, I would be surprised if this correct . Ships were making way long before the 17th C and this would suggest we didn't have a word for nautical progress until then which is unlikely, especially as way was incorporated in so many other words (or in other ways!!!).

Finally , while they did not perhaps exist in their present for as far back as the 17th Century , it is worth noting that the Collision Regulations (1972 and 1960 ) both define and use way in their terminology. See Rule 3(i) - the word "underway" means that a vessel is not at anchor , or made fast to the shore , or aground . Rule 7 (e) - states to avoid collision a " vessel shall slacken her speed or take all way off by stopping.........." Other Rules provide for the use of Lights , Shapes and Sound signals when vessels are either making way through the water , or in other circumstances where they are said "to be under way but not making way"

I hope this adds to the debate . Perhaps readers might like to consider the origins of another expression I've used above , namely "making fast" or being "made fast to" - meaning to stop or hold onto , as this is exactly the opposite use to the normal understanding of
fast - ie speedy !

Contact Peter at:-

peter-glover@tiscali.co.uk

Note from the Editor

Something of a tangent of an issue, this one, with little bearing very directly upon the issue of marine insurance. We hope there is something of interest here all the same.

Enjoy!

2. The Psychology of Security

Bruce Schneier, one of the best writers on Security, has published a special edition of his e-zine Counterpane, asking for feedback on the draft of an essay he is writing. We have found his publication a font of good sense and liberal democratic sensibility during years when these qualities have not always been in general abundance.

In the middle of his ideas Schneier publishes two interesting lists:

People exaggerate risks that are: People downplay risks that are:

To read his draft click on the link below.

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/02/the_psychology_2.html

3. Olympics New Lock Takes Trucks off the Road

John Dodwell writes:

The London Olympic Delivery Authority’s decision to help fund a new £18.9m lock and drainage control system on the River Lee was today warmly welcomed by Rolandon Water and Sea Freight Advisory Services.

The new lock will provide access for barges carrying 350 tonnes of cargo -- each equivalent to about 18 heavy lorry loads. Construction of the lock will also facilitate the taking away of waste and recyclates by barge -- and of course help reduce carbon emissions.

Of even greater importance is the longer term ‘legacy’ effect. The 15 year development programme at Stratford City will provide more office space than at Canary Wharf; this will create a significant amount of construction activity and resultant need for waste and recyclate management and transport.

Here’s an opportunity to echo -- no, beat the successful use of barges for the Canary Wharf development. The construction industry should follow the ‘consolidation centre’ approach used for Heathrow’s Terminal 5 construction. Materials there are brought to a central point from suppliers and then distributed around the site as and when needed. The same could be done for the Olympics with a consolidation centre’ near where the M25 crosses the River Lee, close to Enfield. Barges could then be used to bring goods to the Olympics site.

It is ironic that news of the new lock, partly financed and facilitated by British Waterways, comes at a time when DEFRA’s cut in grants to British Waterways has resulted in them disbanding their central water freight promotion unit.

Construction of the new lock and water control structure will start in March 2007 and is scheduled to be finished by summer 2008, in time for the main Olympic construction period.

john.dodwell@rolandon.com

4. The Yangtze Business Network 2007

Sam Chambers writes:-

This is a one-day networking event with government and commercial presentations, matchmaking sessions and technical visit to Chongqing, which will be held on 12th April 2007 at the Regal International East Asia Hotel, Shanghai.

The Yangtze Business Network will provide a platform for Western investors and suppliers to meet decision-makers at the major Yangtze ports. For the first time, Yangtze port managers and government officials will be gathered together for the primary purpose of meeting potential foreign investors.

Chinese and Western speakers will talk about the government blueprint for attracting foreign investment to the Yangtze, the building of the Digital Waterway, shipping trends on the river, and other issues relating to modernising the waterway infrastructure.

The participating Chinese ports and government officials, have produced a list of projects for which they are seeking foreign involvement, including a shopping list for equipment and technology. These projects and suppliers will then be matched with their potential suppliers.

Click below for full programme:

http://www.alaincharles.com/ybn2007

5. Shipping's Own Repo Man

This item in the LA Times came to us courtesy of Mike Miller's e-zine AllCovered News, which is aimed at forwarders and cargo interests.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-repoman1mar01,0,7780387.story?coll=la-home-headlines

http://www.allcovered.net

6. And Finally...

Thanks to Frazer Hunt's JOD for this one...

A young blonde, goes to her local pet store in search of an exotic pet. As she looks about the store, she notices a box full of live frogs.

The sign says: " S e x Frogs! Only $20 each! Comes with complete instructions."

The blonde excitedly looks around to see if anybody's watching her.

She whispers softly to the man behind the counter, "I'll take one."

As the man packages the frog, he quietly says to her, "Just follow the instructions."

The blonde nods, grabs the box, and is quickly on her way home. As soon as she closes the door to her apartment, she opens the instructions and reads them very carefully. She does exactly what is specified:

1. Take a shower.

2. Splash on some nice perfume.

3. Slip into a very sexy nightie.

4. Crawl into bed and place the frog down beside you and allow the frog to do what he has been trained to do.

She then quickly gets into bed with the frog and to her surprise nothing happens!

The blonde is very disappointed and quite upset at this point. She re-reads the instructions and notices at the bottom of the paper it says, "If you have any problems or questions, please call the pet store." So, the blonde calls the pet store. The man says, "I'll be right over."

Within minutes, the man is ringing her doorbell. The blonde welcomes him in and says, "See, I've done everything according to the instructions. The damn frog just sits there."

The man, looking very concerned, picks up the frog, stares directly into its eyes and sternly says: "Listen to me! I'm only going to show you how to do this one more time!"

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