Captain Calamity

Unbelievable!

2 sunsail credit card captains strolled down my dock and asked me about how to get their boat off the sand bar/rock they had got stuck on.
I said the tide was due in and they should float or take the line from their mainsail and, pull sideways while motoring. They opted to wait it out I inquired about their anchor and was the line out enough to float free only to be told they hadn't dropped the anchor as they were stuck and after asking about the rest of the crew discovered there was only them and no one aboard.
Not as bad as above but these people charter your boats in the fleets...

Feel sorry for these two guys. 71 isn't that old, right? Hopefully someone will step in and all will be good.

This is a Darwin Award in the making.

Another point of view for armchair sailors to consider
http://sailinganarchy.com/2016/01/28/good-times-2/

Very good points...I wish them fair winds the rest of their way..hopefully they will give the boat a good going over while in Britain..

Thanks for posting the "other side of the story". I think sometimes postings can get a bit elitist and we forget we are all members of the same fallible human race. I sign my posts "Credit Card Captain" to remind myself of that and not be as judgmental as I might otherwise be.

There is a long thread on the Cruiser Forum site where the general consensus of the sailors that live and sail their boats full time is much more in line with the "other side of the story". They are over 70 years old and living out a dream. Good for them. Sure beats sitting in a nursing home watching reruns.

Thanks for posting this side of the story. I really understand what they are attempting to do. Personally I think this is a very dangerous undertaking and the risk of failure is high. Do you really want to bet your life?
I have had 3 near death experiences on the water and no longer want to try for a 4th I found it was not fun thinking you were going to drown and trying your utmost to stay alive. Risk needs to be managed.

I often wonder whether Sir Francis Chichester's decision to attempt the first circumnavigation of the world solo from West to East, was not influenced by a diagnosis of terminal Lung cancer some years earlier. Are they betting their life or living it? They should definitely find a nice haven and say there till the spring. The Bay of Biscay in February will probably finish them otherwise.

The other side of the story is always important, but its less the other side as we're not hearing about some other issue that led to their calling for help - just excuses as to why their calling isn't a big deal.

There's really a few possibilities I see. 1. They've had terrible luck. 2. They've set off on a voyage with a boat that isn't up for the voyage. 3. They are ill-prepared as Captains.

In any case, rescue services are there in an emergency and shouldn't be used like AAA. 7 calls in 6 months seems more like the latter.

Leaving a candle burning on board while you are off the boat? Seems like a bad idea to me too.

I haven't been to the BVI's since last February, but it sure didn't look like that when I was there!

Yes, they're "living their life". They're also taking advantage of systems & agencies that are there for true emergencies. Being ill-prepared & doing stupid things (like leaving an unattended candle) are not true emergencies.

Never heard of credit card captain. Priceless <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Here's one of the best examples that most of us have already seen. And it actually took place in the BVI too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAyDS1NuK_A

Sometimes it is not restricted to CCCs. Albert Einstein was an enthusiastic sailor but was notorious for running aground. And on our second trip to the BVI in 1993 we helped pull Walter Cronkite's Wyntje out of the sand at Green Key.

Well Walter was at his best with a microphone and didn't have a clue on sailing his Westsail 42

Do you think their deck was really that cluttered? Or just cluttered with things moved around because of the emergency? Because I can't believe anyone learned to sail with that much stuff lying unsecured all over the place!!