I returned from Sri Lanka on Monday. Yes, it has taken this long to wake up
enough from jet lag and the emotional drain of the trip to be able to catch
up on my fun groups.

The damage is every bit as bad as the TV made it out. There are boats
everywhere that are damaged or destroyed. No, they don't need designers to
help them with new hull designs. Most of the local fishermen use something
like a dugout with an outrigger. The hulls that I saw are mostly fiberglass
now although I did see a few wood hulls. The bulwarks are stitch and tarred
on. The mast is stepped to the keel and lashed in place. The outrigger is
lashed in place as well. Almost all the boats have a small outboard. They
launch through the surf, make a quick turn and paddle to deep water then
start the outboard. Most of the fishing is done 3-5 miles off shore using
nets. Some fishermen work nights and use lights to attract the fish.

In the more devastated areas the fishermen are just now starting to return
to the sea. They had been hearing a hum from the sea at night and took that
as a warning not to go out.

Darning my travels (I went from Colombo to Batticaloa and then followed the
coastline back to Colombo) there were also large boats on the beach with
significant damage as well as some that were sunk off the beach. Many of
these boats will never be re-floated and many are not easily repaired. Some
were several hundred yards inshore.

Many of the people are trying to go about some kind of daily life but they
go to the remains of their home (if there are any remains, and in some areas
even the foundation was washed away) and just stand trying to come to grips
with their loss. In the coastal areas every body either lost a family
member or friend. Every family on the island was effected. This is just
Sri Lanka.

The other side of this is that I found the people to be open and friendly.
The fishermen took me to their boat while they readied for the launch. They
are careful and use dual fuel filters. They go over the motor completely
before they even think of going out. My only regret is that I didn't go out
with them.

I know that this is a little one sided but that is also the way I am feeling
right now.

Brian

Thanks, Brian.

Brian D



"Brian Combs" wrote in message
...
I returned from Sri Lanka on Monday. Yes, it has taken this long to wake
up enough from jet lag and the emotional drain of the trip to be able to
catch up on my fun groups.

The damage is every bit as bad as the TV made it out. There are boats
everywhere that are damaged or destroyed. No, they don't need designers
to help them with new hull designs. Most of the local fishermen use
something like a dugout with an outrigger. The hulls that I saw are
mostly fiberglass now although I did see a few wood hulls. The bulwarks
are stitch and tarred on. The mast is stepped to the keel and lashed in
place. The outrigger is lashed in place as well. Almost all the boats
have a small outboard. They launch through the surf, make a quick turn
and paddle to deep water then start the outboard. Most of the fishing is
done 3-5 miles off shore using nets. Some fishermen work nights and use
lights to attract the fish.

In the more devastated areas the fishermen are just now starting to return
to the sea. They had been hearing a hum from the sea at night and took
that as a warning not to go out.

Darning my travels (I went from Colombo to Batticaloa and then followed
the coastline back to Colombo) there were also large boats on the beach
with significant damage as well as some that were sunk off the beach.
Many of these boats will never be re-floated and many are not easily
repaired. Some were several hundred yards inshore.

Many of the people are trying to go about some kind of daily life but they
go to the remains of their home (if there are any remains, and in some
areas even the foundation was washed away) and just stand trying to come
to grips with their loss. In the coastal areas every body either lost a
family member or friend. Every family on the island was effected. This
is just Sri Lanka.

The other side of this is that I found the people to be open and friendly.
The fishermen took me to their boat while they readied for the launch.
They are careful and use dual fuel filters. They go over the motor
completely before they even think of going out. My only regret is that I
didn't go out with them.

I know that this is a little one sided but that is also the way I am
feeling right now.

Brian

On Sat, 5 Feb 2005 19:06:59 -0800, "Brian Combs"
wrote:

I know that this is a little one sided but that is also the way I am feeling
right now.

I wasn't aware this situation had "sides". I, for one, appreciate
hearing unfiltered-by-media first-hand accounts. Some friends went to
Thailand last week to hook up with their buddies who narrowly avoided
getting killed at Phuket.

All they did was run like hell inland when they saw a crowd coming.
For a crucial half-minute, they let the reptile base of the brain make
their decisions and it's safe to say they didn't overanalyze. Sailors
in storms face the same situation...do I go with the Adlard
Coles-approved plan or go with my gut? The Smeetons attempting the
Horn (and nearly losing the yacht...TWICE) comes to mind.

In Sri Lanka, an uncaring universe took a mindless swipe at them. An
eighteen-wheeler-sized asteroid could land five miles from here...I
would be similarly dead.

The only thing that *might* have helped them would have been some kind
of Civil Defense-type siren system, because they were about two hours
from the tsunami's origin point. Such a system wouldn't have saved
that many Indonesians, but the islands where the folk tradition kept
alive the memories of a similar event in 1907 only lost a single
person. When the ground shook, the village headman yelled "Head up the
hill...now!" Hundreds did and they all lived, save one.

By contrast, when the sea receded for no reason, hundreds elsewhere
decided that stranded fish were a bounty...cool! free dinner! Now it's
a great season for crabbing.

In 1700, a magnitude 9 earthquake hit Juan de Fuca Strait in British
Columbia. Like Pacific Islands recalling Cook's visits, this villagers
still know what happened through stories passed down. They now know
via lore what to do. They know through science that another huge quake
is about due in Seattle/Vancouver. They want money to move their
villages up the hill. I say give it to them. They are obviously
brighter people than urbanized Canadians/Americans, who build condos
on landfill in fault-covered harbours.

R.