Leg 50 : SVMG Isla Margarita to TCNA Aruba

[ddavid 149]

MRTWC - Leg 50 : Isla Margarita to Aruba

.........Sub-title : Pirates of the Caribbean......

Voices off.........Pieces of eight - Yo-Ho-Ho - A Vast Behind There!! ... etc, etc..... (Hey - what's that?? Ed)

Well, here we are in the sunny Caribbean, on the lovely, very underpopulated (as far as FSX is concerned!) Isla Margarita. The next part of ATWC's Caribbean Calypso is from here to Ariba - a short trip over some stunning islands with lovely beaches and wonderful seafood:

Now, before we start the Leg, I have an admission to make - FSX has virtually no add-on scenery for this area and the default scenery is, well, sparse to say the least. So, in order to briong a little colour to the proceedings, I want you to suspend belief for a little while............

Just after young Panos delivered the baton - we'd just enjoyed a couple of 'soft' drinks in the departure lounge - there was a huge flash forwed by a loud explosion .

The lights went out and, when they came back on -

THE BATON WAS GONE - IT HAD BEEN STOLEN!!!

Now, we didn't know at the time, but the Baton had been taken by PIRATES and they had vamoosed to a little inlet where their ship was anchored:

Next morning they sailed south east towards the mainland:

But, in order to throw off any pursuit, changed course mid morning to pass by the lighthouse on the north shore of Cubagua:

The island of Cubagua is famous for being the site of the first settlement in the New World, by Christopher Columbus, in 1500....

Behind The Pirates, we were organising The Baton's rescue. The Venezuelan authorities had contacted U.N.C.L.E. for assistance in locating the Pirate ship. Data bounced around the ionosphere and, within hours, we had found them - they were just passing La Conchilla:

We were then told that a local search and secure service had been called in to apprehend the culprits and, hopefully, to retrieve the baton:

Soon, the Pirate ship was under the 50mm guns of the world's most admired flyingboat, and the only one still flying after nearly 70 years of active service......:

The boarding party soon secured the ship and located the Baton (HURRAH!!!) and within hours the boat was at anchor at the Venezuelan Naval Base at La Conchilla:

Once we knew that the Baton was safe, we joined the crew of the Venezuelan Air Force DC-3,

to make the short hop to La Conchilla:

The Baton and the Pirate Captain joined us for our flight on to Flamingo, where he

was to be handed over to the authorities for questioning. Here's the DC-3 completing

pre-flight checks:

And taking off from the Naval Base airfield:

The Pirate Captain, Jake, was in tears when he took a last look at his ship:

But it wasn't long before we were landing at Flamingo:

And saying goodbye to Jake as he was taken off......

As the DC-3 pilot wanted to get ahead of the building storm, we were back in the air

almost immediately:

Joining the pilot on the flight deck was an experience not to be forgotten quickly. Above

5,000 ft, the plane handled well - here's Curacao airport with the Venezuelan mainland in

the distance:

But as the storm took hold, we had to drop below 2,00 ft and the White Knuckle Ride

really began! With Aruba in sight, we were nearly there:

And soon we could see Reina Jiuliana Intl ahead:

The approach was hampered by a 25 knot cross-wind - and the pilot came in low:

Past the airport hotels:

And onto (just!!) the runway:

The landing was hard, but at last we were down:

And the Baton was at it's destination - well, for this Leg at least:

So, it's over to you, Sir John of the Everglades!! Take care of the thing - it caused me

a lot of trouble and heart-ache!

Hope the excitement wasn't too much for you........!!

Cheers - Dai/David. :wink:

[mutley 4,498]

Lovely shots Dai, I will came back with an appropriate response once I've found it! :wink:

Cheers

[allardjd 1,853]

David,

Original reply lost, but that's OK...

What a great story line. I always look forward to your ATWC posts because you seem to manage to pull a new and different

rabbit out of the hat each time. Trust you to make it out of the ordinary. As for suspending disbelief, I found that unnecessary.

It was entirely believable. It COULD have happened that way. Anything's possible in that part of the world.

Thanks for the shots of the Sunderland, if that's what it is, I really enjoyed seeing it.

As for the elusive Sharon, I believe she's been located. A few clues about her may emerge in the Leg 51 post.

Thanks for a great post.

John

[mutley 4,498]

I remember What I said now :sad:

:good

Dai/David/Boyo

Aruba at last!

It's at times like this that all the worries of the world just just disappear as we join your fantasy world. It's a sort of adventure within an adventure and sometimes we are allowed a brief view of what goes on in your mind!

I still reckon it's the sheep dip, but nevertheless a brilliant post, thank you so much for rescuing the baton, I expect Panos had been drinking too many Pina Coladas so had taken his eye off the ball :mrhappy:

So just for you, for the first time, I am pleased to announce a specially commissioned award, for services to the Hangar, well done!

We now await the mighty "allardjd" and his trusty steed to take us on our final leg of the Caribbean Calypso to Panama. Oh! and when you see John can you tell him he still owes me $500!

Cheers

APB! Where's Sharon?

[A320cap 0]

Awesome!