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You don't know. However, suppose you happen to spot a ship in the distance, with its lights gleaming far away, there's a good chance that there's water inbetween it and you. Therefore, that is a pretty good guess as a direction to steer. If that is a real ship, with real lights, it's a good bet. But this is where "false lights" come into meaning At night, at sea, it's far from obvious that the distance is land or sea or sky.
A ship in the far distance moves about in a particular way, and the lights move relative to the surface of the sea, which is itself moving. What ship-wreckers are alleged to do is to move hand-held lanterns about in such a way that they mimick far away ships. The wreckers' lamps are held on land and high up sometimes on cliffs so they appear to be higher-up in the picture, and in a false perspective, there is an impression that they are much further away, and on the sea.
Another thing which makes the idea of "false lights" have some credibility is the type of story where the wreckers would parade along the sea-front very slowly with a donkey and the lantern hanging from the donkey's neck. If it's all a made-up story, then why invent an idea that someone would go to the trouble of having an animal to carry a lamp? Also, why is it supposed to be going "slowly"? I would speculate that the nodding motion of the donkey walking along slowly would have a motion which to a distant observer would appear like a ship in the far distance.
Wreckers were some of the wealthier citizens in the Florida Keys during the Pirate heydays! Wreckers refers to the people who would go out and salvage the crew, ship and cargo of ships that had ran aground on the reefs of the Florida keys. Some of this happened out of heroism and some out of piracy. A reward or payment was expected. They organized it so that a claim could be filed in Nassau or Havana. The claim could also be settled between the owner of the shipwreck and the salvagers.
Many records exist showing that the whole ship, cargo, crew and passengers were saved from many ships. After all was taken from the wreck, the ship would be set on fire. They would also move lights around or snuff them completely out to trick the ships into running onto the shallow reefs. The Upper Keys had especially dangerous waters for the large overloaded ships. Many wreckers would hang out near Carysfort Reef and Tavernier while waiting on a wreck to happen. The problem was that there were no written legal statutes concerning piracy.
It was later made into a film, also called Jamaica Inn, by Alfred Hitchcock. It is an eerie period piece set in Cornwall in ; the real Jamaica Inn still exists and is a pub in the middle of Bodmin Moor. That truckers have the same rights to use a US highway as any other vehicle. That Tenn. It is very satisfying that after days of reading posts that the need for you tube fame, adrenaline causing speed limit breaking adventure, close call peg scraping, knee dragging, near death corner mis haps and the chance to be have your photo taken by Dragon shooters and maybe even have the bragging rites to a piece of your bike hung on the tree of shame proves my original contention.
This entire thread turned from a safety argument about trucks being to big for the road to getting any truck off the road for the squids to be able to play their death cheating racer game on it. The quoting of track day instructors directions was also a dead give a way that people paid their money on a track to learn how to drag a knee at the Dragon.
Give me a break. As I said before, I had been riding that stretch of road before the general bike public knew it was there, I even have my stupid squid photos from several years of knee, peg dragging. But when the wanna be racer squids came I left. You want hair raising fun in the corners then stay on a track or go find a much less traveled road. Quit crying about bikers going to fast, missing the corner and finding some unexpected obstruction in the way. Yes, very sad for the family but it happens to riders going to work, coming home from a run every day and they try to be prepared for it.
If we keep going this way maybe we will uncover a real conspericy. Every road has a Death Map, but nobody cares except on the Dragon. Govt changes the name to Fatality Map. If you want to learn how to ride safely on the street, you have no choice but to go to school on a race track, because learning how to ride safely is a CRIME on the street. BTW you can drag a knee at 20 mph in a parking lot, or at least I can. Cops and Gold Wing riders pride themselves in dragging pegs in parking lots and the Dragon.
Dragging knees and pegs is mandatory in emergency situations as the only way to change direction quickly to avoid impact. Riding safely is a crime on the street. Every driver and every rider commits dozens of crimes every day, subject to years in jail for each day driving except in a few states that define the highway code as civil not criminal. Tennessee Code requires 30 days in jail for every driver exceeding the speed limit by 1 mph.
Does that sound right to you? Ignorance is bliss to the sheeple, but that don't change this fact of law. Most rookie truckers have no idea that road is so impassible by looking at their maps. That's why the Dragon is special, because it's the only road I know of where riders actually pride themselves on riding skill, not by how much beer they can drink.
But that's changing with the Police State crackdown at the Gap, with up to 36 cops per 22 mile lap, resulting in boycott by skilled riders, who are replaced with unskilled novice riders and unskilled cruisers making beer and dope runs pirates who fall down in parking lots and hit other bikes head-on. And, each year, more and more Americans demand that their hard-earned paychecks not fund the killing of preborn children, the wounding of their mothers, and the advancement of a culture of death in America. In January, Students for Life of America released a new study showing that The Hyde Amendment strictly prohibits all federal funding of abortions and is placed in the Appropriations Act which covers the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Department of Education.
Planned Parenthood Struggles to Retain Taxpayer Funding in Indiana - The state of Indiana recently passed a bill barring state Medicaid funding from going to abortion providers. As the largest abortion chain in Indiana, Planned Parenthood would no longer receive reimbursements from the government for seeing Medicaid patients.
Planned Parenthood has filed a federal lawsuit against Indiana in an attempt to force Indiana to restore their government funding. They are claiming that the Indiana law violates a federal statute. Fiction, after all, HAS to make sense. So why the Hell would Big Brother care about saving bikers on the Dragon?
Get the truck outta here SlayerHater. It would appear that North Carolina is ahead of the curve in banning trucks on Deals Gap. Soon signs will be posted on the NC side telling of existing truck restrictions. This may be the beginning of some real progress on the truck problem: Mark H Sent: Friday, August 12, 9: Deitz, Sandy K Subject: Signage reflecting recent truck restrictions on US and NC28 Sandy, Who would I contact regarding signage along NC28 and US reflecting the current restrictions to through trucks with trailers over 30'?
As you may know, a motorcyclist was killed by a north bound truck pulling a 48' spread axle flatbed trailer on US at the 5MM in Tennessee on August 3rd, Being that the truck was northbound, it violated NC law to get to the accident scene in Tennessee. Lack of signage may have contributed to this tragedy. Any information on a contact about this matter would be appreciated. I am just a motorcyclist seeking to help stop trucks from wandering into that area as they are unable to safely negotiate that region and increased motorcycle traffic means a dangerous traffic mix.
Laws that are already in place could reduce their numbers and prevent some future tragedies. My friend was run over by a truck that shouldn't even have been there.
Thanks very much for any help you can offer, Mark H. Deitz, Sandy K Sent: Friday, August 12, Mark H Cc: Both of these engineers can be reached at xxx-xxx-xxxxI think they Will be able to answer your questions. Moore, Reuben To: Mark H CC: Fri, 12 Aug Reuben E. Tuesday, August 16, 7: Moore, Reuben E Subject: Moore Reuben Date: Wed, 24 Aug Signage reflecting recent truck restrictions on US and NC28 The present signing only gives "warnings" to truckers of winding road conditions, but there are ordinances in place that apply to "thru" trucks only.
DOT is not obligated to post signs of these restrictions, but truckers are responsible for knowing about them by accessing an online database. The current restriction would not apply to "local" truck trips, which is defined as a trip origin or destination within the restricted section of highway. The traffic engineers that report to the State Traffic Engineer, in consultation with Division 14 engineers, have decided to recommend changing this ordinance to "No Trailers over 30 feet", and that this ordinance will have signs posted. Further, it will apply to all vehicles, regardless of whether the trip is local or through.
It is likely to take two to three months for the ordinance to be approved and for safety money to be appropriated for the fabrication and placement of the required signs. If you would provide me with a postal mailing address, we can keep you further advised with an official response. Thank you for sharing your highway safety concerns with us. Wednesday, August 24, 3: Signage reflecting recent truck restrictions on US and NC28 Reuben, Thank you for the reply and for the assistance.
If NC DOT isn't responsible for signs reflecting the current truck restrictions, who may I contact about their placement? I understand there is no obligation to place signs warning truckers of restrictions, but it seems to me that such signs telling of restricted routes would be much more beneficial to the motoring public than the signs that are currently in place gently warning truckers of the mess they are getting into.
You are the experts, but changing the ordinance seems unnecessary as opposed to just indicating and enforcing the one already in place. Are you proposing changing that ordinance to "nothing over 30' " as well? If so, Robinsville would be cut off from delivery which is not the objective. The list of truck restrictions I am looking at may me wrong or you may have more up to date info so correct me if I'm wrong. Again, thanks very much for taking this on. I do appreciate it. Mark H. Tue, 6 Sep The thinking has been that truckers are professionals who know they have a responsibility to know the rules under which they operate, and that signing that only applies to a minority of traffic should not be needed.
This practice has been questioned on several truck restricted routes, and current discussion revolves around what conditions would justify the expense and need for signing for none, some, or all truck restricted routes. Tuesday, September 06, Moore, Reuben E Cc: Signage reflecting recent truck restrictions on US and NC28 Reuben, Thank you for your continuing attention to this matter.
The family of the fallen rider and I do appreciate the effort. I ride in western Swain and Graham counties almost weekly through the summer months. NC28 and US are roads I am quite familiar with. I was also an over the road truck driver for nine years. I stopped driving commercial vehicles in Since then, there have been many changes in the trucking industry. The most relevant change in the industry is the fact that companies are hiring many non-English speaking drivers.
For the majority of truck drivers I have helped across US, English is not their first language. Most of the others were led there by their GPS or the road looks to be passable in a trucker's atlas. I put my four-way flashers on and drive in front of the trucks to try and keep anyone from getting under one. I wasn't there early enough on the day of Ike's incident and I can't be there everyday. Cancel Send. ET Oct. Tail of the Dragon, 'the best ride in North America'. The economy of much of Western North Carolina is tied to tourism. And a key component is motorcycle vacationing: The start of the famous Tail of the Dragon stretch of highway is in Deals Gap.
Deals Gap itself is little more than the rural crossroads of U. The Dragon attracts 1, to 1, motorists daily, according to N. A well-maintained highway with curves in 11 miles. Motorcyclists and sports car enthusiasts flock to Deals Gap — the literal Tail of the Dragon — to start their ride.
Sharp is a retired wine salesman from Algoma, Wis. Sharp, a cancer survivor, is roughly miles into an open-ended North American ride that has taken him from the Midwest to Labrador and the Carolinas. He blogs about his travels at ProstateCancerTorch. The posted speed limit is 30 mph. Oncoming traffic can barrel into view around any corner. The Dragon is edged by thick hardwood forests. At high noon, you can still be driving in shadows. There are no driveways or secondary roads hitting U. The road undulates on a fairly level course; there are no switchbacks ascending or descending peaks.
The roadway on the Dragon is in great condition. Prime season for hitting the Dragon is spring through summer — and October, when the leaves are turning. The Dragon is popular with four-wheelers of all stripe. Stoppie One of our favorite photos from the past. A stoppie in the road at the Crossroads of Time now Deals Gap in front of an accident prevention sign that was once there. CaliforniaCouple California couple heard about the Tail and had to check it out. He wishes he had his Harley here. Truck Another idiot trucker loses license and pays big fine Monday 4 pm.
Road not cleared until after 10 pm.
The best we got were a couple of signs that truckers pay no attention to. It is likely to take two to three months for the ordinance to be approved and for safety money to be appropriated for the fabrication and placement of the required signs. Thanks very much for any help you can offer, Mark H. Darryl was hurting for sure after that one Forget about your front brake on the roadside gravel. But thanks to the relatively low speeds on Deal's Gap, this lad lost the rear end and escaped with nothing more than some bruises, a trendy stonewashed look and a precipitous drop in resale value.
April 3,