Why Worry About the Bermuda Triangle?

It’s the ‘Columbie Circle’, not the Bermuda Triangle, that’s been the problem for the Latitude 38 drone pilot, who because of employment privacy rules, cannot be identified.

Of the five Latitude drones, two have crashed into the deliciously blue waters of Baie de Columbie, and another one was lost high above the entrance to the Simpson Bay Lagoon at not too far distant St. Martin. Given the size of that small area compared to the size of the rest of the world, it seems awfully suspicious, don’t you think?

The first two drone losses were most likely the result of strange but unexplained radio frequencies, possibly generated by aliens, jamming the drone’s auto-stability system. It will be noted that last week another plane hit a photographer standing on the island’s main road. Something funny is going on. This week’s drone loss, however, was much more straightforward.

After getting photos of the Leopard 45 ‘ti Profligate with the Olson 30 La Gamelle tied up next to her, the unnamed operator flew the drone about 150 feet away to get some aerials of David Wegman’s Cowhorn 32 Afriggin Queen. A nice shot, no?

Unfortunately, thanks to an error in the operator’s depth perception, he then thought he was flying the drone in front of Afriggin Queen to get another view. Alas, he flew the drone through the middle of the schooner, which unfortunately had some rigging holding the masts up. The drone props clipped a couple of these, went into a wild spin on the other side of the boat, and took a refreshing dip in about 30 feet of Caribbean water.

The drone was quickly retrieved by one of the La Gamelle crew, after which another member of the crew gave the drone a good saltwater scrubbing in the hopes that it would make it good as new.

The mini SD card was retrieved from the drone, rinsed in fresh water, and the photos successfully downloaded. Based on the last time the pilot took a Latitude drone for a swim, the SD card has about a week to live.

A drone specialist is now working on the drone, believing he can make it “as good as new” after doses of WD-40, contact cleaner, rice baths and what have you. The publisher of Latitude 38 doesn’t have much faith in this idea, as there are some critical electronics guts that don’t take well to saltwater. He’s just happy that while drones have become much more sophisticated — the latest have Obstacle Avoidance technology — the prices have tumbled.

Some people are under the misimpression that Latitude has lost five drones. That’s not true, as only three and a half have been lost. Drone #1 is still flightworthy, but is as hopelessly outdated at the first Apple computer. Drone #2 was pretty good — until an unnamed operator used her as a weed whacker on a palm tree next to a swimming pool The drone broke into three components. Two of them, the drone itself and the camera, fell onto the concrete next to the side of the pool and were unhurt. The all-important gyro, however, broke away from the other two pieces and took a swim. These days you can get a 10-times-more-sophisticated drone for not much more than the price of a replacement gyro for unit #2, so it sits unused.

Despite the drone pilot’s mishaps, he’s on a fast track to be a government pilot. 

Despite the loss of the drone, Sunday was a fabulous day at Baie de Columbie. In addition to tout le monde being there in anticipation of the Voiles de St. Barth, the Wanderer had fabulous sailing aboard the Olson 30 La Gamelle. Sailors were either drooling or cheering as it sailed through the anchored boats. And to top it off, later that evening the Dubs did their thing.