Congrats!!!! Same here on the Western Highway!!

Thanks for the encouragement Reldieh!!!

My MA wasn't sure, but he did hint to me Monday that we may be getting our baby earlier. I think he knew something, but wanted to see confirmation himself.

Naughty baby has been partying, and I didn't know - does that make me a bad parent? Time to clean the baby's room and look for wipes and things!

 

Very EXCITING to see that so many of us are on a ship and some who HAVE been on the ship for days now, but just finding out! That Kline really should have a database added to their website.. they don't know what they are doing to the Mini parents here as they try and locate their babies!

Love the postcards! I don't have a clue what my baby is doing as she has not contacted me since she left! I am afraid she has been following Bemmer's boy... I am sure she left the Mini Plant with him, and I know she was spotted on the docks with him, AND they booked a room together on the same day! Otherwise... she may just still be at the buffet.

Yes, it's time to get the baby room ready! I already have the wipes and such. I also purchased some other little things (glove box tray, center organizer, etc...)

Reldieh, silly me.. I was only checking MY GA port - so I never saw the other WW's ship names. Glad you're on!

 

It stinks that Independence II (WGAX) hasn't been reporting its position consistently. I've resorted to tracking the Western Highway (3EJK5), instead.

 

Agree. If I had a big enough boat, I would go out and track it myself...follow in its wake sort of.

 

HAHA that made me laugh... those crazy kids I havent really been following little Luigi as much since he jumped onto Fidelio but its been about a month since ive driven a MINI and im dieing to go to a dealer and testdrive one for fun Any one done this yet. I feel kinda bad about doing it since ive already bought a car and dont want to waste their time but i might even be able to get some practice in on a manual transmission since this will be my first manual car.

 

I went by mine on Monday and talked with our MA, he asked if I wanted to test drive the JCW they had, I declined but asked if he would take me for a ride and he did. That little MINi is seriously fast! Can't wait to have our baby in Houston.
Western Highway is about half way to Baltimore!

 

Left a voice mail with my MA, so still don't have any confirmation from my MA that my Clubbie is aboard the Western Highway, but I'm being hopeful!

Have any of you getting postcards gotten a report on a Laser Blue Clubman who may possibly be a stowaway? If so there's no turning around now to bring him back since it looks like they've passed the halfway point!

 

[QUOTE=sikamini;2421754]. That little MINi is seriously fast! Can't wait to have our baby in Houston.

When I went for a test drive (actually last year), I was sitting at red light waiting to make a left turn. Looking around at all of the instruments etc and didn't notice that the light had turned to an arrow some time before. Before I knew it I had squealed the tires and was off like a bolt of lightening! I was a little embarassed! I know I hadn't realized that they were as fast as they are.... especially the S.

I was torn on the manual/automatic decision. In a lot of ways, I prefer an manual but I'm just at the point where I'm ready to relax when I'm in the stop and go traffic of the city so went with the automatic. I'm hoping that the wheel shifters will give me the best of both worlds.

When we traded in a manual BMW325ci for the Mini, they gave us less for the BMW since it was a manual.... sorry, but I thing that is a car that just begs to be a standard and couldn't imagine driving it as an automatic. On the other hand, they were pushing us to get the manual on the Mini and saying the opposite about value for it.... I don't get it!

 

Does anyone know what happened to the Maersk Wind? It is not showing up near South Hampton, and vesseltracker shows its not moving around Bruges, sailwx shows it by China???

 

The last I heard it was being boarded by pirates. Uh oh....

 

Yeah, I thought the tracker showed it docked in Somalia.

 

The pirates just released it.

The Enterprise just beamed it outside the English Channel.

It's heading for Southampton, approaching the Isle of Wight.

 

Sure, laugh at the poor mentally ill girl!! How did you see it? Thanks

 

Go to the Southampton site then look at the English Channel tab, it'll take you to a graphic of the ships in the English Channel. Maersk Wind is out of the Channel approaching the Isle of Wight. You should be able to see it in the Isle of Wight and Southampton site soon.

 

Maersk Wing is about 50 Miles southeast of Southhampton heading 279 degrees at 12.7 knots. Seems to me they're running late getting to Southhampton. How long will it take to load 544 cars on that ship?

 

Not that long. I read somewhere that these ships could theoretically load 10 cars on a loading bridge per minute. I don't think they try for that kind of speed and they probably has some cargo to unload too. It will probably leave in the morning hours. These ships have plenty of slack in their schedules, that's why you some times see them making a port of call in an unscheduled port. Whatever time it has lost it will probably be able to make it quickly.

 

It's official.... spoke to my MA and the Clubbie is on the Western Highway!!
He said 7-10 days at the VDC due to 3 extra days for the driving lamps.... boy that sounds like a lot!
My theory is that they estimate on the long side so that the impatient new Mini owners don't drive them crazy calling and asking "where is it?"
The only positive was that he said that if they could get it out before the first, they would because they'd prefer that it went on the books for August.


'08 Laser Blue/Silver Clubman S etc, etc Born Aug 2nd, Partying on the Western Highway

 

Congrats! You may have point on keeping MINI parents from going more nuts than we already are. I wonder which options they install at the VDC and if anything gets left to the individual dealer? I have some options that will probably take some time at both places.

 

I googled RO-RO Ships the other day and watched a video of some BMWs being loaded onto a ship from whoever was driving one of the BMWs. They were driving them like they were race cars. I honestly couldn't believe it...I kept thinking...what if they wreck that car??? I wish I'd saved the link. You could probably find it by googling the same.

 

I thought the Klingons had it since it seemed to be cloaked.

 

Ok...ok...okokok...

I can't stop laughing at all the posts that I had to catch up on!!

Between parties, pirates, and Klingons, I'm absolutely spent!!!!

 

Oh, and gbsim, Congratulations!!

You know, I am really having fun with this "I told you so" bit!

It's so cool, we will all be motoring very soon!

 

Could be, the're are a bit like pirates, now that you mention it.

Fedelio is not cloaked, unlike the Independence II and has reported in at:

Last reported at 2008-Aug-13 06:00 UTC. Time now 2008-Aug-13 18:20 UTC.
Position N 49°48', W 005°54'.

 

I've had the same worry, the're driving poor little MINIs like they were in the "Italian Job".

 

Independence II is sneaking in around 600 miles from the northern edges of Canada:

Last reported at 2008-Aug-13 18:00 UTC. Time now 2008-Aug-13 18:42 UTC.
Position N 49°54', W 043°54'.