You're 100% right, there is something pretty nasty in the air against adventurous souls of all types. Instead of rooting for the mountaineer to summit, the collective increasingly cheers for him to fall off a cliff so we can mock him. It's disturbing.
I was chuckling (with horror?) to myself the other day when thinking that if the orcas where I live sunk my small sailboat for no apparent reason, about half the internet would laugh with glee. All these orcas experts would pop out of thin air and tear into me for being the real monster. Wild times!
The Greek gods were said to be jealous of mortals because we actually experience real life's thrills and dangers. A similar thing may be going on with people too online and those who actually do things in real life. Just a theory.
I had to chuckle at the “Not about myself, of course. The rest of you.” Remark. It reminded me of what we used to say in the Fire Service: “Out here savin’ lives; cheatin’ Death; and lookin’ DAMN GOOD in the process!”. A shame that there is the tendency to ‘dog pile’ after any kind of unfortunate event. Be it shipwrecks, plane crashes, car accidents, etc. it reminds me of the FB meme that has Forrest Gump saying, “And just like that… everyone became an (fill in the blank) expert…”. As far as the “‘scuse me while I whip dis out” when it comes to resumes, I’m often reminded of the qoute from Trevanian: “Do not fall into the error of the artisan who boasts of twenty years experience in his craft while in fact he has had only one year of experience—twenty times.”.
Well said Peter. I was shocked at the venom spewed. May all the know-it-alls NEVER have a situation where they have to eat their words...as they gulp in saltwater...on the way to the abyss! My husband and I had our boat in the path of two hurricanes in the last ten years. First Irma, when we were at our homebase in OH, and the boat was in Islamorada. We had NO choice, but to call on great friendships....and friends, who made sure her lines were appropriately tethered (in a bayside marina)...and breathe very shallow breaths for 24 hours. To say we got lucky, would be a gross understatement. Because I had a yearly lease in that marina, I was allowed to bypass the blockade at Florida City, and get in to the marina...2 days after the storm. I came up the T dock, to find the only damage ~ a snapped antenna. (of 80+ boats moored there - only ONE sank). The second storm we had to navigate, was Dorian. You see, after Irma...the Upper Keys changed - IT got ugly. So, we started piloting her, in our spare time...to her new home port in St. Augustine. It was a town we loved, and for a time we were happy there (as we once had been in the Keys). When news started coming out about the formation of Dorian, several models were showing a direct hit to St. Augustine. I went online to various recent satellite images of St. Augustine, and determined that in its last hit, that marina suffered tremendous damage from storm surge. We hopped in our car, and made it to the marina, about 2 days before Dorian would make landfall somewhere. We did our cursory checks of equipment, supplies, radio batteries, etc. We were pissed as hell, to find that someone (who had to be in the marina...behind the locked dock gate)...stole ALL but two of our fenders. That theft, meant that we had to hightail it to a certain expensive boat supply store. Next morning we shoved off at 6:00 a.m. (into what should have been a following sea). But, once we motored up to where the intracoastal meets the open ocean...we realized it was going to be a looooong day. AND? we were the only boat on that stretch of intracoastal. You see, our boat was a rare vintage Chesapeake Bay trawler (who IMHO never belonged in FL waters*where we had bought her). One deck, set on a solid fiberglass hull. She'd have been quick flotsam, left in the marina. We knew that one mistake could strand us, before we got safely into the St. Johns...and past the downtown bridges. It was a calculated drive, and we had flush out several contingencies. We were LUCKY. After over 14 hours on the water, we pulled into a marina at Julington Creek. The storm turned <to the horrible devastationg of the Bahamas> and the ensuing bands left our boat floating still. BUT, we still talk about "best laid plans". Had they decided to close the railroad bridge early (they did not) we would have been stuck in a horrible situation. At the very least, we'd be paying for environmental cleanup of the debris, etc. The moral of my reply to your piece? ANYONE, at ANY skill level...could find themselves in a life or death situation. Armchair, ugly diatribe is completely uncivil and unnecessary. THANK YOU PETE...for your unending wisdom and grace!
Thank you for linking to the Morris books, lest I came away thinking that he wrote books that were actually relevant to the arguments he was making...
I think the world might be a better place if all the websites just turned off their comments section. If you want to comment on a story you can send an email and if it's worthwhile it will get posted. Just like the "good old days"!
You know, calling the Coast Guard for rescue when the SHTF is a "GOOD" plan. I'm so glad he did and that his pupper is safe too. Scary experience. I hope he tries again at this lifestyle because it is great one. Facebook and Social Media in general have caused more mental health issues among users than it's helped. Hang in there Peter!
The internet has spawned no shortage of keyboard warriors, very brave when ensconced in the comfort of their own homes, however, few would ever dream of saying what they say in person. I've tested this theory and it holds true 95% of the time. I have encountered these folks many times in my career and I too have learned to avoid engaging them, mostly, sometimes it's hard to resist.
Many years ago I wrote an article about repowering from the notorious Atomic 4 gas auxiliary engine to a diesel. I was deluged with hate mail from Atomic 4 acolytes, much of it sent at 0100, which spoke volumes. It was eye-opening. I also learned most critics of this sort have way more free time than those writing the articles; making exchanges a losing battle.
Having said that, there are valuable lessons to be learned, or reinforced here, and from most failures, and as mariners we owe it to ourselves to dive into these details. This can be accomplished in a respectful manner. When I read the story my first thought was, "yet another hapless soul going into harms way with gear, and maybe a skill set, that wasn't up to the task, and as a result, causing rescue folks to risk their lives to save him'. I also thought, a boat like that is no place for an old golden retriever. It's better suited to a Schipperke.
It seems to happen at least twice a year along the east coast 'rescue safety net' with virtually every equinoctial storm season, and hurricanes. In many cases these sailors are abandoning vessels that are still afloat, and still capable of sailing (some seem to think when the engine or steering quits, they are done for, perhaps because their sailing and damage control skills are limited), many are later found adrift or washed up on a beach. Thank god we have very capable, brave and well-funded rescue assets.
I "blame" GPS (and LORAN) for this, before these nav aids, you couldn't venture offshore without first learning celestial navigation, and along the way you inevitably learned things about engines, raw water plumbing, electrical systems, damage control, storm tactics, and sailing. That vetting process no longer exists with modern navigation tools.
I'm glad he and his dog were rescued, and I'm glad no rescuers were injured or killed in the process, hopefully he too has learned from his mistakes.
I mostly agree with you but we saw the boat in the video. I know you’ve seen many boats, mostly sailboats where the owner has neither the means, skills or inclination to maintain them properly. From what we’ve seen I think this “might” be one of those. Do I know this for sure? No. Just like you though I’ve seen the “dream” come up against the hard reality of boat ownership and results thereof.
Peter your desire to be open-minded and fair is appreciated by the readers. My intent is simply to expose facts from perhaps a different viewpoint so that each story may become even more well-rounded.
You're 100% right, there is something pretty nasty in the air against adventurous souls of all types. Instead of rooting for the mountaineer to summit, the collective increasingly cheers for him to fall off a cliff so we can mock him. It's disturbing.
I was chuckling (with horror?) to myself the other day when thinking that if the orcas where I live sunk my small sailboat for no apparent reason, about half the internet would laugh with glee. All these orcas experts would pop out of thin air and tear into me for being the real monster. Wild times!
The Greek gods were said to be jealous of mortals because we actually experience real life's thrills and dangers. A similar thing may be going on with people too online and those who actually do things in real life. Just a theory.
I had to chuckle at the “Not about myself, of course. The rest of you.” Remark. It reminded me of what we used to say in the Fire Service: “Out here savin’ lives; cheatin’ Death; and lookin’ DAMN GOOD in the process!”. A shame that there is the tendency to ‘dog pile’ after any kind of unfortunate event. Be it shipwrecks, plane crashes, car accidents, etc. it reminds me of the FB meme that has Forrest Gump saying, “And just like that… everyone became an (fill in the blank) expert…”. As far as the “‘scuse me while I whip dis out” when it comes to resumes, I’m often reminded of the qoute from Trevanian: “Do not fall into the error of the artisan who boasts of twenty years experience in his craft while in fact he has had only one year of experience—twenty times.”.
Well said Peter. I was shocked at the venom spewed. May all the know-it-alls NEVER have a situation where they have to eat their words...as they gulp in saltwater...on the way to the abyss! My husband and I had our boat in the path of two hurricanes in the last ten years. First Irma, when we were at our homebase in OH, and the boat was in Islamorada. We had NO choice, but to call on great friendships....and friends, who made sure her lines were appropriately tethered (in a bayside marina)...and breathe very shallow breaths for 24 hours. To say we got lucky, would be a gross understatement. Because I had a yearly lease in that marina, I was allowed to bypass the blockade at Florida City, and get in to the marina...2 days after the storm. I came up the T dock, to find the only damage ~ a snapped antenna. (of 80+ boats moored there - only ONE sank). The second storm we had to navigate, was Dorian. You see, after Irma...the Upper Keys changed - IT got ugly. So, we started piloting her, in our spare time...to her new home port in St. Augustine. It was a town we loved, and for a time we were happy there (as we once had been in the Keys). When news started coming out about the formation of Dorian, several models were showing a direct hit to St. Augustine. I went online to various recent satellite images of St. Augustine, and determined that in its last hit, that marina suffered tremendous damage from storm surge. We hopped in our car, and made it to the marina, about 2 days before Dorian would make landfall somewhere. We did our cursory checks of equipment, supplies, radio batteries, etc. We were pissed as hell, to find that someone (who had to be in the marina...behind the locked dock gate)...stole ALL but two of our fenders. That theft, meant that we had to hightail it to a certain expensive boat supply store. Next morning we shoved off at 6:00 a.m. (into what should have been a following sea). But, once we motored up to where the intracoastal meets the open ocean...we realized it was going to be a looooong day. AND? we were the only boat on that stretch of intracoastal. You see, our boat was a rare vintage Chesapeake Bay trawler (who IMHO never belonged in FL waters*where we had bought her). One deck, set on a solid fiberglass hull. She'd have been quick flotsam, left in the marina. We knew that one mistake could strand us, before we got safely into the St. Johns...and past the downtown bridges. It was a calculated drive, and we had flush out several contingencies. We were LUCKY. After over 14 hours on the water, we pulled into a marina at Julington Creek. The storm turned <to the horrible devastationg of the Bahamas> and the ensuing bands left our boat floating still. BUT, we still talk about "best laid plans". Had they decided to close the railroad bridge early (they did not) we would have been stuck in a horrible situation. At the very least, we'd be paying for environmental cleanup of the debris, etc. The moral of my reply to your piece? ANYONE, at ANY skill level...could find themselves in a life or death situation. Armchair, ugly diatribe is completely uncivil and unnecessary. THANK YOU PETE...for your unending wisdom and grace!
Thank you for linking to the Morris books, lest I came away thinking that he wrote books that were actually relevant to the arguments he was making...
I think the world might be a better place if all the websites just turned off their comments section. If you want to comment on a story you can send an email and if it's worthwhile it will get posted. Just like the "good old days"!
I might have actually wanted to read some of them since they are about the history of where I'm from.
You know, calling the Coast Guard for rescue when the SHTF is a "GOOD" plan. I'm so glad he did and that his pupper is safe too. Scary experience. I hope he tries again at this lifestyle because it is great one. Facebook and Social Media in general have caused more mental health issues among users than it's helped. Hang in there Peter!
The internet has spawned no shortage of keyboard warriors, very brave when ensconced in the comfort of their own homes, however, few would ever dream of saying what they say in person. I've tested this theory and it holds true 95% of the time. I have encountered these folks many times in my career and I too have learned to avoid engaging them, mostly, sometimes it's hard to resist.
Many years ago I wrote an article about repowering from the notorious Atomic 4 gas auxiliary engine to a diesel. I was deluged with hate mail from Atomic 4 acolytes, much of it sent at 0100, which spoke volumes. It was eye-opening. I also learned most critics of this sort have way more free time than those writing the articles; making exchanges a losing battle.
Having said that, there are valuable lessons to be learned, or reinforced here, and from most failures, and as mariners we owe it to ourselves to dive into these details. This can be accomplished in a respectful manner. When I read the story my first thought was, "yet another hapless soul going into harms way with gear, and maybe a skill set, that wasn't up to the task, and as a result, causing rescue folks to risk their lives to save him'. I also thought, a boat like that is no place for an old golden retriever. It's better suited to a Schipperke.
It seems to happen at least twice a year along the east coast 'rescue safety net' with virtually every equinoctial storm season, and hurricanes. In many cases these sailors are abandoning vessels that are still afloat, and still capable of sailing (some seem to think when the engine or steering quits, they are done for, perhaps because their sailing and damage control skills are limited), many are later found adrift or washed up on a beach. Thank god we have very capable, brave and well-funded rescue assets.
I "blame" GPS (and LORAN) for this, before these nav aids, you couldn't venture offshore without first learning celestial navigation, and along the way you inevitably learned things about engines, raw water plumbing, electrical systems, damage control, storm tactics, and sailing. That vetting process no longer exists with modern navigation tools.
I'm glad he and his dog were rescued, and I'm glad no rescuers were injured or killed in the process, hopefully he too has learned from his mistakes.
Gotta love those Zenith updraft carburetors. Totally safe.
I mostly agree with you but we saw the boat in the video. I know you’ve seen many boats, mostly sailboats where the owner has neither the means, skills or inclination to maintain them properly. From what we’ve seen I think this “might” be one of those. Do I know this for sure? No. Just like you though I’ve seen the “dream” come up against the hard reality of boat ownership and results thereof.
Yeah, I hear you Miles, but we've all been dead in the water at very inconvenient time.
Thanks for posting this. Happens on all sights, including this sub.
Peter your desire to be open-minded and fair is appreciated by the readers. My intent is simply to expose facts from perhaps a different viewpoint so that each story may become even more well-rounded.
No worries. You're not a nasty guy.