We have been home all day because we are expecting a delivery. Whilst here we have cleaned the windows--boy things outside look so nice and sharp now ! The pollen has just caked on over the past days. The worst windows are the few with screens in them. They were REALLY dirty. Anyway, while cleaning those windows I noticed jet trails up in the cloudless blue sky. The sky's have been clear since the Covid thing--less folks flying. so it really caught my attention. However, not only were there jet trails, but the patterns were not geometric, you know--straight lines... no, these trails looked like the pilot had been drinking. It is a very unusual sight overhead here: In time, these trails faded and then there were new ones ! What was going on? Well, we do not know for sure what the reason for this seemingly frivolous piloting was but have a look at these pages from air-plane monitoring software: Then here is what was happening later on: Further investigation revealed that the two machines were British and Dutch Air Force planes respectively. Well that was the investigation; however, we still do not know the why for this unusual trajectories. What is possible ( and not funny at all) though is that yesterday, or the day before a fourteen year old German tourist was swept away in the ocean in the very area that the two planes were circling. We are thinking that it was perhaps searching for her. The area is known for strong undertows and maelstroms. Because of the known problems there there are all sorts of warning boards, so we cannot understand why she was out there. It is all very sad.
I think you are right Sjoerd and the planes were searching for her. I can't see any other explanation that would fit with the unusual trajectories. I, too, wonder why a youngster was there on her own when it's clearly posted as a dangerous area.
Each year there are news stories about boats, swimmers, kayakers gone missing on local lakes. Rescue/search boats manned by the local fire departments are sent out, and helicopters from a nearby army base start searching. When we hear helicopters we know it does not bode well. Weather warnings, areas marked for underwater hazards are ignored. I do hope that child turns up wet but safe. I just want to ask, what were her parents thinking?
Thats very possible looking at the search patterns ! Makes me think about the actress here that was found after 7 days of drowning ! Odd was that she took a 4 year old swimming in a lake that was deep with currents and tons of underwater debris ! Who turns a 4 year old loose in a lake like that ? I do not get it ! He said she helped him into the boat then went under ! Did they have no ropes as most boats do or life jackets ? Its strange ! At 4 years old I didn`t let mine past knee deep !
Thanks for your comments, Eileen, Jane and Mart. UPDATE: The solution the trails in the sky were made by jet fighter and refill-tankers. So then, it had nothing to do with the searching missions. It was a training mission for the fighter pilots and to avoid having to land and take off so many times, they were re-fueling in the air so that their training could carry on continually. The article said further that these exercises are carried-on all the time without being noticed; however, now with such clean air it is more visible. Hmmm. The young girl is still missing.
14 is a difficult age for boys and girls...they are trying to get out from under the rule of parents and adults in general, trying to prove that they can do things by and for themselves, and they will, most of the time, do the exact opposite of what their parents or other people in charge tell them to do. When a parent says " No, don't do that" it's like challenging a youngster to prove their parents wrong. Most boats have a rope at the bow of the boat for tying it up at a dock but if you can not reach that rope because of undertow the rope is useless and sadly most people do not have life jackets in their boats because 'they can swim' so they do not believe they need them. At least the mom got her son into the boat before she was dragged down by the current. I live in an area where there is a former SAC base a few miles away and another one a short few hundred miles north of us, training like that goes on all the time. Usually far away from public view but with more and more formerly uninhabited parts of the country side now being turned into communities the training missions are being seen by more people.
Yes Toni---pubers can be difficult at the best of times. The crazy thing about this terrible accident was that they were just playing about in the surf...about knee deep. On many beaches, this is not dangerous, but as I said, this particular area is so terribly treacherous that all goers ( Dutch or tourists) are warned profusely about the unique danger of this particular place. It is all so sad. That incident over there with the actress and her son we heard about here--It was not clear exactly what happened. Also a tragic and bizarre incident.
