Tragedy Strikes.

[JPA Cate]

PCM:

I actually think this young man has fewer options than you might, due to low income, and his cash getting away from him. Perhaps he views his blog as a possible source of getting money "loaned" to him via his PayPal account?

Although he is younger than you, he's out there giving it a go, even if you think he may be inefficient, he is also very young. Please cut him some slack and let him get on with it. We don't even know if his US passport's still valid! He may not --for bureaucratic reasons not of his own making-- be able to pursue his boat as vigorously as he likes.

Finally, FWIW, perhaps it is the kinder thing to make a donation or a loan to him, and not criticize his actions, as we do not know the whole story.

Ann

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

You do realize it's just $20k worth? Three days of searching by even a cheap plane, single engine Cessna 180 say, is getting close to $6k

Regardless, he stated it's "all he has", and that he's sailing off with $140 of liquid funds. Hiring a light aircraft in the Bahamas is $6K a day? Hard to believe, yet you may know something I don't.

I hope he recovers his "home and belongings", yet I would have approached the situation much, much, much differently.

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

PCM:

I actually think this young man has fewer options than you might, due to low income, and his cash getting away from him. Perhaps he views his blog as a possible source of getting money "loaned" to him via his PayPal account?

Although he is younger than you, he's out there giving it a go, even if you think he may be inefficient, he is also very young. Please cut him some slack and let him get on with it. We don't even know if his US passport's still valid! He may not --for bureaucratic reasons not of his own making-- be able to pursue his boat as vigorously as he likes.

Finally, FWIW, perhaps it is the kinder thing to make a donation or a loan to him, and not criticize his actions, as we do not know the whole story.

Ann

Ann, have you read his blog postings? I'll leave it -- and this thread -- at that.

I truly hope that he recovers his boat.

[kmacdonald]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

You do realize it's just $20k worth? Three days of searching by even a cheap plane, single engine Cessna 180 say, is getting close to $6k

Had a plane search been conducted the next day it would have only taken a hour or two to find the boat. I'm actually surprised it wasn't found the evening it went missing. It couldn't have gone more than 4 or 5 miles and could have been spotted with binoculars from a rooftop. It's not adding up for me but YMMV.

[thruska]

Originally Posted by PortClydeMe

What would I do?

1) Do a search on day one, by whatever means possible, until after dark.
2) Contact family (or close friends) for needed cash (also day one).
3) Day two, continue search by boat, and also investigate hiring an aircraft.
4) Day two, three, four... continue search by aircraft until found.
5) Pull out all the stops to find my home and belongings.

What would I not do?

1) Write posts to strangers on an Internet sailing forum.
2) Write travelogues about the Bahamas, regardless of how comforting that is.
3) Waste time.
4) Give up search.

What would you do?

Well Clyde, from your armchair in a novel kind of way you suppose that you know how you would do things.
You are not Gil, nor are you in his shoes.
Like unto the boys arguing about their CAP differences, I say put a lid on it. And btw, you are on a cruiser forum posting to strangers. Go figure.
Advice is certainly free, free to take it or leave it.
Gil btw has done just fine under all the circumstances.
Kudos to Ocean girl and everyone else helping with constructive pro-activism.

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by thruska

Well Clyde, from your armchair in a novel kind of way you suppose that you know how you would do things.

It's not a "novel kind of way". It is "exactly" what I'd have done.

You are not Gil, nor are you in his shoes.

Correct, that's why I tried to prompt him to be proactive from day one. It's called "common sense".

Like unto the boys arguing about their CAP differences, I say put a lid on it.

You're welcome to your opinion, however condescending it may be. I'm a realist.

And btw, you are on a cruiser forum posting to strangers. Go figure.

Go figure? I posted advice to a guy who "supposedly" lost his boat. I'm not a poor sailor on a forum asking for money. Go figure.

Advice is certainly free, free to take it or leave it.

Agreed.

Gil btw has done just fine under all the circumstances.
Kudos to Ocean girl and everyone else helping with constructive pro-activism.

Meaning what, exactly? Keeping sane? The boat is gone. There are people here actively trying to help him. He's writing Internet blogs about the Bahamas. Go figure.

My final post in this thread. I hope that he recovers his boat.

[cards26]

He seems to be an introspective guy, making his living with a computer, so that's how he may relate to the outside world. We all 'mourn' differently. Writing about the Bahamas may be a way of dealing with this....just a guess though.

As far as contacting his 'family and friends' for money, I wonder if Dagny is named after Dagny Taggart of "Atlas Shrugged", the greatest exponent of personal responsibility there is. I dunno.

[Sandero]

I thought Gil was in his 40s? I hardly consider that young... although I'd love to be back there in my 40s.

That boat will show up and I don't suspect searching for it unless undertaken with a half day or so would be fruitful. Obviously there aren't many mariners where his vessel decided to visit.

[WindwardPrinces]

Can't we all just...

... get along?

I'm sure Gil is interested in any constructive advice we can provide of things he can do right now within his resources.

Don't forget, he was acting in the fog of the moment, and I'm sure he'd do a thing or two differently if he were to do it over.

As it stands, scribbling a few notes in his blog isn't really going to hurt anything, as he's mostly just waiting and hoping someone randomly runs across his boat. It would cost a small fortune to do a diligent search at this point.

[brianlara 3]

PCM...Your hindsight is nothing short of brilliant.
Shame you cant put your money where your mouth is.....Oh sorry, i meant "Donate rather than mock".
I havent read every single post on this thread so if youve already spent the dollars then please forgive me

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by WindwardPrinces

...scribbling a few notes in his blog isn't really going to hurt anything, as he's mostly just waiting and hoping someone randomly runs across his boat...

Pretty sure that was the point, that he gave the appearance of just waiting and hoping, allowing it to be someone else's problem, instead of grabbing the bull by the horns and taking responsibility to get his boat back.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by PortClydeMe

What would I do?

1) Do a search on day one, by whatever means possible, until after dark...

If you had read his blog, then you would have realized the boat went missing near nightfall. He spent about 3hours searching in the dark, and another 10 the next day, again until it got dark. Assuming he could even hire an airplane on G. Bahama, it is ridiculous nonsense to think that is an effective way to find a needle in a haystack. Just assuming it drifted off and wasn't stolen, or sunk - it would be in a chunk of ocean potentially hundreds of square miles in area. Sure he might have gotten lucky, but if you have to swallow pride and borrow funds, a better use of that money might be to return home rather than risk it on a wild goose chase.

[Vasco]

Perhaps more might be gained from this thread if we took a good look at what transpired. Frankly, I think the boat is lost. If it is sighted it would be too costly to board and recover. Is it too early for a post mortem?

[Cheechako]

I too have been a little confused about this situation. I've just been biting my tongue, and have to admit... at this point I haven't read every post. Hopefully (If I have this right) others can learn from this. I sincerely hope Gil gets his boat back. But:
-Is Gil really in the Bahamas with a couple hundred bucks or less? Really?
-If the boat drifted off, the time to retrieve it was immediately.... not days later and spending time on the internet. But without money....
-Was the motor inoperative before going to the Bahamas or during?
It just seems like Domino theory based on poor decisions.... but I'm not sure I have this correct....

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

I'm actually surprised it wasn't found the evening it went missing. It couldn't have gone more than 4 or 5 miles and could have been spotted with binoculars from a rooftop. It's not adding up for me but YMMV.

An unlit boat? At night? From the roof of one of the many tall buildings in the vast metropolis of West End? You're joking, right?