"Joe" wrote in message
ups.com...

Maxprop wrote:


I'm not aware of the type and configuration of all the boats you mention.
But I'm betting none were lightly-built (underbuilt), overcanvased maxi
racers, or anything similar.

I assure you the layfette Skiff is lighter buildt than an Maxi,

Hmmm. I'd doubt that. I saw the photo you provided, and the skiff looked
to be a work boat, which are generally built for the long haul = stout.

infact
as I mentioned I was out with the owner right before I bought the boat,
as the seas buildt he wanted to transfer to an oil rig and ditch the
boat,

I'd have thought that would be more a decision based upon length,
displacement, and seakindliness than construction integrity.

Knowing it was going to extreamly dangerious to try to get on a
rig I told him then and there if he did I was going to claim salvage on
the boat and not give him a penney for it...

Yup. I would have done similarly under the circumstances.

I've been through hurricane-force winds and
very closely-spaced seas of 30' or more on a 767' bulk freighter
(sistership
to the ill-fated Edmund Fitzgerald), but never felt that my life was in
jeopardy.


Why would you in 30 ftrs on a 767ft ship?

My wife and I booked passage on a bulk freighter out of Burns Harbor, IN,
upbound for Duluth, MN, two years ago. It was an amazing experience, but
the weather got quite nasty on Lake Superior for the last third of the trip.
Even a few experienced crewmen became ill.


Larry Ellison commented in a post-race interview that he thought,
once or twice, that he and his crew might actually survive the '98 Hobart
while they were in the midst of the storm. By converse reasoning it
would
appear that he was convinced that his life was over, at least a portion
of
the time. I'm sure that would be a most depressing revelation.

Well then Larry's a putz, and a failure as a Captain.

That may very well be. Many said he had no business being on that boat.
Oh, except that he owned it. But the storm was the worst ever, IIRC, in
Sydney-Hobart history.

He's a rich boy
who bought his way into a mans game and could not hang. Once he
accepted he was going to die, then be assured his crew felt the same
way. I think it's a wise decision for him to give up ocean racing all
together. You can not buy your way into being a good Captain.

IIRC, Larry kept his feelings to himself. After winning the race, he
compared his impressions with those of his crew and many others apparently
felt they would not survive the storm, either. But you are basically right
about rich boys who like to play at ocean racing--they get what they want
with a check, not with qualifications.

Max