The Flyin Hawaiian is gone!

[fjwiley1]

There is no doubt that Hot Rod was a "determined man".... Regardless of how most of us felt about the inevitable he never gave up. Fortunately no one lost their life while he was relentless to prove his point....😞




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[SkiprJohn]

For those new sailors joining the discussion I hope the lesson learned here is that if you are going to build a boat then use plans and boatbuilding techniques which can only be learned by reading through designers notebooks and boatbuilding books.

Another lesson is that if you are going to build such a craft as FH was then don't take friends and family with you and put their lives in danger. They were lucky and got rescued.

[westsail42]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

Therapy: try Rebel Heart sailboat.
https://www.google.com/search?q=rebe...AUoAA&dpr=1.45

Cliff Notes: His child was very sick and the Navy had to drop medical people in by parachute from a plane because they were too far out for helis. This caused a media firestorm including TV and print about what was acceptable risk for a sailing with a young one. A very big deal. Some where saying that they should be charged with child abuse. They weren't.
They were all rescued and the boat was abandoned. The kid recovered.

And dont forget...

Rebel Heart is sueing their satellite phone provider for the cost of the rescue and the boat, blaming them for switching SIMs on their account without their knowledge, rendering their phone inoperable offshore and unable to seek medical advice for their sick daughter. They had no other working form of communication.

This is relevant as it indicates a level of preparedness (or not).

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by westsail42

And dont forget...

Rebel Heart is sueing their satellite phone provider for the cost of the rescue and the boat, blaming them for switching SIMs on their account without their knowledge, rendering their phone inoperable offshore and unable to seek medical advice for their sick daughter. They had no other working form of communication.

This is relevant as it indicates a level of preparedness (or not).

Correction:

Rebel Heart WAS suing their provider up until their dumbass lawsuit was dismissed by the California court system.

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Correction:

Rebel Heart WAS suing their provider up until their dumbass lawsuit was dismissed by the California court system.

Awesome! I wonder if their book deal will do as well

[I.Grind]

Thanks for all the updates on two stories I thought were totally dead. I wondered if the RH lawsuit would pan out, obviously not.

Just the other day I was looking out on the bay thinking "I wonder whatever happened with the whole FH fiasco" I figured it just settled into the mud somewhere to slowly decompose. Great to hear it was lost at sea, without anyone dying or getting injured instead. Seems more fitting, at least they went down swinging. I'm sure Hotrod and Co. got plenty of excitement out of it. Better to burn out than to fade away....

They made it father than I predicted, due I am sure to the unusually calm weather. I did not think they would get more than 20 miles out "The Gate". Would have loved to have been a fly on the bulkhead when things started coming unglued.

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Correction:

Rebel Heart WAS suing their provider up until their dumbass lawsuit was dismissed by the California court system.

I actually think their lawsuit has merit. Imagine your Verizon phone is suddenly dead because they switched cards rendering yours inactive despite the fact that you paid for it and your child is sick and you can't call 911.
Anywho, the lawsuit was dismissed because according to the terms and agreement clause on their phone they would have to sue in Florida instead of Cali. They can refile there.

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

I actually think their lawsuit has merit. Imagine your Verizon phone is suddenly dead because they switched cards rendering yours inactive despite the fact that you paid for it and your child is sick and you can't call 911.
Anywho, the lawsuit was dismissed because according to the terms and agreement clause on their phone they would have to sue in Florida instead of Cali. They can refile there.

I thought I read somewhere that the lawyer has already started the process of refiling in Florida. I could be wrong though.

[Celestialsailor]

Oh crap....are we going back to this dead horse?

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Can't wait to see the new picture taken from the rescue chopper looking down on him in the litter.

Hmmmm....

[RTB]

Sorry for reviving the RH subject. I hadn't read this thread until FH had problems, and seeing Eriks posts, I couldn't resist. Karma is a bad thing, so don't talk bad about someone else unless you can handle it, if it comes back to bite you. And..................never, never ever, whistle for wind!

Originally Posted by RTB

....or it could have turned out like Rebel Heart, who ironically was a big attacker earlier in this thread. I guess karma really is a bitch.

Ralph

[Dhillen]

Originally Posted by Tx J

Expensive mistake all around, those USCG Dolphins (HH-65C's/Eurocopter) cost about $4K/hr to run, plus all the other assets involved.
And no catfights over 'maritime rescue' pro's and con's, please; see avatar (it's all 'practice'). It's part of what we pay as a major seafaring nation.

Awesome.

No argument here!

Dhillen

[socaldmax]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

For those new sailors joining the discussion I hope the lesson learned here is that if you are going to build a boat then use plans and boatbuilding techniques which can only be learned by reading through designers notebooks and boatbuilding books.

Another lesson is that if you are going to build such a craft as FH was then don't take friends and family with you and put their lives in danger. They were lucky and got rescued.

Between this thread and the Gunboat thread, the lesson that I learned is it doesn't really matter if your name is Hot Rod and you built your floating monstrosity entirely out of Home Depot hardware with no clue whatsoever about naval engineering; or if you spent $2.5M on the latest state of the art carbon fiber vacuum bagged foam cored ultra light hull with the very latest in rigging, electronics and a system that is supposed to release the sails if hit by high winds and your Capt. has crossed the Atlantic 4 times already...

it looks like the sea can still rise up at almost the exact same point (200 mi offshore) and take your boat away from you. Whether it's hubris in thinking that anybody can build a plywood boat and sail it to HI, or the hubris in thinking that a $2.5M boat can pretty much laugh at the Atlantic weather fronts in Jan. or Feb., as my mom always used to say, "Don't mess with Mother Nature!"

Of course her implication was that SHE was Mother Nature. She also claimed to have RADAR, eyes in the back of her head and SHE owned all of the spy satellites, the CIA called HER for updates on world events. Based on how she busted me every single time, I never had any reason to doubt her.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Oh crap....are we going back to this dead horse?

Yep.

Might be truly dead now though.

DVIDS - Video - Coast Guard Rescues 5 People from Sinking Sail Boat off the Coast of Monterey

[Tx J]

"Originally Posted by rebel heart View Post
Can't wait to see the new picture taken from the rescue chopper looking down on him in the litter."

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Hmmmm....

On last night's local tv news they ran a clip of exactly that (Mon 2 Feb).
Not sure if it was Hot Rod hisself, but the (overexposed) video from the CG helo showed a large male in the stokes being hoisted up with what appeared to be the FH below on a sunny, calm-appearing day.

The announcer referred to five people getting rescued from a "ship" a couple of times (probably reading a script). I don't think the FH ever qualified for that status.