Pirates? And a busted head gasket… Rob Almeida Total Views: 81 October 1, 2010 By Rob Almeida – 8 March 2006 It was quite a day out here in the Gulf of Aden, the 600-mile stretch of ocean separating Somalia and Yemen, but we’re finally moving again and making tracks west.  Calypso, my parent’s Valiant 40, had been in Salalah, Oman for almost two weeks before departing with six other sailboats of various sizes and nationalities two days ago. My parents had been sailing for the past eight years through the Caribbean, across the Pacific, Indonesia, and now the Arabian Sea.  With constant reminders of pirate activity in the area, they were happy that I had been able to meet them in Sri Lanka for this leg of their voyage.  They were also relieved that they weren’t the only couple trying to get their boat to the Mediterranean that spring. During our stopover in Oman, there was much discussion among the boats regarding piracy and how to mitigate the threat. Daily skippers meetings were held over pints of beer at the expat club discussing how best to sail as safely, inconspicuously, and as expeditiously as possible through these pirate-frequented waters. The uncertainty of what lay ahead was front and center on everybody’s mind. Last night our internationally-flagged sailing convoy, collectively called “Dexy’s Midnight Runners”, established contact with the USS Decatur (DDG 73) on VHF radio who gave us a position to avoid, due to recent pirate activity.  Unfortunately, that position was directly in between us and where we were going.  Having good communications with Decatur, we felt comfortable that if our safety was ever in doubt we would be able to contact them and help would be on its way in a hurry.  Unfortunately, soon after talking with them, they fell out VHF range and we were once again, alone, and fending for ourselves as we entered Pirate Territory. As the night went on, endless chatter on the VHF and HF radios about contacts in