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THE TALE OF THE
MUCKY DUCKS
The Darker Side Of The World At Sea
Based
on the real life exploits of 'The Sea Eagle' better known
simply as 'The Mucky Ducks'.
A
BRIEF EXPLANATION
The original version of ‘The
Mucky Ducks’ was not exactly to my liking. I went
walkabout just before the final draft was approved
and others, meaning well, added a lot of stuff that
was either not required or not in keeping with what
I had intended. The story I wrote was about 250 pages,
yet the final published work was closer to 300.
This rewrite, (that is still a work in progress),
cuts out a lot of the rubbish and replaces it with
some chapters that were excluded from the original
version. I have also taken some of the chapters from
‘Twilight Sunshine’ and put them in where they seemed
to fit. These look back to childhood years and (in
a way) reflect later events.
I hope you enjoy this later version. I have no idea
if it will ever be published ... but I hope so.
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|  On
average,
every day of the year a ship over 3000 GRT either
is sunk or disappears without trace. Although many
of these events are accidents or weather related,
many more have a human hand involved.
Set into the background of the South Pacific and Asia;
the Sea Eagles or 'The Mucky Ducks' as they preferred
to be called, was a small organisation that initially
earned its money by investigating the suspicious demise
of some vessels and trying to prevent the deliberate
destruction of others.
However over a period of time their work grew to include
many other aspects of the dark side of the world at
sea. This included arms and people smuggling, drug
trafficking and insurance fraud. In later years they
met their biggest challenge as Modern Pirates grew
to be a global menace.
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My
friend Harry Drake was the leader of a group officially
known as the 'Sea Eagles' but more affectionately
known as "The Mucky Ducks" who combated
pirates mainly in SE Asia.. Harry" goes by this
nom de plume as some may see what this group did as
exceedingly illegal; I see it as 'justice'. All the
original Ducks" are now dead except for Harry
who is in very poor health. I have known him for years,
not only was the book very interesting and informative,
but he is also a living legend in SE Asia. I know
this book to be true from personal knowledge back
in the early 70's. I never expected to end up talking
to and becoming friends with the leader of this team
in the late 1990's.
Jim Bragg. Fmr US
Navy Intelligence Guam |
Many
of The Mucky Ducks fell during the
performance of their assignments mainly those against
modern pirates. Others were left both physically and
mentally scarred. Humour and the music of the time
were their weapons against the reality of their work
but even here, the laughter and music slowly failed
them, fading into an almost forgotten past, leaving
nothing but a hard day to day existence.
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The
Mucky Ducks were known to be in operation between
1972 and 1997, following this time nothing further
is known. They spanned a region from the China Sea
down to Australia and across to Tonga, with one further
excursion into South Africa.
Due to the very sensitive nature of sections of this
story, and to avoid any legal complications, it was
first released as fiction. Now with the demise of
most of the characters and certain time statutes expiring,
it can fly under the banner of truth.
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©The
Mucky Ducks 2003
Revised 2012
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