Bob Austin wrote: Bruces points are well made. However the fishing boats may not be the best example. I think that most folks would be astounded on how many fishing boats are towed back in by other fishing boats. Generally there are a number of fishing boats in the same area and if failure occurs, then they are towed. ----------- Bob, Of course, all over the world you run into groups of fishing boats. For some reason this always seems to happen at night as you are approaching a foreign port with the thought of making landfall at daybreak. Sometimes, when sailing, I would smell what they were cooking on deck before I actually saw them. The few friends that I have that are professional fisherman and U.S. based all venture out on their own, often going long distances from home with single-engine boats. None of them have ever mentioned a debilitating problem they couldn't fix. I believe that the mindset of these guys more closely approximates that of the typical passagemaker and is different from the coastal fisherman that head out en masse. Bruce -- ======================================================================= L. Bruce Jones U.S. SUBMARINES, INC. President POSEIDON UNDERSEA RESORTS LLC Tel: 208/687-9057 Fax: 208/441-7478 E-mail: bruce@ussubmarines.com http://ussubs.com http://poseidonresorts.com "Design, engineering and construction of submarines and submersibles" "Submarine related consulting, sales and operations." =======================================================================