Watercure USA - August/September 2021

IN THE KNOW FOR for AUG/SEPT 2021

HOW TO PROTECT A MERCHANT SHIP ALONG THE SUEZ CANAL

There was recently a news story about a ship that was stuck in the Suez Canal for several days. Blocking traffic in a critical trade route created a worldwide crisis, costing hundreds of millions of dollars. A few people know I used to captain ships along that canal and asked me about it. As a Merchant Marine, I was the captain of ships smaller than the one that was stuck in the canal, but at the time, our ships were considered the maximum size. The canal used to be even more narrow than it is today, but, even back then, accident stalls were a fairly rare occurrence. Northbound and southbound ships had to coordinate their trips since they couldn’t pass each other. Northbound ships would start at daybreak and sail all the way through, while southbound ships waited in an area called Bitter Lake until the canal was clear. While we didn’t encounter issues like accidents in the Suez Canal, we did use it to travel from the Mediterranean Sea into the Red Sea. As you may know, these were (and still can be) hot areas for piracy. To make matters worse, despite the dangers being known, only one revolver is allowed on merchant ships. That wasn’t just U.S. law, but international law. How does a captain keep their crew safe with one revolver? There are two ways: Make your watchful eye and weaponry known, and improvise new weapons.

far less likely to do them. As a captain, I was acutely aware of the threats that our ship faced and the opportunities in which pirates might have the ability to gain intelligence about our ship. Often, we had local vendors selling goods and services on the ship (especially if you’re waiting by Bitter Lake), and if problems arose, or if they were trying to access an area they weren’t allowed to, I wasn’t afraid to use violent force to protect the crew. I’d reveal my gun, point, and watch people back off right away. I made it clear that if anyone tried to disclose our ship’s layout or information to pirates, they would not be safe. At some point, I gained the nickname “Captain John Wayne,” which surprised me since I didn’t know our movies had crossed that cultural barrier. Anyway, these warnings were usually

enough to not bring our ship to any harm. However, we were still inevitably targeted by two pirate attacks — both of which we successfully repelled by being prepared with our own “weapons” that wouldn’t violate international law. First, we used a common safety device called the Lyle gun to save our crew’s lives in a slightly different way than intended. A Lyle gun is a short-barreled cannon that, conventionally speaking, throws rope projectiles for the purpose of saving someone’s life if they were far out in the open water. However, if you put extra gunpowder and shrapnel — whether it’s nuts and bolts or ball bearings from the engine room — it can be very bad news for anyone within a close radius.

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If people know about the danger they’ll be in by doing certain actions, they’ll be

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3 Reasons Why Cooking With Soft Water Is Better

Do you consider yourself a foodie or simply someone who loves to enjoy quality food at home? We have good news: Getting clean, soft water can majorly upgrade your home-cooked food! While it might seem obvious that clean water lends itself to better food, here’s how it can affect all your dishes at home. IMPROVED TASTE In New York City, some people credit the hard tap water for the city’s famous, delicious pizza dough. While this may be true, the truth is that too hard of water can lead to stiffer dough, not better dough. When you cook with soft, filtered water, you’ll get food that’s free from minerals, which leads to more intense flavor from your ingredients. There’s a reason why Michelin star restaurants often serve and prepare with filtered water! BETTER, SAFER VEGETABLES Soft water makes vegetables not only easier to cook but also tastier! As mentioned, the minerals in hard water can often add a layer of flavor. Hard water also slows down the cooking process

because it can make your vegetables tougher. This may lead you to overcook your vegetables until they’re blander than they have to be. Cooking vegetables with soft water will be quicker while producing better taste and texture. MORE FLAVORFUL LIQUIDS When it comes to creating flavor in a cold drink or stock, hard water can’t absorb new flavors because it’s already stuffed with minerals and other impurities. If you’ve ever brewed iced tea, you may notice that hard water turns your tea cloudy after cooling down. Soft water doesn’t do that because it’s much cleaner and more effective at absorbing new flavors. One of the first things a homeowner will notice about their new water filtration system is that their coffee and tea tastes significantly better! This applies to your sauces, stocks, and gravies as well. Want to start upgrading your home cooking today? Give your local water experts at Watercure USA a call to get a free water testing appointment!

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The only problem with a Lyle gun is that your first shot really matters. If you miss, it takes a few minutes before you can fire again — and in the heat of battle, seconds mean everything. That’s why I trained every crew member on how to use the Lyle gun, hid the Lyle gun’s position on deck, and painted a discrete stripe on the deck that we referred to as “Lyle’s Death.” If an encroaching pirate were to cross that line, our crew would know to fire, and it was unbelievably effective at clearing an area. (Side note: Part of my inspiration for using a Lyle gun this way was the story of New York’s cannon artillery group that fought in the Civil War at the Battle of Gettysburg, specifically during Pickett’s Charge. Despite the Confederacy technically breaching the Union line, they couldn’t hold it due to the cannon fire.) Another method we developed involved life rafts. They’re usually in recognizable cylinder containers, but if you were to paint any other steel drum the same way, you’d think it’s a nonthreatening life raft container. That’s how we set up deceptive steel drums along the sides of our tanker, which did not have life rafts but diesel fuel.

our tanker more dangerous to climb, but it would also eliminate oxygen for boarding pirates.

It might seem cruel to some people that these measures would be necessary. However, it’s important to keep in mind that there’s no amount of discussion that would stop a pirate attack — we were the Moby Dick to their whale hunt. Vigilance was extremely important to save as many lives on both sides as possible, and, should the worst come to pass, it was crucial for us to use our resources to stay alive. That’s why we designed and trained our crew on all our defenses so that if I or the senior officer were taken out, the men could still have the confidence and systems to keep themselves safe. Overall, we estimated that we could handle groups of 30–40 pirates at a time, and, thankfully, we never were attacked by groups of pirates larger than that. Merchant ships today may not need these improvised systems, since merchant ships are finally allowed to carry their own security detail. However, in my years as a captain, we found them very effective — and I can proudly say we never lost a single crew member’s life on board. –Captain Lance

Because diesel ignites so quickly and isn’t explosive, it was a perfect way of setting the sides of our ship ablaze. Not only would the fire make

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LANCE: 716-912-9939

DREW: 716-946-3598

You might hear our team talk to you about “contaminants,” but what do we mean by that? What are contaminants, really? How dangerous are they? We’ll answer those questions here. What Exactly Are Water ‘Contaminants’? CONTAMINANTS ARE LEGALLY DEFINED — BROADLY According to the Safe Drinking Water Act, a contaminant is any physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance or matter in the water. That means that anything that isn’t a literal water molecule is defined as a contaminant. Because of the vast distances that water may have to travel, drinking water is often expected to have a small number of contaminants. Some contaminants are harmful if consumed at a certain level, while others are harmless or even beneficial. Unfortunately, not many local governments put many resources into maintaining the delicate systems responsible for clean drinking water. That’s why people are often shocked when they discover just how many contaminants make it into their drinking water anyway, including in the western New York area.

Easy Peach Cobbler Inspired by MyRecipes.com

Celebrate the end of summer — and peach season — with this simple and tasty peach cobbler!

Ingredients • 1/2 cup unsalted butter • 1 cup flour • 2 cups sugar, divided • 1 tbsp baking powder

• Dash of salt • 1 cup milk • 4 cups peaches (fresh is best!) • 1 tbsp lemon juice • Ground cinnamon or nutmeg to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, add butter and place in oven. Remove when melted. 2. In a large bowl, combine flour, 1 cup of sugar, baking powder, and salt. Then pour in milk and stir until the mixture is smooth. 3. Pour the batter over the melted butter, but don’t stir! 4. In a pot, bring peaches, lemon juice, and remaining sugar to a boil. Stir constantly.

5. Pour peaches over batter, but once again, don’t stir! 6. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg, then bake at 375 F for 45 minutes.

The Good News

HOWDOWE KNOWWHICH CONTAMINANTS ARE MOST DANGEROUS? Despite the broad definition of contaminants, there’s been ample research on the safety of contaminants. In fact, every known contaminant is identified and dictated by the government’s official Contaminant Candidate List (CCL). The CCL is one of the first levels of evaluation for substances you’ll find in unregulated drinking water. Because this list is so vast, it provides a list of substances that may need further scientific investigation to identify the health risks, both long-term and short-term, and the levels at which they’re found in drinking water.

“For we live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

The best way to stay safe is to know what’s in your drinking water in the first place. That’s why we offer free water testing at Watercure USA for anyone that calls and asks. We’re always grateful when homeowners tell us we’ve helped improve the health of their entire family — starting with something as simple as water.

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INSIDE This Issue

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Protecting a Crew From Pirates … With Only One Gun?

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Is Cooking With Soft Water Better?

What Exactly Are Water ‘Contaminants’? Easy Peach Cobbler

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Nothing to See Here: Mystery Spot Tourism

The most famous mystery spot is in Santa Cruz, California, but it has cousins in Oregon, West Virginia, and Michigan. Each one is inexplicable — drawing thousands of people every year to come and spend their tourist dollars. And for many, the whole thing is just one big hoax, designed to take in suckers and generate cash. Although Santa Cruz has the most visitors, it was “inspired” by the Oregon Vortex, which was a spot that had odd occurrences “documented” back to the early frontier days. From a mining office sliding off its foundation to the high presence of optical illusions, the Vortex was the home to some odd events. Naturally, the thing to do was build a structure there and start taking people’s money! It’s not a coincidence that these locations began to pop up at the same time as the average American got access to automobiles — “roadside attractions” of all kinds have been the rage since people began to tour America by car, and it’s pretty clear that, real or not, these mystery spots fall into that category. That’s why many of them have updated over the years to suit changing tastes — such as the Michigan St. Ignace Mystery Spot’s addition of zip lines and other attractions. And unlike many other roadside attractions, mystery spots continue to draw attention. Something in the American psyche loves the idea of the paranormal; Google “Europe mystery spots” and you’re likely to discover lists of unique vacation destinations. Perhaps they recapture the “paradise is just over the hill” mystery that in part drove colonization of the American West.

A HISTORY OF THE MYSTERY SPOT Nothing to See Here

Or perhaps it’s all a bunch of hooey. The best way to decide, of course, is to visit one of these mystery spots for yourself!

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DREW: 716-946-3598

LANCE: 716-912-9939