Politically Correct Prayer Prattlers be DAMNED.

Hey, I ain't trying to ruin someone's day or something. Its just that I get tired of the naysayers that want to throttle a discussion.

A plane crashes and there is this constant tatoo... wait for the official report in five years.

Someone goes missing and its okay to offer prayers but not to try to find them or suggest that they might be dead or dying since family members may be viewing the thread.

Recently the yacht Nina was deemed lost in the Tasman Sea due to some unknown catastrophic event presumed to have taken place after Storm TWO but prior to encountering Storm THREE.

The primary purpose was of course the search for the vessel or its life raft or its survivors on some lonely desolate uninhabited shore or dangerous reef.
But what about OTHER comments that are still relevant if not particularly flattering to the participants or their loved ones.

A constant stream of posts on anciliary issues was met by a repetitive tattoo of The Family Members Are Reading Here Too.

Issues arose about the lack of wisdom in a late season crossing of the Tasman Sea, the attempt to cross it without every modern electronic doodad, the wisdom of being a "traditional" sailor, the maintenance the boat received, indications of unseaworthyness, the effects of a Captain's "preferences" on the safety of his crew. I am particularly concerned that a 58 year old self reliant type who likes traditional wooden boats can make a decision to eschew the latest electronic doodads but his 19 year old deckhand and family friend is a photography model more interested in dance clubs and boys than in Personal Safety Beacons.
(Think of a man who treks into the Alaskan wilderness with no firearms or axe, just a large Bowie knife. It may be his style but can he hire a 19 year old girl as a baggage carrier to do it?).

Personally, I think the voyage should have been made with less than 200 dollars worth of doodads to improve safety.

There was an EPIRB on board but unlike the modern models, this model only sent out a signal at the press of a button, not hydrostatic pressure.

Yes, there was a SATPHONE on board but using it during a gale can get its electronics a bit damp and render it inoperable.

Anyway... I just had to vent a bit about these prayer prattlers who only want to post their best wishes that everyone will be found alive instead of their analyses of winds and currents and equipment on board versus equipment available.

Sorry you aren't making much sense.

Quote: 1nickelmiracle

Sorry you aren't making much sense.

I rarely do. Anyway, the official pronouncement is that the Nina sank due to some unknown sudden catastrophic even in the Tasman Sea while enroute from Opua, New Zealand to Newcastel, NSW, Australia.

The sinking is thought to have taken place June 4th.

RCCNZ determined search box by discounting the skills of the 73 year old female navigator and instead accepting the position reported by Irridium equipment which is known to have a huge margin of error over water or in wet weather.

Despite mistakes made in selecting search area and ignoring much of the known character of the captain and navigator, I think its obvious now that the search should be over.

Father of 19 year Danielle Wright is going to attempt to lease an Australian Orion anti submarine plane for searches.

On edit: His only child. Obviously.


This is the point of this thread: It is hard to be "realistic" without seeming to be unnecessarily cruel to family members who want to cling to hope, possibly well beyond the point where any hope truly remains.

Some blue water sailors have objected to the raising of money and raising of what they deem to be false hopes for a search so long after the official June 3rd "unknown catastrophic event" in the Tasman Sea that sent the Nina to the bottom with all hands and no opportunity to even activate the rather-handy EPIRB beacon. Don't try to tell me that experienced sailors who have had their storm sails shredded and then the gale winds tearing the shreds off down to bare masts were not thinking about the location of their on-board EPIRB beacon. Its kept handy and its there for a purpose.

Sure a father of a 19 year old girl wants to keep the search going... but at 15,000 dollars a flight thats a pretty hefty chunk of donation money to be spending.

Other sailors, also with a good degree of experience and love of the lea, have trouble raising such issues as reasonableness and are constantly reminded that friends and family are reading the posts. Well, of course they are, but that doesn't mean they should read with rose colored spectacles or with blinders.