Ill planned winter voyage?
 

http://www.sailfeed.com/2014/01/heli...1/#comment-730

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

"Capt.Bill" wrote in message
...
http://www.sailfeed.com/2014/01/heli...1/#comment-730




This is clearly just another tale of ineptitude. These people are
no sailors. They made their own bed to lie in.

"We did discuss raising the mainsail, but decided against it,
as we had discovered that the top two full battens had become
detached from their batt-cars when we dropped the sail earlier.
There seemed to be no easy way to repair them, so we decided
to wait for less wind before raising the sail again.

*(translation: motor heads)

"At about 1130 hrs we took a huge direct hit all across our front
windows. The wave that hit us seemed much larger than the rest
and was running at a different angle, such that it hit us from directly
ahead instead of on the starboard quarter. Hank and I were in the
saloon right behind the windows at the time. A fair amount of water
squirted in all around the edges of the window panes and one large
piece of trim was blown right off one vertical frame."

*"Front windows" belong on a house and not on a sailboat.

"After sunrise we took stock of our situation. We first tried our
engines: the port-side engine now would not start; the starboard
engine would start, but wasn't charging the batteries; the
generator would not start. So we tried sailing, as the wind
was now only blowing about 25 knots and seemed much more
manageable. We rigged a new sheeting system for the jib, with
one centerline sheet and barber-haulers on either side, and tried
but failed to get the boat sailing off the wind to the southeast
toward Bermuda, which now seemed like our best destination.
The best we could do was effectively heave to, with the bow
cocked toward the southwest as the boat drifted slowly southeast."

*Motor heads lost at sea without a clue about how to sail.

"Thinking we might still be able to steer the boat with its engines
if we had both of them running, we next spent some time
examining the port engine to see if we could get it started.
This emitted a burning odor whenever we lit up the ignition,
and we soon figured out that the starter had shorted out."

*Reliance on motors is typical of most so-called sailors.


"Finally, after listening to us bat this around for a while,
Gunther reluctantly decided the only really viable option
was to abandon the boat. He placed a sat-phone call to
the Coast Guard in the late afternoon, and the evacuation
wheels started grinding."

*No testicles among the entire crew!

http://static-sailfeed.s3.amazonaws....01/evac.11.jpg

Just look at that thing. Such an abortion does not belong on
the high seas. Stupid, ill-conceived and suitable only for
sheltered waters and as a dockside party platform.

You get what you deserve, IMO. It's simply another case
of more dollars than sense.

--
Sir Gregory Hall
Master of "Cut the Mustard" - blue water, 27-foot monohull
that needs no stinking motor to cross oceans.

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

" Sir Gregory Hall, Esq·" åke wrote in message
...

"After sunrise we took stock of our situation. We first tried our
engines: the port-side engine now would not start; the starboard
engine would start, but wasn't charging the batteries; the
generator would not start. So we tried sailing, as the wind
was now only blowing about 25 knots and seemed much more
manageable. We rigged a new sheeting system for the jib, with
one centerline sheet and barber-haulers on either side, and tried
but failed to get the boat sailing off the wind to the southeast
toward Bermuda, which now seemed like our best destination.
The best we could do was effectively heave to, with the bow
cocked toward the southwest as the boat drifted slowly southeast."

*Motor heads lost at sea without a clue about how to sail.


Centerline sheeting on the jib with barber haul for going downwind?

DUH? Was there not a man among the crew who actually knew how
to sail? One sheets OUT when going downwind under jib alone. A
whisker pole might be of advantage to spread max square footage
to the wind.

Stupid, stupid and more stupid! Would that they all drowned and
so rid the world of their stupidity that makes a mockery of sailing.

--
Sir Gregory

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On Sat, 18 Jan 2014 16:13:10 -0500, " Sir Gregory Hall, Esq·"
åke wrote:

"Capt.Bill" wrote in message
...
http://www.sailfeed.com/2014/01/heli...1/#comment-730




This is clearly just another tale of ineptitude. These people are
no sailors. They made their own bed to lie in.

And thus speaks the Pseudo Sailor. Who knows all about sailing. Why,
he once sailed, single handed too, all the way down the bay to anchor
for the night on a mud bank.

--
Cheers,

Bruce in Bangkok

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On 1/19/2014 6:17 AM, Bruce in Bangkok wrote:


And thus speaks the Pseudo Sailor. Who knows all about sailing. Why,
he once sailed, single handed too, all the way down the bay to anchor
for the night on a mud bank.


I skimmed the article but it seemed to me that the boat was poorly made.
A wave against a 'window' was all it took for the window to leak, lose
trim and other wave / ocean action put the boat out of commission. It
also seems that the rudders were attached to the stock by small set
screws. That on a vessel meant to voyage across oceans?

I was greatly impressed by one guy going for a swim under the boat. I
did sail in this area at around that time and the water is COLD.

Overall, though, it's not the behavior of the crew which I thought
deficient but the construction of the boat.

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On Sun, 19 Jan 2014 09:50:54 -0700, slide wrote:

On 1/19/2014 6:17 AM, Bruce in Bangkok wrote:


And thus speaks the Pseudo Sailor. Who knows all about sailing. Why,
he once sailed, single handed too, all the way down the bay to anchor
for the night on a mud bank.


I skimmed the article but it seemed to me that the boat was poorly made.
A wave against a 'window' was all it took for the window to leak, lose
trim and other wave / ocean action put the boat out of commission. It
also seems that the rudders were attached to the stock by small set
screws. That on a vessel meant to voyage across oceans?

I was greatly impressed by one guy going for a swim under the boat. I
did sail in this area at around that time and the water is COLD.

Overall, though, it's not the behavior of the crew which I thought
deficient but the construction of the boat.

Agree. There might be a warning there about embarking on an offshore
trip with a boat of unknown "reputation."
It looks like the quality issues went beyond the set screw, which was
handled.

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On Sat, 18 Jan 2014 12:21:22 -0800 (PST), "Capt.Bill"
wrote:

http://www.sailfeed.com/2014/01/heli...1/#comment-730

===

Ship of fools, lucky to be alive. I can't imagine anyone choosing
that route in the winter time with anything less that a full sized
cruise ship. I wonder what kind of offshore experience the so called
delivery captain had?

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On Sun, 19 Jan 2014 09:50:54 -0700, slide wrote:

On 1/19/2014 6:17 AM, Bruce in Bangkok wrote:


And thus speaks the Pseudo Sailor. Who knows all about sailing. Why,
he once sailed, single handed too, all the way down the bay to anchor
for the night on a mud bank.


I skimmed the article but it seemed to me that the boat was poorly made.
A wave against a 'window' was all it took for the window to leak, lose
trim and other wave / ocean action put the boat out of commission. It
also seems that the rudders were attached to the stock by small set
screws. That on a vessel meant to voyage across oceans?

I was greatly impressed by one guy going for a swim under the boat. I
did sail in this area at around that time and the water is COLD.

Overall, though, it's not the behavior of the crew which I thought
deficient but the construction of the boat.

I suppose it is a "How big was the wave" sort of thing. We had a wave
over here that knocked down buildings and I've seen a number of boats
that had "shutters" bolted over the cabin windows when expecting bad
weather.

But "deficient construction" is practically a byword in boat
construction these days. One of my favorite bitches is the fiberglass
stern tube with the cutlass bearing glued in with 5200....
--
Cheers,

Bruce in Bangkok

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On Sun, 19 Jan 2014 11:56:08 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Sun, 19 Jan 2014 09:50:54 -0700, slide wrote:

On 1/19/2014 6:17 AM, Bruce in Bangkok wrote:


And thus speaks the Pseudo Sailor. Who knows all about sailing. Why,
he once sailed, single handed too, all the way down the bay to anchor
for the night on a mud bank.


I skimmed the article but it seemed to me that the boat was poorly made.
A wave against a 'window' was all it took for the window to leak, lose
trim and other wave / ocean action put the boat out of commission. It
also seems that the rudders were attached to the stock by small set
screws. That on a vessel meant to voyage across oceans?

I was greatly impressed by one guy going for a swim under the boat. I
did sail in this area at around that time and the water is COLD.

Overall, though, it's not the behavior of the crew which I thought
deficient but the construction of the boat.

Agree. There might be a warning there about embarking on an offshore
trip with a boat of unknown "reputation."
It looks like the quality issues went beyond the set screw, which was
handled.

===

Clearly there were some issues with the boat but I believe they made a
very foolish choice to go offshore from New Jersey, in the middle of
winter, into the teeth of several North Atlantic gales. It would have
been far more prudent to go down the east coast via Chesapeake Bay
and the ICW at least as far as North Carolina. From NC you assess
the weather and wait for a window when you can cross to Bermuda with
reasonable safety. However in a boat that size, in the middle of
winter, it is far safer to go all the way to Florida via the ICW and
then head down through the Bahamas on the so called "Thornless Path"
to the Caribbean. Having made the winter trip through the Bahamas
several times in a 50 footer, even that route is something less than a
walk in the park.

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On Mon, 20 Jan 2014 00:06:13 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Sun, 19 Jan 2014 11:56:08 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Sun, 19 Jan 2014 09:50:54 -0700, slide wrote:

On 1/19/2014 6:17 AM, Bruce in Bangkok wrote:


And thus speaks the Pseudo Sailor. Who knows all about sailing. Why,
he once sailed, single handed too, all the way down the bay to anchor
for the night on a mud bank.


I skimmed the article but it seemed to me that the boat was poorly made.
A wave against a 'window' was all it took for the window to leak, lose
trim and other wave / ocean action put the boat out of commission. It
also seems that the rudders were attached to the stock by small set
screws. That on a vessel meant to voyage across oceans?

I was greatly impressed by one guy going for a swim under the boat. I
did sail in this area at around that time and the water is COLD.

Overall, though, it's not the behavior of the crew which I thought
deficient but the construction of the boat.

Agree. There might be a warning there about embarking on an offshore
trip with a boat of unknown "reputation."
It looks like the quality issues went beyond the set screw, which was
handled.

===

Clearly there were some issues with the boat but I believe they made a
very foolish choice to go offshore from New Jersey, in the middle of
winter, into the teeth of several North Atlantic gales. It would have
been far more prudent to go down the east coast via Chesapeake Bay
and the ICW at least as far as North Carolina. From NC you assess
the weather and wait for a window when you can cross to Bermuda with
reasonable safety. However in a boat that size, in the middle of
winter, it is far safer to go all the way to Florida via the ICW and
then head down through the Bahamas on the so called "Thornless Path"
to the Caribbean. Having made the winter trip through the Bahamas
several times in a 50 footer, even that route is something less than a
walk in the park.

I don't know what their sailing background is, so I can't speak to
that. That course and those weather conditions are "unsafe?"
Appears to me they didn't run into anything but one wave that disabled
steering. Then they also had batten problems and electrical.
Seems the boat quality was the main issue.
Even taking your southern route may have broken that boat.
But you know better than I about sailing conditions.

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On Mon, 20 Jan 2014 05:08:53 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Mon, 20 Jan 2014 00:06:13 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Sun, 19 Jan 2014 11:56:08 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Sun, 19 Jan 2014 09:50:54 -0700, slide wrote:

On 1/19/2014 6:17 AM, Bruce in Bangkok wrote:


And thus speaks the Pseudo Sailor. Who knows all about sailing. Why,
he once sailed, single handed too, all the way down the bay to anchor
for the night on a mud bank.


I skimmed the article but it seemed to me that the boat was poorly made.
A wave against a 'window' was all it took for the window to leak, lose
trim and other wave / ocean action put the boat out of commission. It
also seems that the rudders were attached to the stock by small set
screws. That on a vessel meant to voyage across oceans?

I was greatly impressed by one guy going for a swim under the boat. I
did sail in this area at around that time and the water is COLD.

Overall, though, it's not the behavior of the crew which I thought
deficient but the construction of the boat.

Agree. There might be a warning there about embarking on an offshore
trip with a boat of unknown "reputation."
It looks like the quality issues went beyond the set screw, which was
handled.

===

Clearly there were some issues with the boat but I believe they made a
very foolish choice to go offshore from New Jersey, in the middle of
winter, into the teeth of several North Atlantic gales. It would have
been far more prudent to go down the east coast via Chesapeake Bay
and the ICW at least as far as North Carolina. From NC you assess
the weather and wait for a window when you can cross to Bermuda with
reasonable safety. However in a boat that size, in the middle of
winter, it is far safer to go all the way to Florida via the ICW and
then head down through the Bahamas on the so called "Thornless Path"
to the Caribbean. Having made the winter trip through the Bahamas
several times in a 50 footer, even that route is something less than a
walk in the park.

I don't know what their sailing background is, so I can't speak to
that. That course and those weather conditions are "unsafe?"
Appears to me they didn't run into anything but one wave that disabled
steering. Then they also had batten problems and electrical.
Seems the boat quality was the main issue.
Even taking your southern route may have broken that boat.
But you know better than I about sailing conditions.

===

The North Atlantic in the winter time is a dangerous place. Water
temperatures are very cold, and there are usually gale force winds 20
to 30% of the time. The biggest problem however for a small boat is
that there is no nearby shelter if conditions deteriorate. You are
fully committed to being "out there". Even large, well crewed boats
in top condition get into trouble once in awhile in circumstances like
that. It only takes one major gear failure to become life
threatening, and there are a lot of things that can go wrong.

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On 1/19/2014 10:06 PM, Wayne.B wrote:

===

Clearly there were some issues with the boat but I believe they made a
very foolish choice to go offshore from New Jersey, in the middle of
winter, into the teeth of several North Atlantic gales. It would have
been far more prudent to go down the east coast via Chesapeake Bay
and the ICW at least as far as North Carolina. From NC you assess
the weather and wait for a window when you can cross to Bermuda with
reasonable safety. However in a boat that size, in the middle of
winter, it is far safer to go all the way to Florida via the ICW and
then head down through the Bahamas on the so called "Thornless Path"
to the Caribbean. Having made the winter trip through the Bahamas
several times in a 50 footer, even that route is something less than a
walk in the park.


I can't agree with you because I did exactly this once myself. My
information was that the ICW was difficult to navigate and not cleared
at my almost 6' draft until south of Hampton, VA and even then it can
get dicey. While i have no personal experience in the ICW north of VA, I
can believe that a huge cat like this would be most difficult to deal
with inland. OTOH, heavy weather of 40kts isn't so extreme as that one
would expect it'd disable the boat as it did. I mean, reading the
narrative quickly as I did, it seemed to me that the boat fell apart
very much like a pro captain I met once described an O'Day doing the
same thing under him in lesser conditions.

To be fair, though, the O'Day wasn't ever represented as an offshore
vessel while presumably the cat was. I hit 40 kt conditions and while I
didn't enjoy the ride, nothing broke.

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On 1/20/2014 6:48 AM, Wayne.B wrote:

===

The North Atlantic in the winter time is a dangerous place. Water
temperatures are very cold, and there are usually gale force winds 20
to 30% of the time. The biggest problem however for a small boat is
that there is no nearby shelter if conditions deteriorate. You are
fully committed to being "out there". Even large, well crewed boats
in top condition get into trouble once in awhile in circumstances like
that. It only takes one major gear failure to become life
threatening, and there are a lot of things that can go wrong.


Surprisingly, the water temps where this occurred weren't that cold when
I have been there. That is, it's not like ME or Canada but it doesn't
make for nice swimming either. As I posted, that guy was brave going
under to do the repairs of the steering.

If one part failed, I'd agree with your contention that even well crewed
/ found boats can get into trouble at 30 - 40 kts but this boat didn't
have a system failure but seemed to disassemble as it foundered around
out there.

I've been on a few cats as a guest and have been impressed with both the
vast living quarters and accompanying luxury but also the light
construction I observed.

At one yard I saw a 60' cat delivered from South Africa to its US owners
needing some major rebuilding. AFAIK, the trip was non-eventful so only
normal conditions resulted in a brand new boat needing major hull and
rudder work.

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On Monday, January 20, 2014 9:29:12 AM UTC-5, slide wrote:
On 1/19/2014 10:06 PM, Wayne.B wrote:



===



Clearly there were some issues with the boat but I believe they made a

very foolish choice to go offshore from New Jersey, in the middle of

winter, into the teeth of several North Atlantic gales. It would have

been far more prudent to go down the east coast via Chesapeake Bay

and the ICW at least as far as North Carolina. From NC you assess

the weather and wait for a window when you can cross to Bermuda with

reasonable safety. However in a boat that size, in the middle of

winter, it is far safer to go all the way to Florida via the ICW and

then head down through the Bahamas on the so called "Thornless Path"

to the Caribbean. Having made the winter trip through the Bahamas

several times in a 50 footer, even that route is something less than a

walk in the park.





I can't agree with you because I did exactly this once myself. My

information was that the ICW was difficult to navigate and not cleared

at my almost 6' draft until south of Hampton, VA and even then it can

get dicey. While i have no personal experience in the ICW north of VA, I

can believe that a huge cat like this would be most difficult to deal

with inland. OTOH, heavy weather of 40kts isn't so extreme as that one

would expect it'd disable the boat as it did. I mean, reading the

narrative quickly as I did, it seemed to me that the boat fell apart

very much like a pro captain I met once described an O'Day doing the

same thing under him in lesser conditions.



To be fair, though, the O'Day wasn't ever represented as an offshore

vessel while presumably the cat was. I hit 40 kt conditions and while I

didn't enjoy the ride, nothing broke.

Sorry but your information about the ICW is wrong, 6' should be no problem. 7'+ is doable if you play the tides. And a cat that size should have no problems running the ICW with a competent person at the helm.

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On Mon, 20 Jan 2014 12:19:45 -0800 (PST), "Capt.Bill"
wrote:

On Monday, January 20, 2014 9:29:12 AM UTC-5, slide wrote:
On 1/19/2014 10:06 PM, Wayne.B wrote:



===



Clearly there were some issues with the boat but I believe they made a

very foolish choice to go offshore from New Jersey, in the middle of

winter, into the teeth of several North Atlantic gales. It would have

been far more prudent to go down the east coast via Chesapeake Bay

and the ICW at least as far as North Carolina. From NC you assess

the weather and wait for a window when you can cross to Bermuda with

reasonable safety. However in a boat that size, in the middle of

winter, it is far safer to go all the way to Florida via the ICW and

then head down through the Bahamas on the so called "Thornless Path"

to the Caribbean. Having made the winter trip through the Bahamas

several times in a 50 footer, even that route is something less than a

walk in the park.





I can't agree with you because I did exactly this once myself. My

information was that the ICW was difficult to navigate and not cleared

at my almost 6' draft until south of Hampton, VA and even then it can

get dicey. While i have no personal experience in the ICW north of VA, I

can believe that a huge cat like this would be most difficult to deal

with inland. OTOH, heavy weather of 40kts isn't so extreme as that one

would expect it'd disable the boat as it did. I mean, reading the

narrative quickly as I did, it seemed to me that the boat fell apart

very much like a pro captain I met once described an O'Day doing the

same thing under him in lesser conditions.



To be fair, though, the O'Day wasn't ever represented as an offshore

vessel while presumably the cat was. I hit 40 kt conditions and while I

didn't enjoy the ride, nothing broke.

Sorry but your information about the ICW is wrong, 6' should be no problem. 7'+ is doable if you play the tides. And a cat that size should have no problems running the ICW with a competent person at the helm.


===

Yes. You have to go outside down the New Jersey coast but that is a
one day run for most people, and it's easy to wait at Atlantic
Highlands for a suitable weather window. After that everything is
deep water to Norfolk, VA. South of Norfolk there are large tug
boats and motor yachts that navigate all the way to Moorehead City, NC
which is the traditional jumping off spot for Bermuda.

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On 1/20/2014 3:23 PM, Wayne.B wrote:

===

Yes. You have to go outside down the New Jersey coast but that is a
one day run for most people, and it's easy to wait at Atlantic
Highlands for a suitable weather window. After that everything is
deep water to Norfolk, VA. South of Norfolk there are large tug
boats and motor yachts that navigate all the way to Moorehead City, NC
which is the traditional jumping off spot for Bermuda.


I've done it south of Hampton.

I guess I strayed off my point that I made the same decision as these
guys did when faced with the same conditions at the same time of year. I
too hit some of these 'noreaster things and while the going wasn't
pleasant, I, single handing a 42' Tayana with no auto pilot, managed and
didn't consider myself a hero for having done so.

IMO, the difference was that my boat didn't disassemble in moderately
heavy weather as this one did. Had I faced the structural issues these
guys did, I may not have survived. The key isn't the weather or decision
but the integrity of the vessel.

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On Tue, 21 Jan 2014 08:25:16 -0700, slide wrote:

The key isn't the weather or decision
but the integrity of the vessel.

===

You're right about that but I'd argue against testing the integrity of
the boat if you don't need to. Even well built boats have an
increased probability of trouble in storm force conditions. The ocean
has a way of finding the weak spots.

Another well known issue is that the boats tend to be stronger than
the people. I've been on two different boats where owners broke ribs
after being tossed across the cabin down below.

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On 1/21/2014 10:07 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Tue, 21 Jan 2014 08:25:16 -0700, slide wrote:

The key isn't the weather or decision
but the integrity of the vessel.

===

You're right about that but I'd argue against testing the integrity of
the boat if you don't need to. Even well built boats have an
increased probability of trouble in storm force conditions. The ocean
has a way of finding the weak spots.

Another well known issue is that the boats tend to be stronger than
the people. I've been on two different boats where owners broke ribs
after being tossed across the cabin down below.

Good point there. I have a chipped front tooth from one of my trips
across the cabin.

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On Sat, 18 Jan 2014 12:21:22 -0800 (PST), "Capt.Bill"
wrote:

http://www.sailfeed.com/2014/01/heli...1/#comment-730

===

More information and commentary he

http://www.practical-sailor.com/blog/The-Short-Brutish-Life-of-a-Luxury-Cat-11328-1.html?ET=practicalsailor:e21229:102086a:&st=email

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On 1/22/2014 5:44 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Sat, 18 Jan 2014 12:21:22 -0800 (PST), "Capt.Bill"
wrote:

http://www.sailfeed.com/2014/01/heli...1/#comment-730

===

More information and commentary he

http://www.practical-sailor.com/blog/The-Short-Brutish-Life-of-a-Luxury-Cat-11328-1.html?ET=practicalsailor:e21229:102086a:&st=email

Confirms my comments earlier that the boat was a three quarter million
dollar O'Day.

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On Wednesday, January 22, 2014 7:44:03 PM UTC-5, wayne.b wrote:
On Sat, 18 Jan 2014 12:21:22 -0800 (PST), "Capt.Bill"

wrote:



http://www.sailfeed.com/2014/01/heli...1/#comment-730



===



More information and commentary he



http://www.practical-sailor.com/blog/The-Short-Brutish-Life-of-a-Luxury-Cat-11328-1.html?ET=practicalsailor:e21229:102086a:&st=email

http://www.sailfeed.com/2014/01/be-g...ering-critics/

I find these statements rather interesting.

"As for Hank’s perspective, he’s a professional delivery skipper. Taking brand new lightly equipped boats into ****ty weather is a big part of that job, at least if you really want to make a living at it."

You would think as a professional his job would be to avoid taking "brand new lightly equipped boats into ****ty weather". As delivery captains isn't it our job to get the boat and crew there safely with little or no damage by avoiding take those kinds, or any kind for that matter, of boats out into ****ty weather if it can be avoided?

"Some have suggested he should have tried to persuade Gunther and Doris to hop down the coast to the Bahamas instead, but in doing that he would effectively be talking them out of hiring him"

Again as a professional should he not have purposed the safest option to the owners whether or not it cost him a job? Because in this case not at least examining this option may have cost the owners their brand new boat.

Ill planned winter voyage?
 

On Thu, 23 Jan 2014 08:04:40 -0800 (PST), "Capt.Bill"
wrote:

On Wednesday, January 22, 2014 7:44:03 PM UTC-5, wayne.b wrote:
On Sat, 18 Jan 2014 12:21:22 -0800 (PST), "Capt.Bill"

wrote:



http://www.sailfeed.com/2014/01/heli...1/#comment-730



===



More information and commentary he



http://www.practical-sailor.com/blog/The-Short-Brutish-Life-of-a-Luxury-Cat-11328-1.html?ET=practicalsailor:e21229:102086a:&st=email

http://www.sailfeed.com/2014/01/be-g...ering-critics/

I find these statements rather interesting.

"As for Hank’s perspective, he’s a professional delivery skipper. Taking brand new lightly equipped boats into ****ty weather is a big part of that job, at least if you really want to make a living at it."

You would think as a professional his job would be to avoid taking "brand new lightly equipped boats into ****ty weather". As delivery captains isn't it our job to get the boat and crew there safely with little or no damage by avoiding take those kinds, or any kind for that matter, of boats out into ****ty weather if it can be avoided?

"Some have suggested he should have tried to persuade Gunther and Doris to hop down the coast to the Bahamas instead, but in doing that he would effectively be talking them out of hiring him"

Again as a professional should he not have purposed the safest option to the owners whether or not it cost him a job? Because in this case not at least examining this option may have cost the owners their brand new boat.

===

I couldn't agree more, right on all counts. I wouldn't have taken
my own boat on that route in the winter and I certainly wouldn't take
anyone elses either. Even a deep draft boat (which it wasn't) could
have gone on a safer route as far south as Norfolk, VA. Going via
Delaware Bay and the Chesapeake would also have provided some time to
sort out any engine and generator issues while still in protected
water, with services and supplies readily available.