Foreman eventually sailed into Honokohau Harbor on the Big
Island, after two weeks at sea. He apparently was blown off course by strong
winds during what was supposed to be a one-day voyage from Kauai to Oahu. When
he didn't appear after six days, he was reported missing and the Coasties
sprang into action.
Foreman
said he encountered strong winds but was never in distress.
Every time
this kind of thing happens, the public starts foaming at the mouth about
irresponsible yachtsmen. Inevitably, demands are made that the perpetrator of
this crime should be made to pay for the rescue effort.
And what it
all boils down to is questions of communication and ethics. If the Coast Guard had known that he wasn't
in trouble, they wouldn't have gone looking for him. And if he had had the
sense to realize that someone would be sure to report him missing because he
was long overdue from a one-day sail, and if he had had a radio to tell
everyone he was all right, there wouldn't have been any fuss or bother.
So the
question is: Should all sailboats going over the horizon be forced to carry
communications equipment and keep a regular listening watch? Or should they perhaps be forced to carry one
of those small satellite radios that record your position daily?
Eric
Hiscock, the British circumnavigator, never carried long-distance radio. His
philosophy was that if you were a professional seaman on a freighter or a
fishing boat you were entitled to be rescued in an emergency, and thus you
should carry radio equipment capable of calling for help. But if you were an
amateur sailor putting to sea purely for your own pleasure, you had no ethical right
to shout for rescue when you got into trouble. You had no right to put other
people's lives at risk to save your own. You had to be self-sufficient, and not
dependent on the courage of rescuers and the goodwill of taxpayers in your own
country, or foreign countries, to bail you out of danger.
This is not
a popular view, of course, but I happen to subscribe to it also, and have never
carried anything but short-range VHF.
As I said, Foreman
didn't ask to be rescued. He did nothing illegal. Sailboats are not required by
law to carry radio equipment, and shouldn't be. The ease with which boats can
set sail on the High Seas, especially from America, is one of those rare human
freedoms that can erode all to easily in the face of official pressure. But the
chances of that happening can be reduced with a little common sense.
If you're
the kind of person who knows he can take two weeks over a one-day passage, for
goodness' sake tell somebody about it before you leave, so the authorities
won't be alerted. If you do happen to have long-range communications equipment,
let them know ashore that you're OK, just somewhat tardy. And if you're a
Hiscock fan, let them know in advance that your upper lip is stiff and you'd
rather drown than suffer the ignominy of being rescued by the Coast Guard.
Today's Thought
Where one danger's near,The more remote, tho' greater, disappear,
So, from the hawk, birds to man's succour flee,
So from fir'd ships man leaps into the sea.
— Abraham Cowley, Davideis
Tailpiece
"Waiter,
how long have you been working here?""It's about a week now, sir."
"Oh, okay — then you can't be the one who took my order."
(Drop by every
Monday, Wednesday, Friday for a new Mainly about Boats column.)
2 comments:
Hellow John,
I'm with you on that. How about the legally blind guy who never asked for rescue but was FORCED to abandon his vessel by the US Coast Guard? The boat and her contents represented everything the man owned. I think he's going to court but don't think he'll have much luck.
Pete Caras Port Angeles
Who's lost here? The USCG is headquartered in that great coastal state of....West Virginia?? Really? It all makes sense to me now.
'Nuff said.
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