Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Waiting for the big Kahuna -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: James F. Hopkins who wrote (19868)	6/5/1998 5:23:00 PM
From: Nemer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 94695

James: Thanks for the post. I was enthralled with the reading of it and did enjoy it, even if I have no envy for you as I lack a similar experience. Thank heavens...... Regards --- Nemer

To: James F. Hopkins who wrote (19868)	6/6/1998 12:26:00 AM
From: Bonnie Bear	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 94695

Jim: thanks for the interesting read. As I was reading it I just kept thinking of investors like ocean travelers; they are somehow convinced that huge ships must be safer in a storm and will pay a fortune to ride on the biggest ship that sails. If it is huge, no ropes are needed, no wave could ever sink the ship. So like lemmings they all board the Titanic for its safety... and the rest is history. Could the increase in British yield be a crack in the hull? Somehow I recall reading that one of the past bear markets was triggered by an increase in European interest rates and the resulting domino effect.

To: James F. Hopkins who wrote (19868)	6/6/1998 6:02:00 AM
From: Noneyet	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 94695

Jim, Why not rig up a sea anchor, rather than get turned broadside, prior to your battlefield repair ????? Single engine ?? Twin screw ??? >>>>Us with no way to hold up or go with it got caught sideways between the seas, and these babies were not spread out , they were not just huge as ( I've rode out bigger ones , in deeper water) but these caught us trying to skirt an offshore shoal when the chain broke and had us in just the wrong place to be, they became very steep and were breaking on top , it was like being in a 30 to 50 foot surf with seas pounding you every 5 to 10 seconds. Like a series of 6 or 8 left jabs and then you could hear the big right upper cut coming. ( you couldn't see a damm thing more than 10ft away ).<<<<<< Tom

To: James F. Hopkins who wrote (19868)	6/6/1998 7:40:00 PM
From: IMPRISTlNE	Respond to of 94695

<<<It causes me to count my blessings. Quite a story Jim...Incredible...

To: James F. Hopkins who wrote (19868)	6/6/1998 11:48:00 PM
From: Marty	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 94695

I was moved by the book Perfect Storm as well. My own close calls were not in the water but I've felt that same heart stopping terror while trying desperately to survive, just in other circumstances. I hear that the eskimos say that everybody has that day when they meet the polar bear at the top of the world. If you care for this kind of writing, as I do, you will like "Into Thin Air" by John Krakaur (sp?). Another one about surviving at sea that is very good is called "Adrift" and I can't remember the author just now... Another one is "Midnight Express" They make the point that when men are in really extreme circumstances, their strength, cunning, intelligence, everything they've got, either rises to its highest capability or sinks to absolute lowest animal instincts to survive.... it is almost like an animal can smell danger. The guy in "Adrift", for example, lashed pencils together to try to get a reading from the sun so that he could try to figure out his location.

To: James F. Hopkins who wrote (19868)	10/23/2002 8:17:04 AM
From: Earlie	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 94695

James: Absolutely superb commentary. I admire folks who can write about their life experiences and carry the reader along with them. I raced the Olympic Tornado catamaran for many years. It is the Ferarri of the Olympic sailing classes and is vastly over-powered (we could effortlessly pull a water skier in any winds above 20 knots). The boat was and is the choice of the speed fanatics and the guys that chased the Olympic dream aboard it were true fanatics. On several occasions, I raced in plus thirty knot winds and waves to ten feet. In those conditions, the boat, for all its superb seaworthiness, was always a heartbeat away from either breaking something or "pitch-poling" (digging in a bow and pitching forward into an end-for-end roll). In those kind of conditions, in spite of (then) being in superb physical condition, I always felt that a huge chunk of luck would be needed to be a finisher (in one race in world championship, held in the English Channel, only 11 boats of eighty that started came back in one piece). The difference for us was that we knew that if we ended up in the drink, the "rescue boats" would sooner or later find us (although a few of my pals spent many hours floating around out there before they were eventually rounded up). Having been frightened beyond words many times by the power of the sea, I never ever had any desire to do the offshore thing, especially on the big cats (had several invites and always politely declined). The thought of floating around out there, a tiny dot in an infinitely gigantic liquid world, slowly watching your mobility evaporate as hypothermia takes over, is not high on my list of ways to die(one of my former Canadian team mates died in precisely that fashion when he was swept off his boat while competing in the "around-the-world-single-handed" race). My hat is off to the guys and gals who do go offshore, especially those who do it for a living. By the way, I have also experienced coming back to shore badly bruised across most of my body (although not anything like what you guys must have experienced) and not being able to account for where or when they were obtained. You looked like a "bad banana" for weeks. (g) Best, Earlie