Link to Morpheus "Spot Page"

Sunset Bar - near Marina Vallarta

 Many of you seem to like following us via our new SPOT tracker, but say that the map on the blog does not work very well.  So, we've set up a new link that you can bookmark and check at any time.  Hope this works better.  Thanks for following along!! 

http://tinyurl.com/WhereIsMorpheus 

-Jim



PS.  Ita seems pretty happy these days so long as we keep her well "hydrated"!

Updates to the "Master Plan"

View Morpheus Cruise Plan in a larger map

Ita the dolphin hunter.....

Morpheus Trivia Question

So, we are 70 miles out from PV and just under half way to the the Panama Canal. We have another 1500 or so nautical miles to go. What would you think the course is from here to Panama??
Guess before reading below....
Surprisingly, (perhaps only to me) it's no where close to 180 degrees. In fact, it's 105 degrees. Only 15 degrees off of due East!!
Random facts from Morpheus.
Out
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Deb's update from the middle of somewhere...

Hello all:
Well, it's been great sailing. We've been sailing from Cabo to PV now for about 30 hours, and we've run the engine for about 2 hours, and sailed the rest. I don't really know what this part of the ocean is called.. Pacific - Sea of Cortez Convergence Zone? I haven't had to change the sails or Otto for at least 4 hours. No dolphin or whales. Lots of flying fish. Really blue water. Warm, sunny, puffy clouds... Highlight of the day is a freshwater shower!
So, it's up to you all to entertain me. Please call my children and harass them for not emailing. We have one email from Chris telling us to call him.... And nothing from Pat.
Anyone know how to get a dog to pee? Ita's refusing to go while at sea.
Deb
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You either know the story, or you don't.....

Just a bit more mileage out of this one....

Deb's Cabo San Lucas update...

Hello All!
We have been here in Cabo for 2 days which has been nice. We came into Cabo just at Sunrise, and it was beautiful. Cabo and the Arches have to be one of the prettiest landfalls I've seen. AS we were getting ready to turn into the bay, a big whale breeches about 200 yards ahead of us. 2/3's of his body out of the water! Then waves his tale and then his fins. Soooo cool. Coming in at dawn was also exciting because there was a big Fishing tournament going on for Muscular Dystrophy. There must have been 200 fishing boats within a mile of the harbor going North while we were trying to go South. I swear it looked like LA!
Cabo is definitely feeling the effects of the Drug Wars at the border. It is very quiet, for Cabo. Definitely fewer people, but of course there are not 250 sailors here after a race and it's not spring break, but still, the restaurants are empty and the bars are suffering. We are staying in the Marina, so we get to listen to the Music from the bars while going to sleep. Actually it's nice. Then the Fish boats start at dawn, so I get some quiet time for coffee and email. Ita has LOVED being on land. Being able to walk and pee whenever she wants is her version of heaven. I have a big canvas bag I carry with me. Whenever we go into a store, bar or restaurant, or when she feels she has walked far enough, thank you very much, she jumps in the bag and goes to sleep. No one knows. Occasionally the bag will move when she makes herself more comfortable, but so far, so good. If anyone is thinking a cruising with a dog, get a lazy one.
Later today we are off for Puerto Vallarta. 35 hours or so to get there, so we leave this afternoon and arrive Sat am.
More on route,
Deb
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Hello from about 50 miles from Cabo...

Hi all,
It's the middle of the night, I'm on watch, so I thought I'ld quickly update the blog. We are 50 miles from Cabo which means we are running out of wind.
We left Mag bay this morning after spending yesterday with Richmond friends Torben and Judy Bentsen. It was great to hook up with them and trade stories. After chatting up a very nice big power boat for a bag of ice, we had plenty of margaritas to keep the talk flowing,... and flowing,... and flowing...
So after a late start today, we left MAg bay and have been sailing in about 17 knots of wind from behind. A beautiful Day. No Dolphins for Ita to chase today.
Gotta go make sure Otto (the Auto Pilot) is going the right direction,
Deb
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Deb's update...

Well, as those following Spot can tell, we spent the night in Magdalena Bay (Mag Bay). I highly recommend coming into a pitch dark harbor you've never been into at night instead of crack. Really gets the heart pumping, but the long term damage isn't as great.
Any way, after safely making it into the bay, using all the cool toys Jim has on the boat to make it safe to do so, we anchored... Many marriages have ended in divorce after anchoring drills, especially in the dark. It usually starts with a husband on the bow of the boat yelling directions at his wife she has no clue how to interpret. Well Jim hates that look, so we do our anchoring quietly, usually with socially acceptable hand signals. Those don't work in the dark, so did a "whisper anchoring"... Jim speaking very softly on the bow telling me what to do. Good thing I've done this before and know what "wishhh thsss doss" means.

So we are here for the day, which we hope to spend with Torben and Judy Bentsen from RYC and then onto Cabo. Only 125 miles! That's 1/3 of the way to Panama!
Deb
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Bears vs. Washington on Xm Radio!

Go Bears!

-Jim

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Update from Debbie...

Here's an update from Deb. I started keeping a log at night while on watch on my iPhone of things you may find interesting... You asked for it. Here we go.

So I remember all my dreams on the boat. Too well. I keep thinking I'm not asleep because all these things are happening, people are talking... I wish they would shut up so I could sleep! Maybe it's the mecklazine? (Sea Sick Med)

It's very crowded out here. It's really dark because the moon doesn't come up until 5am, and even then its tiny! We bumped (softly) into something last night at 00:33. Whatever it was didn't chase us, so all good.

At 01:45 a %$%$&*& long line fishing boat played chicken with me. All is well until the last min when he sped up and turned in front of me following the contour lines. Jim just about had a heart attack when I called him on deck!

Sea creature count for today stands at a turtle, then a whale, and 3 bottlenose dolphins. The ones we've seen before have been the small black and white ones.... I have to download a sea creature ID book. I have books for fish and birds, no Mammals or reptiles!

Ita Peed. All good.

Deb

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Request for more Blog Posts....

I guess I have been lax on updating the blog. Here's one...
Friday 11/5 at 2:00

We are great. We spent the night in Turtle Bay, safe and sound. Jim updated the blog with the early morning explosion a boat a couple 100 yards away had, but we are fine and religiously checking our propane system. I thought it was the Harbor wake up canon so didn't get out of bed to check it out.

Ita is turning into the real sailor dog. She may be sporting a tattoo by the end of the cruise. She has discovered Dolphins and is often the 1st to let us know they are on out bow. She runs to the end of her tether and insists on going to the bow to try to catch them as they ride our bow wave and blow for air. Wonder what she'd do if she catches one? She's been peeing, but not in the right place. Damn.... Working on it....

It's been good motoring (hardly any wind) ,but clear and beautiful. Warm, lots of Dolphin and seals. Dodging bunches of kelp. Making sure all the systems are working. Cleaning out filters. etc. We have Sat. Radio, and weather, so listening to Katie Perry wile looking at the cliffs of Baja is pretty cool.

Have read a book and listened to two. Watched a Wearwolf movie last night with Jim. Seems like scary movies don't bother me with a built in Moat around me.

New batteries are great. Food is good, and our 1 evening cocktail while underway is delicioso!
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We should have purchased a motor boat!

Greetings,

We are 8 miles short of Turtle Bay which is about half way down the coast towards Cabo.

Still waiting for a decent day of sailing. The breeze was great this morning, but then quickly built to 25 out of the South (yuck), and then died completely (not much better). So, the new batteries are very full, the water tanks are full of water we've made while motoring, but...the fuel tanks are running on empty.

We had hoped to carry on towards Magdellena Bay to meet some RYC friends tomorrow, but now are arriving in Turtle Bay too late to fuel up today. Looks like a night at anchor, fuel tomorrow AM and then back out we go!

My two favorite new toys on Morpheus for this trip

1) The IPAD for its "Starwalk" application. It's amazing. Simply hold it up to the sky and it draws a picture of the stars you are looking at complete with names and constellation outlines. Fantastic!!

2) XM Weather and Radio - real time views of surface winds, fronts, cloud cover, lightning, etc.

Ok, time to get the anchor ready.

Hope all is well,

-Jim

PS> Have some great video of the dog on the bow watching a few dolphin playing under our bow for a few minutes.
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At 10/20/2010 3:44 AM (utc) our position was 33°58.90'N 118°26.85'W

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Always turn the gas off at the bottle!!!

Holy Cow!! What a start to our morning here in Turtle Bay!

Just after sunrise this morning, Deb and I heard the loudest explosion that either of us had ever heard. It sounded pretty far away, and given our trips to Mexico in the past and the explosives training provided by my brother Bob on past Mexican races, we just assumed it was Turtle Bay's traditional way to greet the morning.

Not true!!

When we got up an hour later, we looked over towards town and there was what was left of a 50+ foot boat (we later found it was from France) burning to the waterline. There had been one person onboard and when he lit his stove the entire boat exploded.

We assumed that anyone onboard had to have been killed but later found that the one person onboard had managed to get quickly to his dingy and escaped with only burns to his arms and face.

As you might imagine, we are currently double checking our gas systems, and turning the gas off at the tank!!

Off again in a few minutes for Mag Bay and Cabo. Hope to catch Torben and Judy Bentsen soon!!

-Jim

Finally!!

We had a GREAT time in San Diego as always. Finally underway. Heading south to catch up with friends that are about 350 miles ahead of us.

Cabo in. 4 or 6 days!!

Jim
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There really are worse places to be "stuck"!

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All is well

Recent dinner at 3rd Corner Wine Bar and Restaurant, one of our favorites!

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Might as well have the engine serviced

So far so good...
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Delayed AGAIN!!

I guess I should just get used to it. I think we should fall back on the thinking that says "if you don't have a plan, you can't screw it up"

Or, my personal favorite from college, "the sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up!!"

Looks like a Monday AM departure now....

Jim
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Anyone care to guess why Deb is working with Gardening supplies??

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Arrived at San Diego Yacht Club!!

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Leaving Marina Del Rey (again)

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Never Mind

11nm toward San Diego and the showers have changed to thunderstorms. We have pulled a u turn. I don't like lightning!!
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Next Leg Tomorrow

Just scored a slip at the SDYC for the next week!! This is incredible good fortune as the Baha Ha Ha cruising rally is massing in San Diego this weekend for its start on Tuesday. Over 100 boats looking for a place to stay. Again, we lucked out...

Jim
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Where is the horizon??

We should have stayed in Northern California!!

No wind, low clouds, and light misty rain!!

Jim
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Its foggy out here!

All is well. Happy dog equals happy Deb and that all flows downhill to me!!

Picking up Pat at 2am and then moving on!!

Go Bears, beat SC!!

Jim
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Gone!

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Almost gone!!!

Perfect Day!!

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Finally underway-1012am

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10 isn't such a great number anyway!!

So we missed our target date, big deal! Why does it still seem like there is so much to do??

Tuesdat sometime...late is looking likely now...

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Maybe we will stay a day or two??

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Tell Us Again - Why are we leaving??

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10/10/10

Nice target, but for any number of reasons, it looks like we will be a day or two behind "schedule".

Today WAS a good day though as the mast went back in the boat, the rudder went back in the boat, and I picked up my new knee brace!!

Kitesurfing soon!!!

Will advise relative to departure updates...

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Departure Date Update

It sure is beginning to look like 10/10/10 may not work out for us as our departure date. Reality is beginning to gain the upper hand. We've not given up yet, but the odds are better than 50/50 that we will be delayed a few days.

It's good to have goals...but 10/10/10 was just a target.

-Jim

First Look at Morpheus' Cruise Plan as we head for the Panama Canal

View Morpheus Cruise Plan in a larger map


Many of you know that Debbie and I hope to spend a good part of the next year or two cruising on Morpheus.

Our big picture plan is to leave San Francisco on 10/10/10 at 10:10am! Looking ahead, the only places we need to be are Block Island during the third week of June 2011, and Newport for the start of the Newport to Bermuda Race in 2012.

The rest is a very fuzzy plan that will evolve as we go. Initially, we plan to head South for the Panama Canal, and then North up towards Belize, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic and Florida.

There are a ton of miles to cover. 3,000 miles just to get to the Panama Canal and we are hoping that friends will be interested in joining us from time to time, either for a passage or for some fun while in port.

If there is somewhere you've always wanted to go along our general route let us know. We are happy to adjust timing and destinations if it means we can gain some visitors along the way.

Take a look at the map above and click on the blue "balloons" to get a sense of where we think we might be heading and when.

Get in touch with us and sign up to spend some time on Morpheus!!

-Jim and Deb

How to treat a knee injury in Ireland??

The picture below was taken after I re-injured my RIGHT knee during the first day of the Etchells Worlds. I ended up being treated by a sports medicine specialist that works with the British Olympic Team. My guess was that she knew what she was doing, so given the fact that I wanted to go sailing, I was open to anything that she suggested.

But please, someone tell me why she stuck needles in my perfectly good knee???

-Jim

We win the first race of the Etchells North American Championships!!!!

We are VERY happy!!
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Our trip North from San Diego

Cabo San Lucas to San Diego

Cabo - Post Race Celebrations!

2010 Cabo Race - 1st Place!!

PC died this morning

Don't expect many updates...

Not happy.
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Cabo Race Starts Tomorrow!!

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Will the whales have their revenge??

One morning in July 2006 (after the Pacific Cup race to Hawaii), Debbie, Chris, Pat and I left the island of Kauai onboard Morpheus bound for San Francisco 2,000 nautical miles away.

Later that day, just before Sunset, we ran smack into a whale that must have been sleeping near the surface. We were lucky, there was no damage (to the boat) and we didn't stick around long to figure out just how hurt and angry that whale was.

Two evenings later, we found ourselves surrounded by an amazing number of Pilot Whales. Honestly, the pod that we sailed through had to have had at least 100 whales in it. They seemed to find us very interesting and we were all afraid that perhaps they had come to even the score!!

Check out this video, it's amazing!!

Moon Setting over the Grand Canyon

Moonrise over Grand Canyon

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Into the lair of the Sun Devil

Jim:
 
So I'm watching the game and thinking that the Cal 1st Team will be needing a beer by the end of the second quarter.  But no.  ASU just tied Cal 14-14.

Stuart Jones
 
Tel:  415-290-6448
E-mail:  stuart.e.jones@live.com



 
> Subject: Into the lair of the Sun Devil
> To: SRischman@Ropers.com; dq1978@att.com; stuart.e.jones@live.com; jgregory123.morpheus@blogger.com
> From: jim@jdgregory.com
> Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:24:11 +0000
>
> We needed a beer...
> Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

---

Windows 7: It helps you do more. Explore Windows 7.

Into the lair of the Sun Devil

We needed a beer...
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Mystic Seaport

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Newport, RI. Harbor Tour

IMG00057-20090921-1145.jpg

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IMG00046-20090919-1007.jpg

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IMG00045-20090919-1005.jpg

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Time for a parade through the harbor

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Another windy day

Sorry for lack of info yesterday. We did not have a good day. Today startyed with a one hour postponement but they are now sending us out.

Winds forecasted to moderate.

Having fun, and learning spanish!!
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Good Morning - Day 3

Due to a rum storm last night this morning's report will be short
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Race 4

As you can see from this picture, our remarkable run of over achievement has come to an end!

30 degree shift to the right on first leg and we were hard left.

StFYC on the other hand was hard right. Nice going boys! Victory #1!!!
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Pretty good day so far

Three races...6, 12, 9.

StFYC just got a 2nd. They look much happier now!!
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Day 2

Morning comes early when sailing with team Real Club Nautica Barcelona. I have yet to see a party where they are not the last team standing!! If there were a trophy for both on and off the water performance combined, we would be certain to win.

Forecast for today is 15 to 20 and cold. Looks like a long day to make up for yesterday. Expecting four races.
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Siesta vs. PIMS party throw by the British

I chose the party, what's new....
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Another...

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Just a picture....

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No Mas!!

Time for cervesa as the race committee has canceled all additional racing for the day as the wind is over 22 knots!!
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Race #1

Good race for us. Great start, good speed, wind at 20 or so. The left paid, and we ended top half which is far better than yesterday!!

Two boats lost jib halyards, one boat lost its outhaul. Lots struggled with the conditions.

The committee has decided to move us inside the harbor for more racing. Still pretty windy in here.

More later...
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On the way out

Probably few updates from here. Looks like muy viento!!!
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Racing starts today

19 boats, 17 nations and some great sailing conditions today!!

I am sailing with the spanish team.

Watch the NYYC website if interested, I think they have real time graphics showing the racing!

We may not be in the front...
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A MAGNIFICENT SHOW ABOUT TO BEGIN
Newport, R.I., USA (Sept. 15, 2009) - Seemingly overnight, the New York Yacht
Club Harbour Court facility has transformed into an international village
teeming with hundreds of people, including sailors from 14 nations who have
arrived to compete in the New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup.

"It's obvious that a lot of work has gone into this," said Craig Healy, a Soling
world champion who will skipper the St. Francis Yacht Club's team. "It's very
well organized." With a Wednesday (Sept. 16) through Saturday (Sept. 19) racing
schedule, most of the 19 teams - all of which represent yacht clubs and have
adhered to strict guidelines for crew composition -- checked in this past
weekend, attended a Swan 42 Performance Symposium, and began practicing on
Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound on the course once used for America's
Cup races when the New York Yacht Club last hosted that contest here in 1983.

By Monday, a 7900 sq. ft. tent and another at least half its size had been
erected on the lower half of the yacht club's sprawling lawn, famous for its
gloriously steep sweep down to the Newport harbor front. In the smaller of the
tents, where post-racing hospitality had already started, sponsor Sperry
Top-Sider, known for inventing the world's first boat shoe, was busy outfitting
every sailor with a new pair of its "Ventus" model shoes and happily servicing a
steady stream of visitors who were checking out the merchandise at Sperry's
"Beach Cottage."

"Every rig has been tuned exactly the same," said Paul Zabetakis, president of
the Swan 42 class and chair of the impressive Technical Committee that has been
formed to oversee every aspect of boat detail, "and with the sails absolutely
matched, these boats will be more level than they ever have been since the
fleet's formation." Event Chair John Mendez added that the sailors also have
access to PredictWind, which enables every sailor to have equal wind and marine
forecast information. "I don't know how much more equal we can get," said
Mendez.

Since the NYYC owns the suits of sails and plans to use them again in two years
for the second running of this event, it took the liberty of emblazing them with
the event's logo and clear identification of each team so spectators can root
for their favorite entries. And spectators don't even have to be in Newport to
follow the action. At 11 a.m. on each racing day, they can log on to Kattack for
"Live Race Tracking" (http://tinyurl.com/oyue8a), which according to Kattack
representative Mark Fortin is not only entertainment for those who can't be on
the race course watching but also a performance report for the sailors, who will
be able to view the day's happenings on a big screen under the hospitality tent.
- Nightly reports, blogs, daily video and results will be available at:
http://www.nyyc.org/eventnews
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Test

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History of Morpheus' Travels

During our cruise and occasionally on long distance races, we have sent in position and weather reports to an offshore tracking service ---  http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/index.php

This service shares the weather info we submit with offshore weather forecasters allowing them to compare their forecast data with near real time data that they would have no way of collecting otherwise. Occasionally, when we download a weather fax we can see our report reflected on the weather map.

The service also shares position info with Search and Rescue services in the event that they are trying to locate you.

And, I've just found that it keeps a historical database of positions that can be displayed on google earth charts!!

Now, I wish I used the service more often!!

Nice!!

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Big & Beautiful - Newport Shipyard

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J Boat - Newport Shipyard

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