Solo Sailor Took His Own Life

[arsenelupiga]

Originally Posted by reed1v

Oh dear clueless, third world medical facilities tend to be very run down, or become rather dilapidated quickly once set up. We set up a clinic on Marjuro back in the 80s. Ten years later we went back and found most of the windows gone, the -ray machine rusting and impossible to use, rat poop along all corridors, and generally a filthy mess. Same experience in outlying Colon, and same with rural clinics in Kenya(and that is probably the most progressive nation in Africa).
It takes management, organization, and training to keep a medical facility operating to WHO standards and most poorer nations just do not have the resources to do that. Its not just money, its the way the society is set up.

i am afraid modern medicine is less than useless.
It hurts people !

Above is the proof. These people were not brainwashed that why they abandoned.

Now you tell me westerners are smarter

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I'll share an emotional low if that please's you..
It was during my 1st solo W-E Transat.. I'd got carried away with the wonder of nature in a mid June start from St Martin.. cotton ball clouds each spitting its own individual lightning.. chased by first one.. then 2 and 3 waterspouts.. witnessed Orca attacking a Female and calf from a distance.. then had the pod accompany me every night for close on a week.. seen a superpod of 1000+ dolphins.. heard them before they came over the horizon.. all leaping and somersaulting headed to who knows where.. Birds of Paradise hanging round.. turtles.. I was glutted with nature and could not stop.. so I sailed on past the Azores..
Then things turned bad.. a lower shroud popped and while rigging up a jury stay I cracked a couple of ribs.. then lost elec's during a thunder storm..
Just had a 10W solar panel and small spare car battery to run my TP.. from midnight to dawn I'd fore reach while I slept.. food was down to lentils cooked with stock cube and pan bread with olive oil.. no coffee, no sugar just a dessert spoon of condensed milk a day.. only nav had been my HH GPS which had crashed with everything else so it was DR with my Small Boats Chart of the North Atlantic.. 1972..
Then I hit the calms.. first 3 days.. then 5 days with only an estimated 30 miles in two days in between..
It happened in the afternoon of the 3rd day.. I was sitting on the cabin top watching two dolphins lazily moving around about 300 metres away.. the sea was mirror calm and I have never felt so at peace.. then I thought about hitting land in about 7-10 days and the entirety of all the chaos and insanity of the world I was returning to.. in comparison to what I was living.. flooding my mind brought on the most intense sadness and weight..
My 'Crowhurst' moment.. and I concluded that I'd be better off just stepping of the boat with nothing but wonder in my last days..
I stood up and looked into the deep.. then the two dolphins swam up to the boat with the most perfect miniature dolphin you could ever wish to see.. sobbed my heart out..
50 hrs later the wind came and I closed the Southern Approaches to find more wonders in store.. plus.. my navigation got me to within 20 miles of Falmouth.
I've told this tale before in various ways I guess.. but the essential truths remain the same..
I've sometimes wondered what might have been had those dolphins not been there..

PS; this happened on my 36th day at sea.. 47 days port to port

Damn boaty thanks for sharing. Thats the most ive seen you write for a long time glad the dolphins were there

[JPA Cate]

So are we all, RC.

Perhaps the question you want the answer to is too close to the hearts and lives of the survivors for public expression. i personally, think it was VERY BRAVE of Boatie to bare his feelings.

Never having singlehanded, (Jim always belowdecks, available at a call) I am not competent to answer your questions. Thoughts during the long night watches, mostly are enriching.

Ann

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

You need to read Winston Churchill's six volume history of the second world war.

And if that does not depress you enuf.. try War and Peace..

[Wakey]

Damn Boatie! That was purdy!


Posted from my buggy iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum app

[redhead]

I'll join in Boatie's fan club. Just having my coffee here on US West Coast, wasn't really ready for tears this early in the day.

I'm reminded of Beth Leonard writing about night watches. When she first began she couldn't imagine hours and hours of nothing - but by the end of her voyage she would have been looking at the stars and examining the inside of her head so intently that the hours had gone by in the blink of an eye.

I can't imagine an experience like your crossing Boatie, but I look forward to the Orca/dolphin part with pleasure and hope I can wait out the calms. Thank you.

[reed1v]

On a new moon night, clear skies, out on the open ocean, you can see your shadow cast by starlight. Not to mention all those strange things moving around among the stars. Sailors at sea are easily entertained.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by arsenelupiga

i am afraid modern medicine is less than useless.
It hurts people !

Above is the proof. These people were not brainwashed that why they abandoned.

Now you tell me westerners are smarter

I wouldn't go with useless. It is SWAG. Sometimes the guess is good sometimes not.

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by Cadence

I wouldn't go with useless. It is SWAG. Sometimes the guess is good sometimes not.

Without modern medicine(since the 1940s), the average lifespan would be shortened by 25 years, infant mortality would increase to 40%, and over half the population would experience debilitating conditions. Nope, modern medicines and medical standards have been almost as important as clean water and sanitary sewers. Unfortunately only about half the world are lucky to have these. If you want to see what the other half live like, go to some of the shanty towns built up around Mexico City.

[Capt Phil]

Boatman has long been one who has my respect and acknowledgement to be the best source for unvarnished truth in this forum. His admission of human feelings under duress was well said.
I have found as I age, thoughts of self destruction have been replaced by asking myself how can I help others who are younger and without the luck and resources I have been fortunate enough to amass? I also went through a period of reflection on my worth as an individual, an examination of how I had treated friends and enemies in the past and, of course, could I now make amends for past bad behavior. I realized that the best way to do that was to be helpful and giving in my community to those who were having a difficult time. It is fulfilling and very rewarding. I would encourage everyone who has reached that point in their lives where they are awaiting the grim reaper to choose a person or organization to support and help build the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves. You don't need to be wealthy, I'm certainly not! But give of your time and talent to folks who are battling on alone and may feel without hope. A kind word, just your company can do wonders! Cheers, Phil

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by redhead

I'll join in Boatie's fan club. Just having my coffee here on US West Coast, wasn't really ready for tears this early in the day.

I'm reminded of Beth Leonard writing about night watches. When she first began she couldn't imagine hours and hours of nothing - but by the end of her voyage she would have been looking at the stars and examining the inside of her head so intently that the hours had gone by in the blink of an eye.

I can't imagine an experience like your crossing Boatie, but I look forward to the Orca/dolphin part with pleasure and hope I can wait out the calms. Thank you.

Actually the calms are pretty cool as well.. I'd lay midships and stare down into the depths then slowly focus back up to the hundreds and thousands (best way I can describe the tiny multi-coloured golds, reds, greens etc lifeforms.. then there were the water spiders scuttling across the surface.. my own personal multi size aquarium.. complete with fish who sought my shelter and swam just under the swim platform...
Loneliness was not my burden.. it was the insanity I had to return too.. Humanity and all the petty **** that goes with it.

But I'm all right now..!!

[Sailor Jer]

Originally Posted by thomm225

There's a novel that describes what may have happened to Donald Crowhurst during his attempt at the Single-Handed Round the World Race in 1968

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Crowhurst

The book is called Outerbridge Reach. I read it once but may never read it again. It gets pretty twisted.

At one point, he can only pickup some weird religious channel on his radio and his mind had already started to turn. He had a fictitious log book going as well as a real log book.

I wouldn't recommended it to any single hander with an overactive imagination......

Outerbridge Reach: Robert Stone: 0046442938945: Amazon.com: Books

That's an ugly book to read, sad as watching "All is Lost" but not as puke inducing as "Passion of the Christ"

Twisted irony of Crowhurst disappearance is that Arthur Piver (Designer of the boat Crowhurst built/sailed) died/was lost at sea just the year before off San Diego trying to qualify for the race that later became the TransPac....I feel it safe to assume this very fact had to be in Crowhurst's head???

[Lizzy Belle]

Worth a watch: Deep Water (2006) - IMDb

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by Sailor Jer

That's an ugly book to read, sad as watching "All is Lost" but not as puke inducing as "Passion of the Christ"

Twisted irony of Crowhurst disappearance is that Arthur Piver (Designer of the boat Crowhurst built/sailed) died/was lost at sea just the year before off San Diego trying to qualify for the race that later became the TransPac....I feel it safe to assume this very fact had to be in Crowhurst's head???

Quite likely Crowhurst was unaware or not affected by Piver's demise. Probably unaware of a lot of things. Crowhurst was likely unhinged before embarking on the race; and being alone without human reference points, went over the edge, so to speak. The Piver tri boats were quite common as do-it-yourself home built projects. They were totally unsuited for long distance, open ocean, all weather racing. The first around the world singlehanded race was rather cobbled together with a real cast of very strange characters, including Sir Robin. It would be highly unlikely such a motley set of boats and yachtsmen would be allowed to do the race today.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by reed1v

Quite likely Crowhurst was unaware or not affected by Piver's demise. Probably unaware of a lot of things. Crowhurst was likely unhinged before embarking on the race; and being alone without human reference points, went over the edge, so to speak. The Piver tri boats were quite common as do-it-yourself home built projects. They were totally unsuited for long distance, open ocean, all weather racing. The first around the world singlehanded race was rather cobbled together with a real cast of very strange characters, including Sir Robin. It would be highly unlikely such a motley set of boats and yachtsmen would be allowed to do the race today.

I had a small Piver 25'. I loved her for her solo sailing ability. She had been singled from England to the US. Only sold her because of a lack of interior room with a family. That little fin on each ama let her point well and she was well balanced. JMHO