[Leica] Midocean assistance

[jsmith342 at gmail.com (Jeffery Smith)]

I would hate to leave it in the hands of the people at the airport. They can 
be as nasty as they feel like being, and after enduring tens of thousands of 
travelers who don't like being scanned and partially disrobed, they have no 
love for their jobs. I have had two terrible incidents, one in Seattle and 
one in New Mexico. They were the reason I decided to buy an M8.

A disabled 70-year-old colleague was forced by New Orleans airport security 
to take off his shoes and belt. Having no real use of his hands (progressive 
neuropathy), he could not put on his shoes or belt afterward. They refused 
to help him. He now takes the train.

Jeffery


On Sep 26, 2013, at 8:27 PM, Howard Ritter <hlritter at bex.net> wrote:

> Cynthia and I are treating ourselves finally to a 20-year ambition, 
> crossing the Atlantic on a Cunard liner. It's the Queen Mary 2, sailing 
> from New York to Southampton, followed by 6 nights in London. For 
> compactness and general touristy stuff I've brought the NEX7 with the kit 
> 18-55 plus the 16 with a 12mm converter. For more serious stuff I have an 
> M3 wearing a 50/1.4 'Lux, loaded with TXP, and I have a couple rolls of 
> TMax 3200.
> 
> Question: will the high-speed film survive a single passage thru airport 
> security X-ray? I got discombobulated at the last instant taking stuff off 
> and putting it into the plastic bin, and the rolls, which I had taken out 
> of the bag to ask for hand inspection, stayed in my coat pocket and went 
> through in the bin. My thought is to leave the 3200 unused, buy new rolls 
> in London, and when I get back, have one of the X-rayed rolls developed to 
> see if there's any fogging, then use or toss the remaining roll 
> accordingly. But if anyone has reassuring experience, I might go ahead and 
> use the rolls in London.
> 
> Will have photos to post in a few weeks, but meanwhile here are a couple 
> from the ship today. We were treated to a no-extra-cost bonus bit of 
> entertainment, courtesy of those nice folks at Cunard. At about 0900 the 
> Bridge announced that a solo female transatlantic rower (Halifax to 
> France) had lost some equipment in a storm and requested assistance, and 
> that the QM2 was going to her aid! Fortunately, our track must have been 
> taking us very close to her position, as I was not aware of steaming off 
> our usual course. About 1000 (Fernando de Noronha Standard Time) we slowed 
> to a dead stop and spotted her a mile off the port bow. And by "we" I mean 
> EVERYBODY. I think the whole ship's party (~2000?) except for the 
> essential crews was out on the decks to greet her. Tiny partly closed 
> yellow craft, about 7 m long, bobbing in swells sometimes deep enough to 
> hide her from view even from our elevated position, with a lone figure in 
> a black seasuit rowing toward this 1100' ocean liner stopped dead in the 
> water for her. She waved and blew kisses and we all cheered and everybody 
> had a camera at the ready. The crew tossed out some packages containing a 
> satellite phone and a sea anchor, the essentials that she had lost, plus 
> some other provisions. She took some pictures of her own, held up a sign 
> (which I couldn't read), shouted her thanks, and came over the VHF, which 
> the Bridge put over the PA, to thank us all in English and French. She 
> retrieved the packages, and the whole ship's company, led by the Bridge on 
> the PA, gave her a rousing three cheers. When the wind and her oars had 
> taken her to a safe standoff distance, we got underway again. Later the 
> Bridge announced that she had told them "this is the best day of my life!" 
> Her name is something like Mylene Paquette. She'll surely come up in 
> Google and by tomorrow, I should think, there ought to be a little news 
> about the QM2 assisting her as well. A couple of photos at:
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/hlritter/Fotos/
> 
> 
> ?howard
> 
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