Capt. Daley’s Sea Storiescaptaingreg.net/pdf/pssmo08portuguesemenofwar.pdf · to tangle with one in the water. If you look closely, you can see the myriad of fish that are swimming

© Capt. Gregory C. Daley, 2010 [email protected]

http://www.CaptainGreg.net

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Master, Gubert Tide

Capt. Daley’s Sea Stories Portuguese Men-of-war

Pemba, Moçambique, Africa 31 January 2010

Belford Dolphin Drillship

Pemba Bay was attacked by hordes of Portuguese men-of-war for three days. They disappeared as quickly as they came. The village looks lush and green from the top of the hill.

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IMG_4009.JPG (above)

Our small going away party for Sidney (returning to South Africa) and Emil (returning to Romania) was in the Italian Restaurant in Pemba. Pizza and champagne seemed to be the appropriate celebratory meal. “Wooly”, first on the left, is the new team lead for our security consultants.







Pemba bay was literally attacked by thousands (or more) Portuguese men-of-war. I had never seen these creatures before, much less such a huge group of them.







They are pretty complex when you look at them up close. They actually move fast through the water. The mushroom cap expands out and up like the one in the upper right hand. Then when they squeeze the cap closed like the lower one, it expels water and they zoom right along.







Seeing them alongside a Pemba fishing boat gives you a clue as to how big they are. They are rather large. I would not want to tangle with one in the water. If you look closely, you can see the myriad of fish that are swimming beneath them. I would like to know if they attracted the fish or the fish attracted them or if they travel together.







Look at the fish. I doubt I have ever seen so many fish at one place at one time. They and the Portuguese men-of-war were everywhere you looked. Simply incredible!







I have never seen anything quite like this. This is when I miss the internet. I wish I could know more about Portuguese men-of-war and their relationship with large schools of fish.







On his last day on the boat, Sidney agreed to cut hair (with my clippers). He cut four different people’s hair. Is it called a haircut when there is no hair left? He shaved Russian First Mate pasha’s head.







And here is the story you have all been waiting for. Meet Philippine Second Engineer Dado, the new caretaker of the Gubert Cat. It took a night or two, but they are used to each other now and make very good cabin mates.







We couldn’t resist messing with Emil. The purpose of the trip to the airport was to see if we can find Miguel’s lost baggage (lost for 18 days and still not found). Emil was waiting for his flight home to Romania. We explained that the new Chief Engineer quit and that Emil had to come back to the ship now and that his tickets had been cancelled. He took it rather well, though not very happy. Then he remembered that his license expired in a few weeks and he knew that he would not be staying much longer. When we finally told him we were kidding, he laughed in his good natured way and told stories of three times that this very same thing happened to him for real and that he would not have been surprised to find it happening again.







The lobby of the Pemba Beach Hotel is in an open air patio, definitely African style. I sure hope I am able to spend one night here before leaving the country!







I had a difficult time getting the right perspective on this fellow last time I was in the Niassa Bar. The name Niassa comes from the Niassa Company, a commercial company of the late 1800’s who developed much of Moçambique. The elephant is one of the Big Five Game animals of Africa. The phrase Big Five game was coined by big-game hunters. It refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot. The term is still used in most tourist and wildlife guides that discuss African wildlife safaris.

Male elephants stand 3.6 m (12 ft) tall at the shoulder and weigh 5,400 kg (12,000 lb), while females stand 3 m (9.8 ft) and weigh between 3,600 and 4,600 kg (7,900 and 10,000 lb). However, males can get as big as 6,800 kg (15,000 lb).







The African Buffalo, Affalo or Cape Buffalo is another one of the big five game. It is up to 1.7 metres high, 3.4 metres long and can weigh 500–900 kg. Owing to its unpredictable nature which makes it highly dangerous to humans, it has not been domesticated.

The African Buffalo is widely regarded as a very dangerous animal, as it gores and kills over 200 people every year. Buffalo are sometimes reported to kill more people in Africa than any other animal. Buffalo are notorious among big game hunters as very dangerous animals, with wounded animals reported to ambush and attack pursuers.







I believe this is a white rhinoceros. It looks like he has a square jaw, but I could be wrong.

The Black Rhinoceros or Hook-lipped Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), is a species of rhinoceros, native to the eastern and central areas of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Angola. Although the Rhino is referred to as black, it is actually more of a grey/brown/white color in appearance.

The name of the species was chosen to distinguish it from the White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). This is misleading, as those two species are not really distinguishable by color. The word white in the name "White Rhinoceros" is a mistranslation of the Dutch word wijd for wide, referring to its square upper lip, as opposed to the pointed or hooked lip of the Black Rhinoceros. They are now often referred to as the Square-lipped (for White) or Hook-lipped (for Black) Rhinoceros.







I went to several “stores” in search of a soft bag for my safari. A store sells everything. It has a selection of a Wal-Mart, but is the size of a Seven-Eleven. Here is the Camera and Cell phone “department”.







This is the luggage “department”.







This is the jewlery “department”.







This is the food “department”.







This is the computer “department”.







This is the television “department”.







All of those electronic items would go in a house typical of this one. Notice the electric and or phone wire running in the front. This style of construction is so very popular in Pemba with the bamboo poles tied together filled with stones.







Ponta Saide Ali on the other side of the bay along with Ponta Romero on this side form the entrance to Pemba Bay. The village along the shore is quite large.







Here is a good shot of the one of the natural landings for the vessels in the fishing village. The past rains have made the village very lush and green.







Here is another view of the same village.







Here is the restaurant Starfish owned by the people who sell and deliver our provisions. They are new to this business and are very surprised at how much money they can make provisioning boats. In addition to the three Tidewater boats, there are three security boats, bringing them lots of business. Too bad they didn’t get the Belford Dolphin contract which is very large due to the number of people aboard the drillship.







Kids will be kids all over the world. However, these kids did run up and ask me for money after I took their picture.







This tree is built into a wall of this hotel room, or should I say they built the wall of this hotel room around this tree. You can see the tree from both inside and outside of the hotel. As the tree grows or even moves, I wonder what happens to the wall. I should have asked the owner how old the wall is. Just when you thought you have seen them all!






IMG_3209s.JPG (above)

Here is the tree from the outside. Have you ever???





Pemba, Moçambique (from Wikipedia)

Pemba is a port city in Mozambique. It is the capital of the province of Cabo Delgado and lies on a peninsula in Pemba Bay. The town was founded by the Niassa Company in 1904 as Porto Amélia, after a queen of Portugal, at the peninsula's south western tip and has grown around a port. The city is renowned for its Portuguese colonial architecture. It was renamed Pemba at the end of Portuguese rule, in 1975.

The city's inhabitants are primarily Makondes, Macuas and Mwanis. Local languages that are spoken are Kimwani and Macua, although Portuguese is widespread. In the centre of Pemba, there is an authentic local market or Souk, where arts and crafts, as well as traditional silverware can be bought.

Pemba is also renowned as being a prime destination for water sport and diving enthusiasts as a coral reef lies close to the shore. Pemba has increasingly become a tourist destination, particularly for upper-middle class. Mozambicans and South Africans. There is now a weekly flight from Johannesburg to Pemba, a five-star hotel, the Pemba Beach Hotel, restaurants, and other forms of entertainment.




Reported Pirate Activity, week ending 20 Jan 10, US Naval Intelligence (ONI), http://www.nga.mil/portal/site/maritime

A. Sailing vessel (ENEA) stolen 12 Jan 10, marina of Mindelo, Cape Verde.

B. Fishing vessel attacked, crew members kidnapped 17 Jan 10, Bregede, Rivers State, Nigeria.

C. Oil pipeline attacked 8 Jan 10, Delta State, Nigeria.

D. General cargo ship (MILTIADES) fired upon 17 Jan 10, approximately 140NM southwest of Al Mukalla, Yemen.

E. Tanker (JAG LAYAK) fired upon 16 Jan 10, approximately 95NM southwest of Al Mukalla, Yemen.

F. Vessel fired upon 20 Jan 10, approximately 14NM south of the Yemeni coast.

G. Fishing dhow robbed 16 Jan 10, approximately 10NM south of Hafun, Somalia.

H. Pleasure boat robbed 8 Jan 10, Canning, India.

I. Chemical tanker robbed 9 Jan 10, Petrokimia terminal, Ggresik port, Indonesia.


Documents

Capt. Daley’s Sea Storiescaptaingreg.net/pdf/pssmo08portuguesemenofwar.pdf · to tangle with one in the water. If you look closely, you can see the myriad of fish that are swimming