The stupidity, it burns...

Bought and paid for, a great lecture, and Dependable Renegade with an apt observation...

I mostly try and be one of those guys who does not point fingers and say rude things about people doing stupid stuff...

Part of the reason is because I've done a lot of really stupid things in my life that seemed to be pretty reasonable in theory. Another factor is that not being the brightest guy around I don't really enjoy it when folks point out how dumb I am in public/private so I'm pretty loath to do it to other folks. Which is why most of my "How-can-anyone-be-so-bloody-stupid" rants are done in the privacy of my thoughts and are not shared with the public at large.

Well, most of the time...

So, we have a couple on a Catalina 36 and they have rudder issues extensive enough to involve the need to be rescued twice in the space of four months or so... You can read about it here.

Now, I find this bit of awesome seamanship problematic on a bunch of levels because it seems I've read this story again and again the only difference is that the names of the boats and their crews change, but the basics kinda go like this...

1. The boat has a failure of a system that any prudent sailor would have some sort of back up for.
2. They call for help which costs other folks money and puts lives at risk.
3. They leave the boat as a derelict which becomes a hazard to navigation which puts other boats/crews at risk.
4. They get home and wait for the insurance...
5. Articles get written that actually lionize the crew surviving their "ordeal".

Sounds more than a little familiar, does it not?

Right here and now on "So It Goes" I'm waiting for Tad Roberts to finish the new CAL 34 rudder design because I'm pretty sure that our rudder is a bit past its shelf life and it's prudent to replace it. That said, I've always had plans in place, an emergency rudder, and the materials/tools to carry them out just in case I happen to run into a container or some such with my name on it. Nothing special, just pretty much what any sensible person planning to cross an ocean or making passages out of the sight of land would do...

It's only common sense to be prepared for stuff like having rudder issues if you're sailing further than than you care to swim to shore and if you can't handle that sort of self-sufficiency maybe you really should consider taking up another pastime.

Rant over...

Listening to Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell

So it goes...