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Antares
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BACON SAILS AND MARINE SUPPLIES 116 Legion Avenue Annapolis MD 21401
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Latitude 38
• November, 2011
dared to speak the truth about the incident. Medals of Honor were later awarded to the captain and crew, but it was kept out of the press and public notice. According to Bamford, that was a first. As a Navy vet who saw this ship weeks before the incident, and wondered "what the hell kind of ship this was," I now know the answer 44 years later, thanks to the release of formerly classified information. I want to thank Larry Toenjes for his compassion, and for his bravery in standing up to the powerful Israeli government. Hopefully the truth will set us free, and Toenjes will not share the fate of the Liberty crew, who are now gone, but not forgotten. Steve Rudzinski Santa Cruz ⇑⇓AMERICANS CAN BE SO UGLY When it comes to disputes between American service providers in foreign countries such as Mexico, I think I know the reason that they come about. I say this based on having lived and traveled abroad for most of my life, and cruised aboard my self-completed 20-ton Westsail 41 ketch Sirius for nearly 20 years and 80,000 miles. I found that the basic problem was the fact that too many Americans — particularly those from the United States — found it difficult to be anything but ‘Ugly Americans’ when in foreign lands. And when they go into business, they become abrasive, self-assured and fallaciously superior even — or particularly — when dealing or competing with each other. It tends to spoil what otherwise might have been nice places, or a nice day in the life of a traveler. By the way, I say this having not cruised in Mexico since the late ‘80s. Earl Gale ex-Sirius, Westsail 41 Now living ashore in Malaysia ⇑⇓WOW. JUST . . .WOW. I just finished reading the Wanderer's Baja Bash story in the September issue and would like to comment. I’ve been traveling Baja for about as long as the Wanderer, meaning since the '70s. A lot of things have changed on the peninsula since then. I've spent the majority of my time in La Paz and points farther north, as I prefer the isolation of the islands north of that city. When I finally visited Cabo again after 30 years, I was blown away! The accompanying photo is one that I took in December of '77 as we were flying out of the area after a fishing trip. The streets were dirt and the Hacienda Hotel — now gone — was the only big hotel. When I returned this year for more fishing, I actually got a chance to walk around Cabo a bit. "Wow!" is all that I can say. After the insanity The harbor at Cabo San Lucas looked of the cruise ships, Jet much different in '77 than it does today. Skis and basic tourism at Cabo, I’ll be keeping my butt in La Paz and points north. P.S. Please keep up the great work — my sanity depends on it. Curt Simpson Palm Desert
CURT SIMPSON
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