Shin learned in late December that on Jan. 2, his crew of sewing-machine repairmen and some of the seamstresses would be escorted to a mountain ridge on the eastern edge of the camp.

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His big machine takes five days to assemble with a crew of 10, builders and performers all of them.

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"She's the ultimate racing machine, " says de Waal of his meticulously restored yacht, which requires a crew of 20 just to handle the sails.

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