Larry, I think you're begging the question. Maybe there aren't any
old sailors able to run a boat offshore in your town. I don't know.
But I thought your assertion was that no one over the age of 60 should
be allowed to be the primary muscle on a boat going out of sight of
land. There are some 60 and even 70 somethings out there who are
capable of handling the rigors of long passages in their own boats.
So, it doesn't make any sense to me to not allow them to do that if
they want to.

"BETTER DROWNED THAN DUFFERS IF NOT DUFFERS WONT DROWN." -- Arthur
Ransome

-- Tom.

"Larry" wrote in message
...
Peter wrote in news:1178668142.994836.113080
@y80g2000hsf.googlegroups.com:

Obviously, when we are given the freedom of choice, some
people will, unfortunately, make the wrong choices.


Those are the ones who need "direction". Not sure about NZ or Trinidad,
but in America, you can be a complete idiot, buy a 60' yacht with 2000HP
engines and just drive it away, no questions asked.....and not break any
laws if it has a fire extinguisher, taxes paid and everyone has a
lifejacket.........even if the driver is blind.

Larry
--
This spammer called my cellphone:
First American Payment
10101 E Arapaho Rd
Richardson, TX 75081
972-301-3766
They were nasty when I politely said I wasn't interested....(c;

Maybe you should have paid your bills, and the bill collector won't call.

On Tue, 08 May 2007 21:17:21 -0700, Alan Gomes wrote:

I don't recall just now, but how old was Sir Francis Chichester when he
circled the world in Gypsy Moth?

In his early sixties, but when he was 70, he did 4,000 miles in 20
days missing the record by one day.

A very interesting man was Sir. Francis.

wrote:
...
I don't recall just now, but how old was Sir Francis Chichester when
he circled the world in Gypsy Moth?

--Alan Gomes

I think he was 65 and suffering from cancer and chronic injuries...

Then there was Dr David Lewis, who sailed to the Antarctica in his late 50's
(solo, of course) and continued sailing mostly solo until his death a few
years ago at the age of 83.

Larry wrote:

"KLC Lewis" wrote in news:wMadnSkQm-
:

My God, this is so antithetical to America that I
can't believe you're posting it.

You don't FLY without a pilot's license, medical exam,
certification....before you fly over my house and endanger the public.

What's the difference in a boat on the ICW or harbor or shipping lane?

You are equating offshore with a boat to being on the ICW or in a
harbor or shipping lane.

They are not the same.

Someone of whatever age who watches the weather in a well found boat
is much less likely to endanger anyone (rescuer or innocent bystander)
when offshore than an ignorant person (young or old) in the ICW harbor
or shipping lane. And God knows there are plenty of them out there.

Why is that different than a Cessna 150? Any fool can fly a Cessna 150!
Hell, it flies itself unless you force it not to!

Larry

The reason older people 'get away with' sailing after your cut-off age
is that they have the knowledge and experience. They know their
limitations, and set their boat up and schedule their trips with that
in mind. Muscle won't substitute for brains.

Gordon wrote:

As for your six man crew, to quote someone or another, "I don't know
six people I'd want to go to sea with" :-).


Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeatgmaildotcom)

Bingo!

That's why we don't sail to Bermuda and down to the Virgin Islands
which is what Bob wanted to do. I said I wouldn't do it without at
least one other person to help stand the watches, and he said he
didn't want anyone else on the boat. So we don't go.

We have gone with another couple (on our boat) down the ICW for a
couple of weeks, but that wasn't offshore - it was just an extended
series of day trips.

On May 9, 2:26 am, "Calif Bill" wrote:
"Larry" wrote in message

...





Peter wrote in news:1178668142.994836.113080
@y80g2000hsf.googlegroups.com:

Obviously, when we are given the freedom of choice, some
people will, unfortunately, make the wrong choices.

Those are the ones who need "direction". Not sure about NZ or Trinidad,
but in America, you can be a complete idiot, buy a 60' yacht with 2000HP
engines and just drive it away, no questions asked.....and not break any
laws if it has a fire extinguisher, taxes paid and everyone has a
lifejacket.........even if the driver is blind.

Larry
--
This spammer called my cellphone:
First American Payment
10101 E Arapaho Rd
Richardson, TX 75081
972-301-3766
They were nasty when I politely said I wasn't interested....(c;

Maybe you should have paid your bills, and the bill collector won't call.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Damn, your stupidity is showing once again, and as usual! Where in the
hell did he say that he owed a bill collector? Does the statement
"They were nasty when I politely said I wasn't interested...." have
ANY meaning to you?

Rosalie B. wrote in
:

he said he
didn't want anyone else on the boat.

Too bad. I bet some of those strong, young dockhands you know at your
marina would just drop everything to go.....treating you and he like
Queen and King. Taking "another couple", who expect to be treated like
guests, not knowledgeable crew, is a whole different ballgame.

Keep a sharp eye out for such a strong young man. Every marina has a few
strong hands who just stand out from the pack on the dock, more friendly,
helpful and undemanding. All you need do is feed him and let him sleep
in that quarterberth that's usually piled with junk...(c; Watch the
dockhands when they dock a big yacht. Your boy is the one with the
sailing gloves taking charge.....(c;

Larry
--
They were nasty when I politely said I wasn't interested....(c;

Larry wrote:

Rosalie B. wrote in
:

he said he
didn't want anyone else on the boat.

Too bad. I bet some of those strong, young dockhands you know at your
marina would just drop everything to go.....treating you and he like
Queen and King. Taking "another couple", who expect to be treated like
guests, not knowledgeable crew, is a whole different ballgame.

Keep a sharp eye out for such a strong young man. Every marina has a few
strong hands who just stand out from the pack on the dock, more friendly,
helpful and undemanding. All you need do is feed him and let him sleep
in that quarterberth that's usually piled with junk...(c; Watch the
dockhands when they dock a big yacht. Your boy is the one with the
sailing gloves taking charge.....(c;

Larry our marina is down at the end of nowhere. There are no
dockhands helping to dock boats. It is strictly a DIY operation. If
you need fuel and call on the radio and there is actually someone
there to respond (sometimes I've had to call the shop on the phone),
then there MIGHT be a dockhand to catch a line, but more than likely
it will be an older woman. Most of the people that work there are
owners or work at the restaurant or work in the shop. And the other
people there are boat owners - most of them at least our age.

Our friends who sailed with us didn't act like guests - they cooked
and took the wheel and helped us tie up etc. They were sailors and he
(at least) was much more knowledgeable than I am, but they are also
our age.

Rosalie B. wrote in
:

Most of the people that work there are
owners or work at the restaurant or work in the shop

Oh, sorry. The marinas here are staffed with nice, STRONG college boys
earning money for school. Most of them are in one of the several college
sailing clubs around Charleston, too. Many have been sailing all their
lives on parents' boats.

We're spoiled...(c; They man the radios until 10PM looking for more
tips. When Cap'n Geoffrey calls, they KNOW there's a nice tip, so come
running down the dock in a herd. He's one of the favorite boats. He
also takes them sailing with us if we're just going out to fool around
the harbor for no apparent reason. No sense working up a sweat grinding
winches when there are nice young people just itching to "come about".

Larry
--
That's me on the bow in the beanbag with the laptop wirelessly
steering...(c;