The Journey of the Songa Mercur...: 09/01/2006

Where are we today?

Today we are here... and MORE GOOD NEWS folks! We now have LESS than 1000 nautical miles to go before we reach Singapore!

Rab C "Ali"...

Ali has a specail message for his Son...

HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY ALEX!

See you and the rest of the family back home in Scotland SOON!

Where are we today?

Hi Folks, here we are on another beautiful day! The winds are assisting us now and pushing us along, in fact we even reached 8.4 knots at one stage last night AND we travelled a total of 171 nautical miles in the last 24 hours! That’s TWO NEW RECORDS for us, the fastest speed and the furthest distance travelled over a 24 hour period seen on the voyage so far – looking GOOD!

Sunrise...

Its sunrise, another beautiful day and time to go to work in our "office" again... Have a Nice Day Y'all!

Thanks for the great photo Ali!

Its Justin's Birthday!

And today's Birthday Boy is Justin... or as we know him here, J-Mar!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUSTIN!

Here is Justin enjoying celebrating his happy day with a can of COKE! (Sorry Justin but we've run out of cakes already!)

PS Thanks to Denis for lending his Hat, Safety glasses and BODY for this photo shoot!

Where are we today?

Hi folks! We're doing very well again today, 7.2 knots and the South Westerly winds helping us along very nicely - Thank you very MUCH! And the other good news is that we advanced the clocks forward another hour, so now there is only a ONE HOUR time difference between us and Singapore - we'll be there SOON!

45,000+ Hits and counting...

Hi folks, well it might be 7 weeks since we joined in Cape Town but our little website has only been running for FOUR weeks! And again, we are totally amazed at your support and interest - we're sure the events of crossing the line have helped increase our "Hits" to over 45,000+ this week! (thats 25,000 in the last 7 days alone!) And we now have over 3000+ regular readers who visit our site daily - MANY THANKS again for all the encouragement, well wishes and all the hilarious comments left here, we sure appreciate it!

PS Take a look at the bottom of this page to see our "Hits" counter!

Crossing the Line Certificate...

Here's the Certificate awarded to ALL Cape Shell Backs for "Crossing the Line" Thanks to BILL for his sterling work on this project, if you CLICK on the Certificate you will be able to read his intricate calligraphy and eloquent prose!

Where are we today?

Hi Folks, here we are again today, making good speed - in fact we broke another "record" (at least it is for us anyway!), we managed to travel 168 nautical miles yesterday and we recorded a full 24 hours average of 7 knots speed - Smmmmoooookkkkkiiiinnnn!!!!!!!

So what happens to Stowaways?

Stoolie thought he was clever and could hide in the pot... I don't THINK SO!

And this is what happens if you try and STOWAWAY on the Mercur! Not feeling to clever now eh Stoolie?

PS No animals were harmed in the making of this production, only the crew of the Mercur!

Where are we today?

Hi folks, hope you enjoyed the pics of our "Crossing of the Line" ceremony? We certainly did! Well we're back in business here and scooting along at our "so far never yet seen before maximum speed" of 7.2 knots! Yes, that's right, at this rate we will get to Singapore quicker than you can say...

A special message from Phil...

A special message to his wife back home in Australia...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE!

PS This is Phil in the Engine Control Room, he's been busy learning Russian!

Where are we today?

And finally Bill!

And as Bill walks slowly to court he contemplates his fate...

Guilty or innocent? How do you plead? NOT Guilty you say?

How dare you! Take that! And become a Cape Shellback ye varmint! And less of the lip!

And for the not guilty plea you'r getting something extra special...

This!!!

"Urrrrghhhh!!!"

"Arrrrrgghhhh" its gone right through me! And alls I wanted was not to be a Pollywog for the rest of me life honest! Arrgggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And so here endeth are mammoth crossing of the line ceremony, with our very own Bill, top-researcher and dab hand at arranging and organising a VERY SPECIAL EVENT for all the crew on the Songa Mercur - A day to remember indeed. Thanks Bill! We hope the spears didn't hurt you too much? Special thanks goes out to Randall for the top costumes and props he made, its amazing what you can do with some old curtains, bed sheets and tie-wraps! Also thanks to all the other guys involved in the detailed preps for this event, John, Scott, Steve and Gary - not forgetting Romeo and his cooks for making up the tasty pot of slime! THANKS TO ALL FOR MAKING THIS A DAY TO REMEMBER!