Moral lepers, an info-graphic that might surprise you, and what's wrong with in-your-face “prima facie criminal behavior” as long as profit is involved...
The internet, from time to time, is a place that often surprises me... Especially in the general connectedness where it concerns folks reading "Boat Bits".
Yesterday's post, like many that deal with boater education (or lack of), always produces a big mailbag and I never do quite understand why some readers take what I say so personally.
Maybe it's the dynamic of the internet that everyone thinks the blog is directed at them personally and, somehow, my pointing out that there are people who would be unable to sail a boat well enough to effect a rescue if their significant other were to fall overboard is some how akin to a personal attack...
The thing is, I don't recall writing anything that was directed at any individual yet this morning I find a half dozen folks who think I had called them out personally and told them they were "passengers" and "useless" where needful sailing skills are concerned.
One of the great things about sailing and boats in general is that there is very little regulation about... If you want to sail around the world all you have to do is to buy/build a boat, point it in the direction of choice, and have at it. You don't need a license, special permission, or the need to pass any tests and, from where I sit, that's not really a bad thing.
Lots of folks do just that and learn how to sail as they go. Most of them survive and usually wind up with some entertaining stories of the "what does not kill us makes us stronger" sort to share over beers as they work their way through the learning curve.
Of course, the downside is some folks don't survive, people get hurt, and dreams fall apart... Life is like that.
So, next time I point out that "you" (in the collective sense) might want to think about some aspect of your skill set or lack thereof don't take it personally and simply take a moment to consider that what you know or don't know may just be the difference between being a happy or a very unhappy camper...
Listening to Renaud
So it goes...
Why Bikes?
2 weeks ago
