The Adventurers’ Club Newsadventurersclub.org/archives/AC News/AC News Nov 2011.pdf · UNBROKEN:...

The

Adventurers’ Club News©

Volume 55 November 2011 Number 11

NIGHT OF HIGH ADVENTURE

Pulitzer Prize for Disaster Reporting

U.S. Navy SEALS – On Guard for Freedom

New Mars Rover Curiosity

The Adventurers' Club News The Official Publication of the Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles®, California

November 2011 Volume 55 Number 11 Publisher ACLA President, Larry Schutte #1121 Editor Robert G. Williscroft #1116, Clarkston, WA 99403

Cell (818) 613-9445; [email protected] Asst. EditorMarc Weitz #1144; Los Angeles, CA 90071

(323) 600-4805; [email protected] Club Phone (323) 223-3948 (24 Hrs) www.adventurersclub.org

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DIRECTORY INSIDE FRONT COVER

PRESIDENT'S PAGE 1 ARTICLES

NIGHT OF HIGH ADVENTURE — NOHA 2 THRAWN RICKLE 4 BOOK REVIEW: UNBROKEN: A WORLD WAR II STORY OF SURVIVAL, RESILIENCE,

AND REDEMPTION 5

WHAT'S HAPPENING 6

THURSDAY NIGHTS AT THE CLUB 7 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 20 FORTHCOMING PROGRAMS 21

1-PRFRII1FNT 9ND vir.F PPFS

SFr.PFTAPV

ADDRESS 2433 N Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90086

1sT VICE PRES TREASURER

DINNER

MAILING Pierre Odicr Rick Flores RESERVATIONS

ADDRESS

(323) 223-3948

PO Box 31226 Deadline: Tuesday Noon Los Angeles, CA 90031

ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS November 20111

The

ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS©

Volume 55 November 2011 Number 11THE PRESIDENT’S PAGELarry Schutte #1121 - President

Greetings!Well, as

I write this,it’s the day af-ter NOHA,and everyoneis sending megood vibesabout the suc-cess of the

evening. The presenters were excel-lent, the venue was elegant and thefood was great, although I got a fewcomments that the amount was a lit-tle stingy! Ticket sales combined withthe silent auction generated very goodrevenue for our Club.

I don’t have to say anymore aboutPierre Odier other than he was the guid-ing force that made this thing happen,with the help of Mike Gwaltney, JimHeaton, Steve Lawson, Stewart Deetsand all the other guys who helped atthe event. Bravo!

BTW – I had a brief chat with PaulIsley (#1088) at NOHA. He was justback from producing his special eventat the Chicago club, which I under-stand was a big success. Well donePaul. We hope to hear more about itsoon.

We have another great month ofpresentations coming up at our

Club. It’s been quite a year and we’regonna keep on rockin’ in Novem-ber. Check the web calendar for allthe details and don’t forget the soldout Gem Mine field trip hosted byCharles Carmona (#1136) on Nov.13th and the wedding at the club ofour own Robert Williscroft (#1116)and his beautiful bride, Jill SteeleMayer on Nov. 19th at 1:30 p.m.Please sign up at the club ASAP forthe wedding so we know how muchfood to prepare.

As I look back on the year so far, Ican say I have really enjoyed beingyour President. We have accom-plished many positive things such asimproving the facility, raising the qual-ity of the speakers and the way theyare promoted on the web site, induct-ing many good quality new members,increasing attendance at the weeklymeetings, improving our relationshipwith the Masons who own the build-ing, and in general, creating a com-fortable atmosphere of sharing andcamaraderie, which I hope continuesinto next year.

Well everyone, fasten your seatbelts one more time. It’s going to beanother great month to be a memberor guest of our great organization. Seeyou there.

November 2011 ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS2

Night of High Adventure – NOHABob Zeman #878

NOHA

Our annual Night of High Adven-ture was held on October 23rd

at the Sheraton Delfina Hotel in San-ta Monica. Almost 200 persons at-tended, and President Larry Schut-te presided over a great show.

The evening opened as Greg Elliott,playing his bagpipes and dressed in Scot-tish kilts, escorted all into the ball room.

Larry introduced Steve Hodel,Steve Lawson, Sid Hallburn andClaude Hulet who gave the tradi-tional toasts;

To adventure, the shadow of every red-blooded man!

To gentlemen adventurers!To the game!To every lost trail, lost cause and lost

comrade!Jim Dorsey returned his flag from

the expedition to Erte Ale volcano inEthiopia. It was his most physicallydemanding trip. He was joined by hiswife Irene, Ken Freund and RosalyLopes. The adventurers carried alongan Explorers’ Club flag and a flag fromthe Society of Women Adventurers.

Members and guests donated numer-ous auction items including terra cottafigurines, many masks from around theworld, many knives, walking sticks,outstanding art framed and unframed,wood carvings, stone carvings, an ar-ray of arrows and spears and even acopper seed separator. Our thanks goout to John Goddard, Pam Maddenand Steve Bein who were big contrib-utors from their collections.

Alan Feldstein stepped up as Mas-ter of Ceremonies.

Mars Rover Mission 2011

Ashwin R. Vasavada is the Depu-ty Project Scientist on the Mars

Space Lander. He told of our imagi-nation of Mars as the red planet andsource of alien invaders.

Percival Lowell developed a tele-scope in 1811 to search Mars. AndMariner 4 in 1964 flew close, butboth found nothing. But the Mariner9 in 1971 and Viking in 1976 foundevidence of water. Viking also found

big canyons and volcanoes support-ed by a thick crust. We also nowknow that Mars has an atmosphereand clouds and is solid not gaseous.

Future missions sent six landers andthree rovers to study radiation, theenvironment, atmosphere, water,conditions and organic compounds.Spirit lasted for six years, and Oppor-tunity is still going.

The next launch on November 25th

will carry a car-sized rover called Cu-riosity and is planned to land at Gale

The new Mars Rover Curiosity

Photo NASA


NOHA

3

Crater in August, 2012. Not only willit rove around Mars but it will takephotographs and is equipped with alaboratory to study the rocks and spec-imens.

ries from inside the conflict. She wasallowed into the Church on the 30th

day and had almost free rein to takephotos of the gunmen and their liv-ing conditions.

She showed photos taken at theNorth Hollywood shootout in 1996.She covered the World Trade Orga-nization protests and Elian Gonzalez.

In March 2003 she was one of onlyten Americans in Baghdad at the startof the American bombing. About150,000 Iraqis and 4,000 Americansdied in the ensuing war. She visitedthe hospitals every day. Her photo-graphs of the looting of the palaces,Abu Ghraib prison and the massgraves were quite moving.

In 2004 Cole won the Pulitzer Prizefor Feature Photography for her cov-erage of the siege of Monrovia, thecapital of Liberia. The killings affect-ed everyone, but conditions have im-proved greatly in the past four years.

On Assignment to the Hot Spotsof the World

For nearly two decades, CarolynCole has covered war, starvation,

and brutality in the Middle East, Hai-ti, Kosova, and Afghanistan. Like oth-er conflict photographers, she has re-peatedly placed herself in situationsof danger to report on issues that shebelieves must be covered.

In 2002 she earned her first nomi-nation for the Pulitzer Prize for hercoverage of a group of Palestiniangunmen who entered the Church ofthe Nativity in Bethlehem as they fledIsraeli forces, setting off a standoffthat lasted for thirty-nine days. Colejoined a group of peace activists whoentered the church in solidarity withthe Palestinians and filed several sto-

(NOHA continued on page 19)

Ashwin R. Vasavada, Larry Schutte &Rosaly Lopes

Carolyn Cole with Steve Bein

Photo Ken Freund

Pulitzer Prize


I just rereadmy Thrawn

Rickle from lastmonth. I madean impassionedappeal for youguys to get in-volved in your

local schools. I really thought I wouldreceive one or two feedback letters-to-the-editor on this subject. But –nothing, not even an email.

Is anybody out there reading thesearticles?

Back in the day, writing a letter tothe editor took a bit of effort: Penand paper (or typewriter), envelope,stamp, and a trip to the post office.Today, however, just type a few key-strokes and hit send. What could besimpler?

I don’t want to be beating my owndrum here, but I do want to give allof you one more chance to join usfor the first wedding ceremony everheld at the Club. It will be a won-derful sharing of an historic occa-sion with my friends and colleaguesfrom the Club. Please let us knowin the next few days if you plan toattend. We’re not preparing any-thing lavish, but we are looking for-ward to a special day with severalfriends and family members attend-ing from other parts of the countryand, of course, those of you whowill be there as well.

I winterized my yard this last week.

THE THRAWN RICKLE From the Ancient Scottish: thrawn = stubborn; rickle = loose, dilapidated heap

Thrawn Rickle

Robert G. Williscroft #1116 – EditorSome of you still do this each year,although most of you, at least thosein the greater LA area, may have for-gotten the concept.

Up here the days are noticeablyshorter now. Frost appears on mylawn each morning, and when I goout after dark I definitely need towear a jacket. The confluence of theClearwater and Snake Rivers createsa tremendous heat sink that keepsWinter temperatures in the L-C Valleymuch milder than up on the Palouse,however, where temperatures are al-ready dropping into the twenties.

Hunters are out and about in sig-nificant numbers, and local speciali-ty meat processors are scrambling tokeep up with the demand. I look outthe window from my hillside homeat the Snake flowing gently north-ward. It is not expected to generatemore than a skin of ice this year.Looking forward two or three years,however, we are expecting it to iceover as the Sun continues its coolingcycle. Already, locals are taking betson when the first car will successful-ly cross the Snake on the ice.

On the social side, somebody wasarrested last month for burglary, onlythe third or fourth for the entire year.And I think there might have been abar fight last week. It’s a great placeto live! Come and visit – just let meknow when you’ll be here.

The password for the online full-color edition is “acla1111”.


Book Review - Unbroken

5

BOOK REVIEW:UNBROKEN: A World War II Story of Survival,Resilience, and RedemptionLaura Hillenbrand, Random House, New York, NY, 2010, 496p; 6.3 x 9.4 hardcover. ISBN: 978-1400064168. Review by the Editor, adapted from material supplied from publisher and othersources. Thanks to Steve Bein (#1057) for suggesting this book.

This is the true story of Louis Zam-perini, a juvenile delinquent who grew

up to be a penultimate Olympic track starbefore going to war andlosing out on a subse-quent Gold Medal bid.

Assigned to thePacific Theater as aB-24 bombardier, Lt.Zamperini was shotdown over the West-ern Pacific in May,1943. He and his pi-lot, Russell Allen“Phil” Phillips, sur-vived forty-sevendays in a disintegrat-ing life raft surround-ed by aggressivesharks that, on sev-eral occasions, at-tempted to knockthe survivors out of the raft.

They were finally “rescued” by theJapanese, and Zamperini ended up aprisoner in notorious camps Omoriand Naoetsu, under the control ofCorp. Mutsuhiro Watanabe, a patho-logically brutal sadist, called the“Bird” by camp inmates.

Despite the Bird’s best efforts, Zamperi-ni retained life and limb. Naoetsu was lib-erated in mid-August 1945, and he re-

turned home, quickly falling in love with,and marrying Cynthia Applewhite. Unfor-tunately, Omori and Naoetsu left their

mental scars.Zamperini remained

in the Bird's clutches,haunted by dreams,drinking to forget, con-stantly obsessed withvengeance. Fortunate-ly, Cynthia didn’t giveup on him, and helpedhim to find peace. Herlove supplied the rodthat ultimately stiffenedhis backbone, and gavehim the wherewithal tomove on with his life.

Hillenbrand, NewYork Times best sellingauthor of Seabiscuit,elegantly captures not

only Zamperini’s captivating tale, butmanages to include the story of un-counted thousands of other warriorswho fell victim to the atrocities of Jap-anese prisoner-of-war camps. The bookis difficult to put down, and should bepart of every adventurer’s library.

Zamperini, who is a lively 94, is liv-ing proof that redemption is possi-ble. Unbroken is available online andat bookstores everywhere.

“

November 2011 ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS

Editor’s Note: Each month we will feature recentactivities of members and friends on this page.Please send your material along with any photosto the Editor by email or snail mail. Designate itfor “What’s Happening....”

6

What’s Happening...

Bill Altaffer featured in CarmelValley News

What’s Happening...First wedding in history of Club

Bill Altaffer (#1095) was recent-ly featured in the Carmel Valley

News as one of the world’s mosttravelled people.

The article was feature length, andincluded several beautiful photos ofhis travel adventures. You can readthe full article at http://www.delmartimes.net/2011/10/04/ and click onthe story.

Congratulations, Bill!

Yalta

PhotoBill AltafferPhotoBill Altaffer

Kiev, the Ukraine

Robert Williscroft (#1116) (youreditor) will marry Jill Steele May-

er at the Club on Saturday, Novem-ber 19, 2011, at 1:30 pm. The cere-mony will be performed by our ownDavid Dolan (#1087)

A wedding has never before beenperformed at the Club, so this occa-sion is an historic event that youwon’t want to miss. You and yourguests are cordially invited to sharethis happy occasion with Robert andJill.

There will be a reception and re-freshments with a hosted bar in thedining room following the ceremony.

If you will be attending, pleaseleave your name and the number ofguests you will be bringing on the listat the Club, or drop your editor anemail.


Minutes – September 15, 2011

THURSDAY NIGHTS AT THE CLUB

7

September 15, 2011Bob Zeman (#878) Photos Bob Gannon

Larry Schutte welcomed a goodcrowd tonight to hear the recap

of a ten-year adventure.Shane Berry #1093 returned from

the Burning Man Festival. He and hisson had arrived early to see it beingbuilt by 700 people. Eventually,about 61,000 attended.

Bob Oberto #1124 returned fromhis dive trip to Utila off the coast ofHonduras. He also kayaked a riverthat flowed into the Caribbean.

Gary Hareland #1138 went to thehospital, and the nurse could not findone of his kidneys. It turns out thatat age sixty-nine Gary found out thathe only had one. Now he knows whyhe quit drinking.

Pierre Odier #988 reported thatBill Morse #1130 had to delay hisreturn to Cambodia because his housein Palm Springs was hit by lightning.

Jay Foonberg #1126 has proposedand built a suggestion box for theClub.

Larry Schutte #1121 went on amulti-day diving trip to the ChannelIslands of Anacapa and Santa Cruz.He met the artist Wyland and theyshared memories of Ralph White.Larry also dropped some of Ralph’sashes.

Members continue to donate auc-tion items for Night of High Adven-ture. There will be a program of theitems donated but there is a deadlinefor submittal. See Jim Heaton #1020

for tickets. Mike Gwaltney #1128said that cash and checks only willbe accepted on October 23rd.

Charles Carmona #1136 hasscheduled a trip to the largest tour-maline mine in San Diego County.The date is November 13 and the costis $45. There will be a tour inside themine, and the tailings will be avail-able for digging.

Bob Zeman #878 and Bob Aro-noff #837 noted a new book out onadventurer and wanderer EverettRuess. Everett disappeared in theFour Corners area in 1934. His broth-er Waldo was a long-time member ofthe Club.

Bob Walters #1047 and othermembers attended the Celebration ofLife for Frank Haigler #825 All re-membered Frank as a gentleman andan adventurer.

Adventures of an Expedition Flag

Bob Gannon told of growing upon a farm in Iowa with 13 broth-

ers and sisters. In Vietnam he helpedevacuate the wounded out of DaNang.

He started, built, and then sold aconstruction company. He became amember of the Chicago Board ofTrade and was a Name with Lloydsof London.

He decided to take up flying andwent through three months of flighttraining in 1992.

He then decided to fly across the(Minutes continued on page 8)


(Minutes continued from page 7)


8

United States in a plane called LuckyLady. From there he flew to Europeand Africa. LeavingDjibouti, he grabbedwhat he thought wasa water bottle for thelong flight. It was con-taminated. He didmake it to Kenya butsuffered for days after.

At Wilson Airportin Nairobi, Kenya hegot hit by the four Hs.The altitude is High.The plane was Heavi-ly loaded. The tem-perature was Hot andHumid. He crashedand the plane was a wreck, but Bobwas fine. He had landed at seventy-five airfields in twenty-one countriesafter 258 hours of flight time.

In 2000 Bobbought a singleengine Cessna182, naming itLucky Lady Too,and removed therear seats and co-pilots seat. He in-stalled a handpump for fuel, anoil pump, and anhigh frequency radio.

Bob headed west for Hawaii, Tahi-ti, Cook Islands, Samoa, Aitutaki,Tonga, Fiji, Norfolk Island, New Zea-land, and Lord Howe Island. Most ofthe time he stayed only one night, but

he did travel around Tahiti and NewZealand.

He stayed a year inAustralia stopping atmany places includingBirdsville Hotel anddiving the BarrierReef.

He then headed toNew Caledonia, Van-uatu, and the SolomonIslands. There heviewed the land diversfrom their well-con-structed towers. Helost two GPS devicesin a storm near SantaCruz on his way to

Honiara. He dove on the wreck of aJapanese zero off of Papua NewGuinea.

He flew to Malaysia and Thailandwhere he rented amotorcycle to tourthe Golden Trian-gle near ChangMai.

While in India,he saw the TajMahal in Agra,and hiked toEverest BaseCamp in Nepal.

He was robbed in Sri Lanka.Heading west Bob landed at the

Maldives and Seychelles before EastAfrica. In Nairobi, he completed hisgoal of circumnavigating the world.While in and around Nairobi, he saw

Bob meets the Wright Brothers

Bob befriends a Cheetah



many animals including, hyenas andvultures feeding on a dead zebra, amountain gorilla in Uganda, and a chee-tah wandering about Lucky Lady Too.

He flew oversub-Saharan Afri-ca viewing Tan-zania, Comoros,M a d a g a s c a r ,M o z a m b i q u e ,Victoria Falls,and Namibia.Then Bob flewnorth along thewest coast of Af-rica landing at thecountries alongthe way including Timbuktu in Mali.

From Dakar, Senegal, he flew toCape Verde and fueled up for the longtrip to Natal. About 70 miles shortof the halfway point to Brazil, he hadonly half a tank left. He decided tocontinue and request an emergencylanding on Fernando Island with 20minutes of fuel left.

After getting great photos of Christof the Andes and Sugar Loaf Moun-tain, Bob headed south to Ushuaia,the southernmost city on SouthAmerica. Then he flew south throughpoor weather to Base Marambio onthe Antarctic Peninsula. While there,he hiked to the penguin colonies.

He flew north to Chile, Bolivia,Paraguay, and Ecuador. Then LuckyLady Too took him west to the Gal-apagos. There he viewed the gianttortoises and the blue footed boobies.

Back on the continent he flew toIquitos, the largest city in the worldwithout a road to it. He flew IFR (Ifollow rivers) in the Amazon before

going north to theGuianas, CentralAmerica, and SanMiguel de Allendein Mexico.

He stopped forawhile in San Di-ego and headednorth again upthrough Alaska’sInside Passage forsome salmon fish-ing, and then on to

Point Barrow. He photographed theWiley Post Monument before goingacross Canada to Resolute Bay.

Bob filled up his tanks in Eurekafor a flight over the North Pole toSvalbard, Norway. Then Lucky LadyToo took him to Scandinavia andeastern Europe. He obtained visasto visit Dubai, Jordan, Saudi Ara-bia, Oman, and Qatar. He spent aweek in Iran.

Going to Iraq presented challengesbut his permit was approved when heagreed to fly medical supplies to Basra.

A highlight in Jordan was flyingwith the military stunt flyers. He flewon to Damascus and Palmyra in Syr-ia, Greece, Mt. Ararat, and Yerevanin Armenia.

Then Bob went west again across north-ern Africa and got a photo with the Rockof Gibraltar in the background.

Everest base camp

(Minutes continued on page 10)



10

Minutes – September 15 & 22, 2011

Just as the audience thought Bobwas going west, he headed east toKazakhstan, Irkutsk, Mongolia, Ma-gadan, and back to Alaska.

To achieve his goal of reachingall fifty states, Bob took a zigzagroute down the eastern seaboardand to more Caribbean islands. Sabais reported to have the shortestlanding strip in the world at 1,200feet.

Finally, he flew to Mexico and upthe Baja peninsula to land at GillespieField in San Diego.

Bob started with Lucky Lady Too inSeptember, 2000, and landed Octo-ber, 2011 after 1,200 landings and300,000 nautical miles. He was gladto have visited more than half ofUNESCO’s World Heritage Sights.

His longest stretch in the plane was18 hours. Total flight time was 2,200hours. Total cost – “Less than a baddivorce.”

What he learned – “Don’t say nountil you know.”

“Flying is the second greatest thrilla man can have. The greatest thrill islanding.”

As Bob Silversaid, “This adven-ture epitomizeswhat this club isall about.”

Bob returnedall four expedi-tion flags toPierre and theClub.

September 22, 2011Marc Weitz (#1144)

Those Returning fromAdventure:

Doug Brown #1160 – Completeda four-day defensive handgun coursein Pahrump, NV, called Front Site.

Roger Haft #1098 – Took his dogto the city park to swim in the pool.When the public pools close at theend of the summer, the city allowsdogs to swim for a day.Those Leaving on Adventure:

Doug Brown #1160 – He and hiswife are traveling to New England toview the fall foliage.

Shane Berry #1093 – Going withhis son to photograph the fall colorsin Saddlebag.

Bob Walters #1047 – Attendingthe American Fighters Associationreunion in Florida and then taking aroad trip.

Allan Smith #1069 – Came in oncrutches. He was asked to be the key-note speaker at the Adventure-Trav-el Summit.Craig Walters – Sudan Today

Pierre Odier #988 introduced tonight’s speaker by recounting the

trouble he had tracking him down inthe world. Craig Walters is a docu-mentary filmmaker who travels theworld covering news stories and in-formation pieces. Pierre finallycaught up to him and called him atthe 3 am in a hotel in the Ukraine.

Craig Walters, a relation of Bob

Photos Craig Walters

Photo Steve Bein



Walters #1047, lives in La Verne andwas the youngest person to serve onthe city council at age 22. He studiedagriculture in col-lege until a girl-friend suggestedthat he go intofilmmaking. Sincethen Craig hasspent 29 years inthe business as adocumentarian andhas traveled to six-ty countries. Hisphilosophy onmaking documentaries is to be invisi-ble, and to let those whom he is film-ing tell the story.

Craig spoke tonight about his May2011 trip to South Sudan where anew country is emerging. With fewpaved roads, Craig and the disasterrelief team that he was covering flewin on a DC3. This ancient aircraft isstill one of the best aircraft to carrydisaster relief cargo into the remoteNuba Mountains. Sudan recently end-ed a longstanding civil war and hassplit into two countries. South Sudanhas only 1 ½ miles of paved high-ways located in the capital, Juba.They hope to double that in the nextyear. During the rainy season theroads become nearly impassible. Fly-ing around from airstrip to airstrip isthe only means of getting around.

Craig was there to cover SouthSudan’s independence. Despite anarmistice, small skirmishes contin-

ue along the border due to the oilinterests in the area. Craig visitedthe town, Abyei, located on a dis-

puted strip ofland on the oilfields. The townrecently was thetarget of primi-tive “bombing”by the NorthSudanese, whopushed debrisand explosivematerial out theback of propel-

ler planes. Aside from the oil, thearea is otherwise dry and desolate.This is not a place one intentional-ly visits. During the rainy season,the residents plant their crops. Theattack on Abyei interfered withtheir planting leaving the residentswithout food and in need of relief.

Craig came to document the DART,or Disaster Area Relief Team. By fly-ing in on the DC3, none of the teamhad proper visas or documentation,meaning they had to fly out the waythey came in. The first job of any di-saster relief team is to assess the sit-uation and determine who is in needof aide. Otherwise, everyone lines upfor food regardless of need. Once theteam comes up with a plan, the nextstep is to meet those needs. This istoughest part. Various groups coor-dinate to provide different types ofaide relief. Samaritan’s Purse provid-ed water containers, tarps, and sani-

Walters with his DC3 in South Sudan




12


tation. Other agencies brought infood and shelter.

Refugees from the recent bombingtook over another town left empty bythose residentswho had previ-ously fled. Thesupplies were giv-en to these peo-ple who had beenon the run forweeks. Peoplelined up for jerrycans, tarps, andsoap. The peopleare so desperate, that any grain that fallsoff the truck or out of a bag is pickedup. There is worry that the violence willresume in July when the independencebecomes official. Still their spirits arestrong despite the hardship.

Before the internet, Craig filmed thedocumentary and took the materialhome to edit it. Now, he edits thematerial on the spot, using a laptop,and posts it to the internet. Despitethe desolation, cell and satellite sig-nals are strong. The team camped inthe villages and ate goats that wereslaughtered for their evening meals.After two weeks, the team flew backto Nairobi. Before he left, Craig wascalled to jury duty. When the judgeasked if anyone was not available toserve, Craig raised his hand and saidthat he had to go to Sudan. The judgesaid that no one would make that upand excused him from jury duty.

It has been very quiet since the ar-

mistice, but the North has been theprimary aggressor. They intend to takeadvantage of their hegemony to con-trol the oil fields. Neither country

wants to partici-pate in a sharingagreement.

Last month themedia finally be-gan covering thefamine in North-east Kenya. Craigvisited theworld’s largestrefugee camp in

Dadaab. The nomadic people whoinhabit the area have wandered insearch of food and water only to finddrought and desolation. Animalsreach watering pans looking for wa-ter only to die from exhaustion.

Craig credits an enduring curiosityand his love of travel for his line ofwork. Every time the phone rings, hegets excited that it might be the nextassignment and international adven-ture. Most of his work is for Art Beat,a company thatprovides stockfootage, andwho has paidfor most of histrips. Craig end-ed by sayingthat he admiresthose in theClub and lovescoming here tohear our stories.

Walters with several Somali boys

Photo Steve Bein


Minutes – October 6, 2011

13

October 6, 2011Marc Weitz (#1144)

Those Returning fromAdventure

Bob Zeman #878 – Had lunchwith Louis Zamperini. He set thescholastic mile record in 1936, metAdolf Hitler in the 1936 Olympics,became a bombardier in WWII, wasshot down, and presumed dead. Theynamed Zamperini Field in Torranceto honor him, only to find out laterthat he was still alive.

Allan Feldstein #1094 – Re-turned from Hawaii where he heli-coptered over a volcano and took anight dive. He saw plankton andmanta rays.

Chuck Jonkey #1026 – Visited aHindu Temple and viewed a musicalperformance by a Buddhist nun anda classical Indian violin. He also at-tended the Sacred Music Festival.

Those Leaving on Adventure

Allan Smith #1069 – Off to theSierras and then to Chiapas for theAdventure & Travel Summit tospeak.

The Strange Tale of the Bessie Brady

Other AnnouncementsSteve Bein #1057 – showed a vid-

eo of Bill Morse #1130, taken inPalm Springs. Bill’s Palm Springshome recently burnt down. His mes-sage to the Club was that he wouldbe back in February or March andpossibly bring Akira with him.

Pierre Odier #988 introduced to-night’s speaker, Club member

Dave Finnern #1065. Dave came toaddress the enduring mystery of the

Bessie Brady, a19th century shipused to transportsilver bars acrossOwens Lake.The ship, alongwith its compan-ion ship, the Mol-ly Stevens, van-ished in 1882, leav-ing treasure hunt-

ers and imaginative children wonderingabout its fate and its treasure. Dave andhis wife traveled to Owens Lake last yearto investigate this mystery.

With a sense of humor, Dave be-gan by saying that there are three ex-perts on the Bessie Brady and two werein the audience, so he’d have to stickto facts. Dave grew up hearing thelegends about the Bessie Brady and itstreasure. Apocryphal tales aboundabout the BessieBrady’s fate.Some have it be-ing over turned ina storm or by aheavy payload ofsilver or attackedand sunk by a seaserpent. After hearing these tales hiswhole life, he decided to investigatethese stories himself.

Bessie Brady light

Photos Dave Finnern

Bessie Brady propellor





14

Beginning with the history of theregion, Dave told of the prolific sil-ver mine called the Cerro Gordo. Lo-cated in the hills northeast of OwensLake, the mine produced silver lead.In the beginningof the mine, thetrees in the areawere harvested,turned into coal,and used to fuelthe smelters thatrefined the minedore into silver-leadbars. From there,the silver-leadbars were trans-ported by mule around the lake wherethey could be shipped off and sold.This was a slow, laborious, and inef-ficient process. A fellow named JamesBrady conceived the idea of shippingthe bars across the lake by ship. Aship was faster, cheaper, and couldcarry much-heavier payloads. TheBessie Brady was built for this purpose.Measuring 16 feet by 85, the BessieBrady was driven by an overly largepropeller and not by a stern wheel assome drawings and models show. The32-inch propeller was too large forthe ship and stuck out of the water.It was driven by the harvested engineof a former U.S. naval vessel used atthe Battle of New Orleans.

Once the trees near the Cerro Gor-do mine had been depleted, the mineoperators needed another source offuel for their smelters. The Molly Stevens

was thus built to haul coal from the vir-gin forest on the western side of thelake. These ships operated for approx-imately ten years before vanishing.

Dave and his wife, Linda, traveledto Owens Lake hop-ing to solve the mys-tery. In temperaturestopping 100 and 110degrees, Dave begansearching at CartagoLanding and discov-ered some pilings, theonly remnants of thewharf. Dave alsofound a concretestructure used to

load coal onto the Molly Stevens. Atone point, the level of the lake wassignificantly higher. So much of thewater has been drawn from the lakeby the Los Angeles Department ofWater and Power that the lakedropped from 50 feet deep to 13 feetdeep with a lot of mud. The MollyStevens sailed into the concrete struc-ture where wagons could dump coaldirectly into the ship.

Dave visited the Eastern Sierra Mu-seum. There he found inaccurate mod-els of the Bessie Brady and the MollyStevens. There was information on thelast captain of the Bessie Brady: CaptainCasper Titchworth, known to be a dan-dy. Dave asked about the Molly Stevens’spropeller. The curator told Dave that theperson who lent it to the museum askedfor it back in the 1960s, and it has sincebeen lost. Strangely, Dave was able to track

Dry ruins of the Cartago LandingWhere the Bessie Brady Tied Up



it down and return it to the museum. Im-pressed by Dave’s expertise and detectiveskills, the museum cu-rator began asking himquestions. She askedDave to identify awheel that she thoughtmight be that of oneof the ships.

Dave then visitedthe nearby town ofKeeler. Most of thebuildings there datedfrom the 1880s, butthey had modern street signs. Davestopped some old timers and askedthem about the ships. They told himabout a major treasure hunt in the

1980s usinghelicopters andh o v e r c r a f t .Dave later men-tioned this toRoy Roush#864, who toldhim, “Oh, that’sAl Enderle.”

Club member Al Enderle #804 hap-pened to be in the audience that night.The old timers also told Dave that therewere piles of rocks nearby that couldbe the original Keeler Landing. Davefound the rocks and plenty of old cans.

Dave gives credence to two theo-ries on the ships’ demise. One has itthat as the mine’s supply of silverbegan to run out, the owners decid-ed to make the two ships into one tosave money. During the process of

removing the Molly Stevens’s engine, theships were placed next to one another

and caught fire andsank. The other storyis somewhat similar: asthe engine was beingremoved from theBessie Brady, it caughtfire, and the MollyStevens later sank intothe mud. In either case,it is strange that theremnants of neithership have been found

in the now-shallow waters of the lake.At this point, Al Enderle took the

podium to speak on his expedition in1986 – 1987. His expedition was fol-lowing up on the story that a windcame up and overturned the BessieBrady with its shipment of silver bars.Two men supposedly survived andswam to shore but later died. Al hadbought a new type of film from a Ger-man chemist that could supposedlydetect precious metals. The thick mudof the drying lake made it very diffi-cult to traverse on foot or by vehicle.Men would oftensink up to theirknees. To solvethe problem, Al’sexpedition usedhelicopters andhovercraft. Henever found any-thing but addedthat he would nev-er tell if he did.

Charcoal Kilns Where Wood wasBurned to Charcoal, Then TransportedAcross the Lake to the Smelter

Casper Titchworth,Captain of the BessieBrady circa 1879

Photo Steve Bein




16


Ralph Perez #1150 – was in LakeHavasu for the jet ski finals.Those Leaving on Adventure

Joel Sussman (Guest) – off to NewCaledonia to help on a 70s sailboat.

Dave Finnern #1065 – Going div-ing with Steve Lawson #1032. Theyare hoping to find a wreck off Ventura.Other Announcement

Steve Bein #1057 brought in a vid-eo of Bob Gilliland #888 taken inPalm Springs. He is recovering fromback surgery and says hello. He miss-es everyone and looks forward tocoming back to the Club.

October 13, 2011Marc Weitz (#1144) Photos Vivian Callahan

Those Returning fromAdventure

Adventure in Southeast Asiaaboard the Quest

Pierre Odier #988 introduced Vi-van Callahan, tonight’s speaker

and friend of the Club. Vivian is anative of California; graduated fromUSC; is an avid sailor, diver, andmountaineer; is a former president ofthe Society of Women Adventurers;and an adjunct professor of commu-nications at Santa Monica College.

Vivian spoke about her adventureswith Dennis Bly and with Jean andScott Adams on the ill-fated yacht,the Quest. After her voyage on theQuest, Jean and Scott Adams and an-other couple were hijacked by So-mali pirates in February 2011 andkilled. Vivian sentimentally told of

her last joyful journey with her friendson the Quest from Hong Kong toPhuket in 2010.

Vivian joinedthe Quest inHong Kong atthe Hebe Ha-ven Yacht Club.She came withher friend Den-nis Bly who wasin attendancethat night andjoined Vivian atthe podium totell the story.Dennis is alsoan avid sailor and motorcyclist. Theirstay in Hong Kong was filled withdelicious and colorful sea food, shop-ping trips, and enjoying the luxuriesof the Royal Yacht Club. Theywatched the Rolex yacht race andmade a side trip to Macau. Macau hasgone from a former Portuguese colo-ny to the hub of China’s casino life.The seaside is robust with luxury ca-sinos. Despite this, Macau kept itsPortuguese charm and much of it feltlike Lisbon.

Dennis commented that HongKong is “vibrant, wonderful, andvertical,” due to its many high rises.Dennis knew the former head of se-curity for the posh Hong Kong Jock-ey Club, who was able to get theminto the VIP section of the racetrack.From there, they couldn’t miss thetrip up to Victoria Peak by funicular

The Quest



to see the most spectacular view ofthe city. A picture taken there withthe four of them was one of the pic-tures downloaded from the Quest’swebsite and used by the press afterits hijacking. Dennis and Vivian wereidentified by the press as “unknowncrew members.”

The group hadexpected to be inHong Kong for aweek, but the staywas extended tothree weeks in or-der to make repairson the boat. Theship was boughtinto dry dock whilethe repairs weremade. Scottwatched nervously as his ship was puton a trolley and pulled out of the wa-ter by rope. During this time, the shiplay at an angle, which made walkingand moving about somewhat awkward.

Once the repairs were finished andthe new sails installed, the boat de-parted to Borneo. They faced roughseas the entire way to the Philippines.Vivian refused to take Dramamineand found herself quickly seasick andout of commission. Having passedthe storms, the sky yielded a steadywind and beautiful sunsets. The crewdiscovered, however, that the mainsail had been installed backwards andwas unusable. The ship sailed usingits slower auxiliary sails.

Pictures of the Quest showed it as

a modern ship fully loaded with state-of-the-art equipment and all the con-veniences and comforts. The shiphad a compressor and dive gear, plusa new computerized navigation sys-tem. Dennis took advantage of themodern kitchen and cooked his sig-

nature red lentilsoup. In theirdown time, thegroup bloggedand Face-booked. Theybecame a close-knit family offour and foundthemselves in acomfortable rou-tine. Each crewmember took a

six-hour watch. Dennis enjoyed thefishing and almost caught a yellowfin tuna, which got away due toScott’s poor gaffing skills. The Ad-ams run a dry boat to insure thateveryone is ready in case of an emer-gency. Scott was meticulous in hiscare and maintenance of the ship.He possessed an advanced level ofskill and professionalism.

As the ship dropped below ninedegrees latitude, the winds died offfor their approach to Borneo. Theship stopped at the Sutera HarbourResort in Kota Kinabalu. Viviangushed about the resort’s beauty andexcellent service. There they ex-changed yacht club burgees, scubadived, feasted on loads of seafood,

Vivian with Jean & Scott Adams and Dennis Bly




18

and raced small sailboats – the Quest’screw each finishing win, place, andshow. They hiked to the top of Mt.Kinabalu via a steep and slipperystone stairway in the rain. After vis-iting an orangutan reserve the shipset sail again for Singapore.

Dennis and Vivianhad never sailedacross the equator.Seeking to remedythis omission, Jeanand Scott sailed outof their way so thatthey could give Den-nis and Vivian a prop-er Neptune Ceremo-ny. Crossing at longi-tude 106, Dennis andVivian were hazed into proper Shell-backs.

It was night when they arrived inSingapore – a dangerous time with theamount of commercial shipping sur-rounding the city. The crew chose tobacktrack to a safe distance and re-enter in the morning. In the daylight,they witnessed all the ships and fish-ing shacks that presented hazards atnight but were easily avoided in thelight. Many of the ship sat empty andanchored, a victim of the economicrecession. In Singapore they visitedthe colonial Rattles Hotel and took aside trip to Kuala Lumpur. They evenfound a copy of Paul Isley’s book inone of the markets. Here Dennis leftthe trip to fly home.

At this point, Vivian ended this por-

tion of her lecture, about her happytimes with the Adams, to discuss thetragedy that followed her time withthem. Vivian began by correcting mis-statements by the press. First, she saidthat the Adams were Christians, andthat they did hand out bible, but they

were not doing this ontheir fateful journey.Secondly, it was re-ported that the Questleft the safety of theirconvoy which resultedin their capture. Vivi-an said they were fol-lowing one of theroutes properly sanc-tioned by the convoy,an outside route that

unfortunately left them vulnerable.Captain Sterling Tallman stood up

to speak about the events initiallyfollowing the Adams’s capture. Cap-tain Tallman is a ship captain with a100-ton license and specializes indealing with pirates. He spoke withVivian after the capture hoping toobtain information that would helpthe Quest. He explained that the Questwas captured near Somalia. Jean andScott and another couple were aboardthe ship. When authorities found theQuest, two of the crew were dead, andthe other two were mortally wounded.The pirates were captured, and the Questwas taken to Djibouti for their trial. Theboat is currently back in the states andwill be prepared for sale.

Capt. Tallman spoke about the rise

Vivian & Dennis Bly – Shellbacks



Minutes – October 13, 2011 & NOHA

in piracy due to the poor economicconditions in the failed state of So-malia. For many, there is no choicefor survival but to turn to piracy.Currently the pirates hold 500 cap-tives and 49 vessels. The area is toolarge to be properly patrolled by themilitary. The Quest is a sad tale of twogood people.

(NOHA continued from page 3)

U. S. Navy SEALS

He also served as Chief Staff Of-ficer, Naval Special Warfare Group11 in Coronado.

His presentation was on the es-

sence of a SEAL – training, commit-ment and philosophy.

The Naval Special Warfare Com-mand consists of 3,052 active SEALS,3,267 in support; 1,053 civilians, and669 reservists for a total of 8,901. TheCommand focuses on counter terror-ism, anti-terrorism, special reconnais-sance, direct action, unconventionalwarfare including counter insurgency,psychological information, and foreigninternal defense.

Odd-numbered teams are on thewest coast and even-numbered teamsare on the east coast. Each team hasseven platoons of three officers, onechief and 13 enlisted.

It was found that water polo play-ers and wrestlers have been the bestqualified. Despite this, the dropoutrate has been 70%.

Capt. Roger Meek (seated to right)assumes cammand of SEAL SupportCenter from Capt. Michael Argo

Photo U.S. N

avya

Captain Roger Meek is currentlyCommanding Officer of the

Navy Operational Support Center inLos Angeles. He joined the Navy in

1978 and served as an enlisted manfor eight years.

His first assignment was with SEALTeam One and made four Western Pa-cific deployments. After Spanish lan-guage training he reported to SEALTeam Four where he served as Assis-tant Platoon Commander and AssistantTraining Officer, deploying to Panama.

SEALS training off Coronado

Photo U.S. N

avy

(NOHA continued on page 20)


NOHA / Letters

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Thanks for the kinds words, Allan. Lookforward to seeing you at the wedding. – Editor

To the Editor:Just a note that the newsletter is great and I

appreciate the mention you gave me in Septem-ber.

I wanted to let you know that I am lookingforward to your wedding and congratulations. Areyou guys registered anywhere? On a last note, I amleaving tomorrow to film in the Lacandona Jun-gle down on the Guatemalan border with Mexico.Then I head to Chiapas where I will be speaking atthe Adventure Travel Trade World Summit. I re-turn on the 26th and this should be a great trip! –Allan Smith #1069

To the Editor:I did not see anyone doing organized

photos from NOHA. I did not have mycamera with me, unfortunately. Hopefully,

Too bad you didn’t have your camera, Steve.You’re a great photographer! We look forwardto your coming efforts this year. Sounds like youhave some great plans. – Editor

someone else got some photos.The speakers did a great job except the Seal, in my

opinion. We were given a canned presentation bet-ter suited for recruiting than a talk about Seals andtheir experiences.

We can learn a lot from Paul Isley and what heaccomplished with the four-day Adventure Semi-nar in Chicago. I plan to try to get a two-day Adven-ture Seminar sometime this year at our facility. If I

am successful, we might be able todo a yearly one, and if Chicago is

any reference, we will become worldclass with that program. – Steve Bein

#1057

(NOHA continued from page 3)

Many thanks go to all who partici-pated in putting our Night of HighAdventure together. Jim Heatontook the reservations and assignedtables. Steve Lawson and Stewart

Deets handled the video and audioprojections. Pierre Odier coordinat-ed the speakers. Ric Flores andShane Berry collected for the auc-tion items. Mike Gwaltney laid outthe auction items.

Photo Ken Freund

Irene & Jim Dorsey, Rosaly Lopes &Ken Freund

Opening ceremonyPhoto K

en Freund

Photo Ken Freund

John Goddard & Jim Dorsey


Forthcoming ProgramsPrograms / Notes

October 27, 2011 – Charles Carmona – Gem Adventures in Sri LankaNovember 3, 2011 – Fred Hareland – RMS Titanic – Dream Ship & Early Green ShipNovember 10, 2011 – Pierre Odier – LAOS; The North West Region MinoritiesNovember 17, 2011 – LADIES NIGHT – Fraser Heston – Michael Rockefeller

DocumentaryNovember 19, 2011 – NON CLUB SPONSORED EVENT – Club wedding:

Robert Williscroft (#1116) & Jill Mayer (1:30 pm)November 24, 2011 – [CLUB DARK] – ThanksgivingDecember 1, 2011 – LADIES NIGHT – Dr. Rosaly Lopes – Looking for

Volcanic Heat: from Erta Ale in Ethiopia to Outer Space!December 8, 2011 – Ralph Perez – Hiking the Pacific Coast TrailDecember 15, 2011 – Annual Christmas Party – Members and Invited Male GuestsDecember 22, 2011 – [CLUB DARK] – HolidaysDecember 29, 2011 – [CLUB DARK] – Holidays

NOTES

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