Sailor Abandons Boat off Florida coast

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by s/v 'Faith'

....and about 10x as much offshore experience as many posters here.

You call THAT "offshore experience"?

Sheesh...

Jim

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

You call THAT "offshore experience"?



Sheesh...



Jim

Well he was 50 meters off shore. Stop being picky.

[captain58sailin]

Look at all the entertainment, he has provided.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by s/v 'Faith'

....and about 10x as much offshore experience as many posters here.

Exactly. Plus many folks on CF are builders and folks that like to shine up their boats at the marina.

My only question is why did he read the whole book on sailing.

The book I used to learn with had one picture. The picture showed small sailboats inside a circle pointing outward at maybe every 30 degrees or so. The wind was blowing down the page.

The boat pointing the closest to the wind (top of the page) had it's sails in the tightest. As you come around the circle, the boat would be pointing at say 150 degrees where the sails were set for a broad reach and so on.

That was it then I went sailing................................in a dinghy in a lake but still.

[ontherocks83]

If he was a real man he wouldn't have had to read the instructions first he would have just gone for it

[thomm225]

This just shows where money can make you look good even if you did just what he did. I've seen lots of sailors on big, expensive boats that are totally clueless concerning boating, right of way rules, etc.

Had this guy had a nice boat with a good engine etc, he could have just motored on in. Maybe grow a beard and wear a little sailor hat also. Everything would have been fine.................

And if he had wheel steering even better..............

[Jimbo485]

Haha! And with a little handheld GPS, he very well may have crossed an ocean! A true blue water sailor!!

[Mainebristol]

Berserk went from Cape Horn to Antarctica and back with 4 handheld gps's in a waterproof box. one survived the trip, so you know they started with the right number... It is people like these on their little epics that i just love. He is a Shackleton without brains, money or even much guts, but hey, he did try.

[thomm225]

The dude that killed that cruising couple on Fanning Island (nearby) didn't know much more about sailing but still ventured on the 1000 miles or so from Hawaii. (on a crappy boat)

And the Sea Will Tell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[GILow]

At least his rudder didn't fall off.

[boatman61]

Well... I for one will give him credit for having a go...
and being scared, cold and hungry is no crime...
lets face it... there's been folk in bigger and better boats with a bit more experience jumped off their boats when it got cold and they could not cook... Oysters and the like... at least he saved himself.. mainly.. and did not involve rescue services and merchant ships in the process..
Maybe he'll now move forward.. older and wiser.. or maybe he'll never sail again.. but I think his mind set will have gone through a major change..

[Cap Erict3]

I'll never forget taking my little Dolphin Senior out of the Port Aransas ship channel into the gulf.

I had read a couple of chapters of an old Glennans and sailed it in the Laguna Madre a bit. Turning turtle and getting blown against the lee shore made me a better sailor.

[Blue Crab]

You harsh critics are overlooking that he said it was "turbulent" and pals, that is boatspeak for "Abandon Ship!" We'd have been reading about a SAR effort if he'd had a working cellphone, or VHF, or Satphone, bagphone, distress signals, smoke signals, a louder voice, or a dog named Lassie.

My inside info suggests that he was heading for the St Augustine anchorage. The one book he read (skimmed?) hadn't mentioned the change to the mooring field. Plus ya don't have to sail to get there thanks to the Gulfstream. There is a pic of the guy in the article and I have thoughtfully copied it for you here:

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by GILow

At least his rudder didn't fall off.

Had to didn't it? It was a HUNTER wasn't it?

[Mattdwyerva]

A man's reach must exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for.

That a young person is impossibly idealistic does not seem worthy of scorn to me. That a youth makes big mistakes is less interesting to me than how they act afterwards. Not what they say - what they do.

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