Sailboat loss in Debby

[rgano]

'You can't panic,' boater says of how he survived Tropical Storm Debby while adrift in the Gulf

Nathan Thomas explained how he and a friend survived a harrowing close encounter with Tropical Storm Debby off the Gulf Coast of Florida on Sunday.

abcnews.go.com

Interesting comments from the principal decision maker. I cannot say I agree with much he did.

 

[psneeld]

He said he's getting another boat....guess he can keep one under his feet at $5000 a pop.

My advice for that method....sail only in fair winds and following seas.......

 

[rgano]

I don't care for his flimsy excuse that it was the Merchant Mariner's fault. 40-year old and possibly uninspected cables maybe? At 5K you are definitely getting what you pay for, an in-sight-of-land, light weather vessel.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Hmmm.....$10K of electronics eh? So I suppose his insurance claim will be north of $15K then? HIS word only that it had what it had and now she's on the bottom? Hmmmm....Protecting a sensitive marine preserve? Any pollution might be easier to contain IF the boat was accessible and who's to say it would have leaked of it went aground. Now it's releasing it's pollutants from the bottom.
Remind me NEVER to get aboard ANY boat with this guy.

 

[rgano]

Insurance? If he had any, doubt the company would be sympathetic given he scuttled it.

 

[Mambo42]

So you buy a boat and just prior to a hurricane you think it is a good idea to go to sea..........in a boat you don't know and don't know if it is seaworthy ? In other words, others may now risk they life because you had to be stupid ?
When i read the story it almost sounded like he was proud of what he had done. People like that should follow a mandatory internship at the CG, so they can find out for themselves what the consequences for others are when you do stupid things like this.
And to scuttle the boat ? He has the idea that diesel is not going to surface ? If he was so thoughtful with regard to the protected areas, maybe he should have thought about that before he went out to sea.

 

[tiltrider1]

You can’t fix stupid.

 

[CharlieO.]

Not sure on the reasoning for scuttling the boat.

 

[psneeld]

Not sure on the reasoning for scuttling the boat.

Scuttled ...no one will waste their time looking for a $5000 sailboat with tiny bits of oil and diesel on board. Even if it comes to the surface, a cleanup would probably not be specified.

Left adrift, like he said if it wound up in some environmentally sensitive place, he could incur huge fines for disturbing sea grass and/or now the oil/fuel would be mandated to be cleaned up.

His biggest mistake was admitting publicly he scuttled the boat. Just for being that foolish, he should still pay a fine and/or do some time......

 

[CharlieO.]

I do agree with maybe not admitting that.

 

[psneeld]

I do agree with maybe not admitting that.

Do you not agree with something else?

 

[CharlieO.]

I am not sure I agree with intentionally sinking the boat. I do understand the argument though.