Category Archives: High Seas

Tired of land-based luxury living?

Wish you could take all the comforts and conveniences of home to travel upon the waves?

Well, youre in luck. Weve rounded-up a sampling of sea-faring estates that will have you traveling the world without sacrificing any of the luxurious, and connected, lifestyle to which youve become accustomed.

For the high-end apartment owner who appreciates versatility and doing a lot with little space, there is the EVO 43, from Evo Yachts.

Think of it like a Transformerbut instead of shifting into some battle-ready robot, this 43-foot masterpiece morphs into a number on environs ideal for the idle rich.

What begins as a minimalist motorboat, seamlessly slicing the waves, can easily be transformed into a sun deck, complete with built-in seating, diving board, step ladder and 40% more useable space, as soon as you find a suitable swimming spot.

Best of all these on-the-fly formations take place with just the touch of a button on your accompanying smartphone app.

The EVO 43 also features two lower-level cabin spaces (including one that converts from a dinette into a bedroom) so that after a day of sunning and soaking you can easily fall into saltwater-encrusted slumber.

Visit evoyachts.com for a quote on this variable vessel.

Theres a lot to love about the Majesty 155. The stylish and expansive living spaces, for example. Or the walls of windows the allow for ample natural light. Or the multiple exterior lounging terraces and water features.

But where the 156-foot superyacht really shines is with its award winning smart home integration system.

Spread throughout the Majesty 155 are a series of strategically placed on-wall monitors, powered by Savant Control. Owners can use these monitors to control certain features you might expect, like the ships lighting or audio/visual entertainment, and one which might surprise you: the ships navigation.

Yes, you can drive the Majesty 155 from anywhere on the boat. Quite literally, because even if you are not near an on-wall monitor, you can access the the Savant Control via your smart tablet and steer your superyacht to open waters. Just make sure you dont hit an iceberg because you were too busy playing Angry Birds.

If youd rather let your staff handle the driving while you focus on more light-hearted fare, every cabin in the vessel includes a 40- or 60-inch HD television, equipped with Apple TV, Bluetooth and AirPlay, letting you stream any of your media to the screen.

If you want to captain this clever ship, visit majesty-yachts.com for a quote.

If youre searching for the peak of superyacht splendor, a ship that would make Poseidon himself blush, then look no further than the Galactica Super Nova.

This massive floating mansion clocks in at 229 feet in length, with 3,842 square feet of deck space spread across four levelsand is replete with all manner of amenities designed to thrill the affluent.

The Super Nova includes some of the versatility displayed by the EVO 43but on a much grander scale. The bridge deck can alternatively serve as a sunbathing space, outdoor movie theater or helipad.

The main deck aft features a 19-foot infinity pool, which includes a glass-panelled bottom as well as lighting features and a waterproof sound system that can be set in sync to bring a strobing club atmosphere to your daily swim.

If water-adjacent (rather than water-enveloped) partying is more your style, the Super Novas built-in beach club features a number of LED light clusters that can be controlled via your iPadsync them with music for a more celebratory scene, or pick a more mellow lighting scheme, perhaps if you need to nap off the previous nights activities.

But the Super Novas brilliance is not just borne out in style. It has some substance too. Its revolutionary Fast Displacement Hull Form reduces resistance by up to 20%, while a central booster jet built by Rolls Royce gives the ship an added layer of agility.

If this sea-bound stunner has piqued your interest, head to heesenyachts.com for more info.

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High-Tech Living on the High Seas - Mansion Global

The proposed reduction in money comes as the smuggling problem has become more urgent. About 70 percent of the cocaine consumed in the United States passes through a corridor that runs up to the borders of Guatemala and El Salvador. Fighting among drug cartels that control the smuggling routes has led to record-high homicide rates and driven thousands of people to the United States-Mexico border seeking asylum.

Founded more than 100 years ago, the Coast Guard, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, operates simultaneously as a military service, a law enforcement agency and as a member of the American intelligence community. Known primarily for its role in search and rescue missions, the Coast Guard said its priorities are tackling drug trafficking organizations and protecting the southern border.

Funding the Coast Guard at current levels nearly $10 billion leaves the service struggling to combat the drug trafficking that has been pushed offshore by beefed up security on the southern land border.

We give you the biggest bang for the buck, said Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, commandant of the Coast Guard. But our resources are limited. As a result, we cant catch all the drug smuggling we know about. Just last year we had intelligence on nearly 580 possible shipments but couldnt go intercept them because we didnt have the ships or planes to go after them.

The 418-foot Stratton, based in Alameda, is one of the most advanced vessels in the Coast Guard fleet, equipped with advanced radar systems, infrared video, a helicopter and a small drone called the ScanEagle. Built in 2012, it is one of six national security cutters that are in service and provide a significant upgrade to the Coast Guards arsenal.

On a recent morning aboard the Stratton, dozens of crew members dressed in blue work uniforms scurried about making repairs. The sound of drilling echoed through the corridors of the ship. In less than four weeks, the Stratton will be headed out to sea.

In the expanse of the Pacific, cutters like the Stratton target fishing boats, speedboats called pangas and homemade submarines that are used to smuggle tons of drugs from Central America through Mexico and ultimately into the United States. Cartels in Latin America and the Caribbean have increasingly turned to trafficking on the high seas as cocaine production in South America has reached record levels.

Catching drugs in the ocean is vital to Homeland Security efforts because that is when the volume and the purity of the drugs are at their highest. It is also where drug traffickers are most vulnerable.

We take advantage of the fact that we have the advantage on the water, said Capt. Nathan Moore, the departing commander of the Stratton. When they see that huge ship coming at them over the horizon, most of them just give up.

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Coast Guard Faces Challenges at Sea, and at the Budget Office - New York Times

THE HAGUE, Netherlands An international arbitration panel on Thursday granted Slovenia unhindered access to the high seas for the first time since the breakup of the former Yugoslavia as part of a ruling aimed at settling a long-running territorial dispute between Slovenia and Balkan neighbor Croatia.

It remains to be seen if the ruling can be enforced. Croatia walked out of the arbitration in 2015 and does not recognize the panel's findings.

"We do not consider ourselves obliged by this ruling," Croatian TV quoted Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic as saying. "And we do not intend to implement its content."

The five-judge tribunal granted Slovenia much of the Bay of Piran, off the Adriatic coasts of the two countries, and gave Slovenia a 2.5-nautical-mile wide, 10-nautical-mile long "junction" or corridor linking its territorial waters and international waters.

The panel's president, Judge Gilbert Guillaume, said the junction allows "uninterrupted and uninterruptable" access for ships and aircraft of all nationalities between international waters and Slovenia's territorial waters.

Slovenia's Prime Minister Miro Cerar described the ruling as "historic" and called for its implementation, but he said it did not meet all of the country's expectations.

"The ruling will be respected." Cerar said. "The ruling is final and obligatory for both states, Slovenia and Croatia."

The panel also established Slovenia and Croatia's land border, but very little of that remained in dispute.

Arbitration was supposed to ease tensions between the Balkan neighbors but instead underscored sensitivities between states that emerged from the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.

The two countries agreed to arbitration in 2009 in a deal that also led to Slovenia dropping its opposition to Croatia's European Union membership.

Croatia turned its back on the arbitration following revelations that the Slovenian judge on the panel had violated its rules. The court ruled last year that the violations did not entitle Croatia to terminate arbitration or affect the panel's power "to render a final award independently and impartially."

The arbitration panel left open the door to more talks, saying that "the rights and obligations of Croatia and Slovenia established by this award shall subsist until they are modified by agreement between those two states."

____

Associated Press writers Jovana Gec in Belgrade and Ali Zerdin in Ljubljana, Slovenia, contributed.

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Arbitration panel grants Slovenia access to high seas - Fox News

An international arbitration panel on Thursday granted Slovenia unhindered access to the high seas for the first time since the breakup of the former Yugoslavia as part of a ruling aimed at settling a long-running territorial dispute between Slovenia and Balkan neighbor Croatia.

It remains to be seen if the ruling can be enforced. Croatia walked out of the arbitration in 2015 and does not recognize the panel's findings.

"We do not consider ourselves obliged by this ruling," Croatian TV quoted Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic as saying. "And we do not intend to implement its content."

The five-judge tribunal granted Slovenia much of the Bay of Piran, off the Adriatic coasts of the two countries, and gave Slovenia a 2.5-nautical-mile wide, 10-nautical-mile long "junction" or corridor linking its territorial waters and international waters.

The panel's president, Judge Gilbert Guillaume, said the junction allows "uninterrupted and uninterruptable" access for ships and aircraft of all nationalities between international waters and Slovenia's territorial waters.

Slovenia's Prime Minister Miro Cerar described the ruling as "historic" and called for its implementation, but he said it did not meet all of the country's expectations.

"The ruling will be respected." Cerar said. "The ruling is final and obligatory for both states, Slovenia and Croatia."

The panel also established Slovenia and Croatia's land border, but very little of that remained in dispute.

Arbitration was supposed to ease tensions between the Balkan neighbors but instead underscored sensitivities between states that emerged from the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.

The two countries agreed to arbitration in 2009 in a deal that also led to Slovenia dropping its opposition to Croatia's European Union membership.

Croatia turned its back on the arbitration following revelations that the Slovenian judge on the panel had violated its rules. The court ruled last year that the violations did not entitle Croatia to terminate arbitration or affect the panel's power "to render a final award independently and impartially."

The arbitration panel left open the door to more talks, saying that "the rights and obligations of Croatia and Slovenia established by this award shall subsist until they are modified by agreement between those two states."

Associated Press writers Jovana Gec in Belgrade and Ali Zerdin in Ljubljana, Slovenia, contributed.

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Arbitration panel grants Slovenia access to high seas - ABC News

The high seas adventures were at the Hannibal Aquatic Center Saturday, June 24, as 19 boats participated in cardboard boat races.

The high seas adventures were at the Hannibal Aquatic Center Saturday, June 24, as 19 boats participated in cardboard boat races.

Youngsters enjoyed their time being skippers and first mates, navigating the boats they made through the water. Some of the boats were a little more seaworthy, and some of them sank right as the contestants got on board.

The cardboard boat races were sponsored by Hannibal Parks & Recreation.

The race came down to the wire, as the fastest boats competed in the last heat.

The winners were:

Fastest

First place: Prestan Schanbacher and Zane Lomax

Second place: Alex Arthaud and Patrick Arthaud

Third place: Jocelyn Clark and Andrew Clark

Best Dressed

First place: William Rolsen and Jordyn Schmelzle

Second place: Adyson Ryan-Davis and Chevelle Pope

Third place: Kael Viehmann and Gage Conrad

Titanic Award

First place: Jay Arnold and Calvin Biggs

Second place: Isaiah Fessenden and Hannah Fessenden

Third place: Terner Otten and Ben Schisler

Jenna McDonald, aquatics director at Hannibal Aquatics Center, reported a successful event and said the cardboard boat race will be tentatively scheduled for June 23 next year.

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High seas adventures at the Hannibal Aquatic Center - Devil's Lake Daily Journal

A report out this month from global piracy watchdog Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) paints a mixed picture of crime on the high seas off Asian coastlines, long the piracy capital of the world. Although piracy remains an under-reported crime globally, reliable statistics on it have been collected by the International Maritime Bureau since 1993. Since then, nearly 60 percent of global pirate attacks have occurred in Asian waters.

Asias seas retained the dubious honor of being the worlds most dangerous in 2016, with South-East Asia posing a particular challenge for regional law enforcement agencies. Two-thirds of pirate attacks in Asia were concentrated in the South-East, with Indonesia alone accounting for 23 percent of world piracy (1993-2015) according to a recent report from the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GITOC). Nevertheless, during 2016 the number of recorded incidents of armed robbery and piracy at sea fell from 199 to 129, a fall of 35%. Meanwhile ,attacks in the second worst affected region, West Africa, rose steeply, nearly doubling from 54 incidents in 2015 to 95 in 2016.

Since the end of the Cold War, South-East Asian piracy has been a particular problem along the narrow, 800km long Straits of Malacca and the Singaporean coast; this global shipping superhighway sees more than 120,000 ships each year moving slowly along predictable shipping routes and unsurprisingly traffic there has long been targeted by hijackers, thieves and pirates. Asias littoral states have taken steps to crack down on criminal activity within their waters in recent years, with OBP suggesting that traffic transiting the Straits of Malacca and Singapore was now a lower risk following a fall in hijackings for cargo theft from 12 incidents in 2015 to just three in 2016.

Greater coordination between regional states has clearly had some impact. However, robbery and armed robbery continued to be the most common type of crime committed against merchant shipping in Asia. Meanwhile, a surge in kidnappings in the Sulu and Celebes Seas has led to a spike in violence in both those regions and caused great alarm among shipping circles. Perpetrators often moved their victims to land shortly afterward, where mistreatment and abuse were commonly reported after captives were released. OBP reported some captives were also used as slave labour by their kidnappers, who have executed several of their victims in 2016 and 2017.

In fact, there is a lot of overlap in the region between actors engaged in hijacking, armed robbery or kidnapping and groups involved in other criminal behaviours such as smuggling and terrorism. The GITOC reported that criminal syndicates involved in hijacking ships for cargo in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore had switched to smuggling because falling commodity prices made hijacking thefts less attractive in 2015-16. Meanwhile the surge in kidnapping for ransom in the Sulu and Celebes Seas was driven by the notorious Abu Sayyaf group, a fractious Filipino terrorist network with links to jihadist groups in the Middle East and East Asia. The group is supposedly fighting to establish an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines but has alarmed Indonesia and Malaysia by disrupting trade routes with a string of hijackings at sea. Abu Sayyaf also blew up a ferry in Manila Bay during a 2004 bombing that killed 116 people.

Asias seas retained the dubious honor of being the worlds most dangerous in 2016, with South-East Asia posing a particular challenge for regional law enforcement agencies

The GITOC argues that the involvement of pirates in other types of crime is why any counter-piracy efforts at the multi-national level in the region must also include tackling other transnational maritime crimes. Other observers would add maritime terrorism and terrorist insurgencies on land are also fuelled by crime on the regions high seas. Islamist militants from several factions which have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group recently joined together to battle Filipino troops in Marawi City. Their ranks include members of Abu Sayyaf, a leader of whom (Isnilon Hapilon), was named as Islamic States designated leader in the Philippines.

The battle in Marawi City began when troops moved to arrest Hapilon, only to find that in pursuit of his goal to establish a wilayat or Islamic State province, he had joined forces with a coalition of Islamists lead by an ex-criminal faction known as the Maute Group. The members of this group are extremely influential both within insurgency on Mindanao and with other groups of Islamic radicals across the South-East of Asia. A Singapore media outlet even reported that Indonesian terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah had set up a training centre in the Southern Philippines to train foreign recruits attracted by the Maute Groups struggle, and warned of the threat posed to commercial shipping lines passing through the Philippine-Malaysian waters. But highlighting the porous separation between the Filipino criminal underworld and terrorism, siblings Omar and Abdullah Maute, the founders of the Maute Group, were petty criminals before they became leading extremists.

Partly due to terrorist-fuelled kidnappings, OBP reported that 2016 was much more violent year at sea than 2015, which saw no deaths. By contrast Malaysian security forces killed three perpetrators during a kidnapping incident aboard a fishing vessel in Semporna waters on 8 December 2016. Two other perpetrators and a hostage were left missing after the clash, in which several other kidnapped victims were freed. Meanwhile Abu Sayyaf militants murdered a German woman during a kidnapping attempt in 2016, and in 2017 they executed both her husband and Filipino sea captain seized with his crew last year. The threat posed to trade in the Sulu and Celebes Seas by the Abu Sayyaf group was so great that Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines agreed to launch the Sulu Sea Patrol Initiative (SSPI) last year.

Modelled on the Malacca Strait Sea Patrols Program (MSSP), which is credited for reducing hijackings in that region, the SSPI calls for coordinated air and naval patrols, intelligence sharing and a right of hot pursuit in emergencies. A large number of other countries have expressed an interest in involving themselves with the initiative in some capacity, including the US. Meanwhile, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has called on China to aid the effort by sending ships to patrol the waters of his country plagued by pirate attacks on commercial shipping. However when the average cost of stolen goods per attack in Asian waters last year was $4.5 million and when only 23 arrests for pirate activity were made across the whole region, the effort to end piracy in Asias oceans clearly has some way to go.

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Trouble on the High Seas - Raddington Report (blog)

I was out of pocket last week, sailing the high seas aboard a cruise ship bound for Bermuda, and my plan was to try and ignore all things investment-related. We all need a break from this crazy world of the markets from time to time, and I was doing pretty well, at least for a while. However, it is difficult to suppress that side of my brain for long, and I was caught several times checking out the happenings on my iPad.

While it does not look like I missed all that much last week, at least in the ever-narrowing world of value, there were plenty of investment-related observations to be made aboard our ship. First, the cruise industry seems like a cash machine. We were on a Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) ship, and they seem to have it all figured out, especially how to compel passengers to part ways with their money. As my son observed, putting the casino in the middle of everything, out in the open with no doors -- you had to walk through it to get anywhere -- is a brilliant way to draw moths to the lights. For its efforts, NCLH boasts low-teen net profit margins. Yet those of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) and Carnival Corp. (CCL) are even higher, in the mid to high-teens.

Meanwhile, I also noticed a lot of step-counting going on as Fitbit Inc. (FIT) devices were plentiful, even among the 20-plus family members with whom we were traveling. FIT remains unpopular with investors, and seemingly with good reason. Its brief run as a cult stock has ended badly as revenue and guidance fell off of a cliff, leaving shares down 90% over the past two years. Nearly all the luster is gone, and along with it, so are expectations. It's the type of situation where most have given up, driving the stock price into the ground, that can be compelling.

Some would call it a falling knife, but Fitbit does have a long runway, with $726 million, or $3.21 in cash and short-term investments, and no debt. With so little expected, any good news -- a new product that re-engages consumers or some better-than-expected numbers -- may put some wind back into Fitbit's sails. FIT may turn out to be a great representation of the oscillation between greed and fear that plagues many of us as investors. Clearly, the stock was not worth $50 a share (greed), but at just over $5 a share (fear), you have to wonder. This one is not for the faint of heart, and I am under water so far on this trade, although I kept the initial position small, with the idea of adding opportunistically (or stupidly).

Fogo de Chao Inc. (FOGO) was also on my mind as my wife and I had dinner one night on the Norwegian Breakaway's version of a Brazilian steakhouse, our first visit. That was quite an experience, and not one to undertake if you are not overly hungry. While I've written endlessly about not being a big fan of the restaurant sector these days in light of potential headwinds and stretched valuations, Fogo de Chao is one of the few I have on my radar. At about 14 times 2018 consensus estimates and with profit margins in the high single digits, it is one of the cheaper names out there.

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Come See the Value Opportunities I Saw on the High Seas - TheStreet.com

The high seas adventures were at the Hannibal Aquatic Center Saturday, June 24, as 19 boats participated in cardboard boat races.

The high seas adventures were at the Hannibal Aquatic Center Saturday, June 24, as 19 boats participated in cardboard boat races.

Youngsters enjoyed their time being skippers and first mates, navigating the boats they made through the water. Some of the boats were a little more seaworthy, and some of them sank right as the contestants got on board.

The cardboard boat races were sponsored by Hannibal Parks & Recreation.

The race came down to the wire, as the fastest boats competed in the last heat.

The winners were:

Fastest

First place: Prestan Schanbacher and Zane Lomax

Second place: Alex Arthaud and Patrick Arthaud

Third place: Jocelyn Clark and Andrew Clark

Best Dressed

First place: William Rolsen and Jordyn Schmelzle

Second place: Adyson Ryan-Davis and Chevelle Pope

Third place: Kael Viehmann and Gage Conrad

Titanic Award

First place: Jay Arnold and Calvin Biggs

Second place: Isaiah Fessenden and Hannah Fessenden

Third place: Terner Otten and Ben Schisler

Jenna McDonald, aquatics director at Hannibal Aquatics Center, reported a successful event and said the cardboard boat race will be tentatively scheduled for June 23 next year.

View original post here:

High seas adventures at the Hannibal Aquatic Center - Hannibal.net

When razors and pill boxes go missing,fingers start pointing in original cruise ship caper

By Alicia Doyle

Special to the Acorn

WELCOME TO THE SHOWAbove, actors sing Sea Cruise during rehearsals this week for Hi-Jinx on the High Seas at the Simi Valley Senior Center. The original musical comedy, which runs two hours and features some 30 songs, will be performed June 29 and 30 at the center. At right, Bill Heiden, left, leans in to listen to Tina Larson as she whispers to him during a scene. The show is filled with kooky characters, including gamblers and seasick passengers. A whodunit caper about stolen items on a cruise ship is the subject of an original musical comedy that will be staged at the Simi Valley Senior Center on June 29 and 30.

Hi-Jinx on the High Seas was written and directed by members of the Simi Valley Senior Center Performing Arts Group.

It is a conglomerate of vignettes of people you would see if they were traveling on a cruise shipand people start missing things, said Jeanne Reed, 79, the shows director. We lose really important things, like hemorrhoid cream, a razor, a pill box, comb and sunglasses.

JESSE WATROUS/Acorn Newspapers Cast members, most of whom are residents of Simi Valley, use their own names for the characters they play.

This production has no star, said Reed.

The play is filled with kooky characters, such as a compulsive gambling husband whose wife is a compulsive spender.

I lose my hemorrhoid cream and he loses his shaver, said Tina Larson, 73, who is playing herself alongside her husband, Duwayne, 79.

Reed will play the role of a passenger traveling with her best friend, who has tremendous seasickness and keeps losing track of her seasick pills.

Were this crazy group of oddballs, Reed said.

Yolie Alvarado, 68, plays the prime suspect.

Everybody thinks Im the thief, said Alvarado. I carry this big bag around with me, so they think I have all the goodies in there.

In the play, shes a solo traveler whose father owned a secondhand store.

So Ive got this weird, bizarre clothing, said Alvarado, who will sing Second Hand Rose. Im by myself all the time and my character is just crazy wacky. I cant hear too well, I cant see too well, Im in my own little dream world. I dont like anybody.

Alvarados song is one of about 30 to be performed during the musical. Popular tunes include Ill Be Seeing You, I Could Have Danced All Night, Under the Sea and The Best Things in Life Are Free.

The show, which runs about two hours, will include an intermission, when tap dancers from the Simi Valley Senior Center will perform.

Linda Detamore, one of the tappers, is also portraying a passenger in the play.

Im a friend of a disabled lady. Shes in a wheelchair and Im her caregiver, Detamore, 59, said about her role. I protect everybody and I stand up for Yolie when shes accused. Im only there because Im taking care of my friend, whos on her first cruise.

Pat Danova will play the part of Detamores friend.

There are so many talented people in this show, said Danova, 74.

Trudy Dubrow, 85, is performing with the group for the first time this year.

My character is someone who is always nervous; I get seasick and nauseous and I worry about my seasick pills, said Dubrow.

Dubrow, who is also involved with an improv group in Woodland Hills, said she was happy to find a group in Simi Valley that would give her the opportunity to participate in one of her favorite hobbies.

I just moved here to Simi, Dubrow said. Im enjoying this skit and the people at the senior center are lovely. Ive always done straight acting, and when I came here I didnt know this was a musical. So this is a whole new thing for me.

Hi-Jinx on the High Seas will be performed at 1:30 p.m. Thurs., June 29 and at 9 p.m. Fri., June 30 at the senior center at 3900 Avenida Simi.

Admission is free.

Continued here:

Seniors make waves with high-seas whodunit - Simi Valley Acorn

Dumfries twins Ellen and Lauren Lind have always been joined at the hip.

So it was no surprise when the teenagers joined the Royal Navy at the same time.

And now theyve completed their basic training just one week apart and are preparing for a life together on the high seas.

Ellen was the first to arrive at HMS Raleigh in Cornwall in March with Lauren arriving a week later to join a separate class.

After a 10-week course, a passing-out-parade takes place and Lauren was given special permission to attend her sisters parade after completing her final exercise.

Ellen said: It made it better that Lauren was there. It would have been kind of weird if she wasnt.

The twins parents, John and Margaret, then spent the week in Cornwall to attend Laurens parade, by which time Ellen had already transferred to HMS Collingwood to begin her specialist training to qualify as a communication and information systems specialist.

The 18-year-olds are former Dumfries High pupils and it was Ellen, the younger twin, who first made the decision to join the Royal Navy.

She said: Id been thinking about it for a while and finally decided to join up and Lauren came to the careers office with me. I signed up and at the interview the careers advisor asked if there were any questions and Lauren asked if she could sign up too.

While undergoing the transformation from civilians into sailors, the girls also had to learn how to be individuals.

Lauren said: You wouldnt actually think it would be weird to feel like an individual but as a twin it is.

Some twins are separate from day one but were not. Were joined at the hip so its been really strange, but its brought out new sides to me and my personality.

Now Lauren is ready to join her sister at HMS Collingwood, where she will undergo training to qualify as a warfare specialist.

Lauren added: Itll be nice to be with Ellen again but we both know we will need to go our separate ways eventually.

Our brother Daniel, 21, is in the RAF so were a military family and our parents are very proud.

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Dumfries teenage twins are preparing for a life on the high seas together - Scottish Daily Record