"Never give in. Never, never ever give in. Never, in anything, neither great nor small, ever, ever give in!"
(Sir Winston Churchill to the 1944 graduating class at Eton)
About Ratlines.com
| Ratlines Pronunciation: rat´linz (Naut.) The small transverse ropes attached to the shrouds and forming the steps of a rope ladder for climbing aloft. |
Ratline is a nautical term, referring to small
lengths of horizontal cord that run between the shrouds, several strong ropes
that affix the top of a mast to the vessel's sides. The ratlines serve as crude
ladder rungs, allowing the crew to scale the mast when necessary. In bygone
days, scampering up the ratlines was a last, desperate recourse for sailors on
sinking ships, at least if they were unfortunate enough to have missed out on
the lifeboats. As a result, "ratline" became a synonym for "last-ditch escape
route."
What is Ratlines?
Ratlines is the
on-line gateway to an unofficial informational website about the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.
It is a useful source for information
members can use to keep abreast with what Flotillas, Divisions, and District have, are, and will, be doing to
further the USCG Auxiliary Mission. That Mission is to assist the U.S.
Coast Guard in all their ,non-direct law enforcement, activities.
It is also a place for the boating public to find out about USCG Auxiliary Public Education Boating Safety Courses, pick up boating safety information, and learn about why they might want to join the USCG Auxiliary.
Ratlines is published
on a monthly basis, but updated almost every other week.
Enjoy
www.ratlines.com and feel
free to send any comments, questions, and suggestions
to
bdaraio@yahoo.com
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www.ratlines.com Revised: 01/05/08