A Terrible Boat Accident

Three people were killed and several injured after a horrific boat collision during a Major League Fishing tournament Wednesday on Lewis Smith Lake in Cullman County when one of the participants in the tournament collided with a guided charter "Stripper" boat with the captain and paying passengers. See more HERE.

I don't know if any of you fish bass tournaments or have ever seen the "start" of one of these bass tourneys where 150+ boats are sitting in the water near a boat launch/marina at an idle awaiting the start. The "go" signal is usually done with the blast of an airhorn, rifle shot, whistle, etc. On whatever signal is used, powerful outboard engines come to life and the water churns and rolls as the boats gain speed and "plane-off". Every fisherman is trying to beat every other fisherman to "the spot" and it is a wild-wild west scenario on the water and it is literally "boat at your own risk" (IMHO). A lot of people use this lake (and I imagine every other lake in the SE U.S.) for a myriad of purposes and interests. In the spirit of "never let a good crisis go to waste", there are those who will use this terrible tragedy to curtail the rights of others and further their ambitions as most on here know, but I detest knee-jerk reactions and .gov overreaches. Hang on bass fishermen.

Beating the Patient Weapon

 

Landmine removal in World War II

The American T10 Mine Exploder, also known as the “Penny-farthing tank” (Photo: U.S. Army)

Our previous article, written on the occasion of International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, was about the German landmines used in World War II. This article follows up by discussing the methods used in the war to remove mines. The belligerent nations of the war put their full range of abilities, from sheer human grit through electronic devices to heavy machinery to finding and removing or destroying the enemy’s minefields.