Liberty is being free from the things we don't like in order to be slaves of the things we do like.--Ernest Benn

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

All Is (Not) Lost!

Wednesday, July 23rd
We were tracking the King Harbor Race and Das Boot's progress with every Internet app available. Ironically, we were able to get Das Boot's position and only three or four others on SailTrack. But, just after sundown, we picked up this message on the SB-KH Facebook page:
Got a message from our friends on Celebrity.
Apparently they were involved in a crash with Green Dragon.
Their boat is badly damaged, no one got hurt.
They're motoring home.
More info as it becomes available.
That was surprising: in my limited experience, wind drops dramatically in this race right after sundown. Everything begins to evolve in slo-motion. If this collision was evidence of woolly conditions out there, it was worrisome. But it turns out, this collision happened in daylight. Not only that, but it was recorded:

Clearly Green Dragon  violated Rule #12 of the RRS's. Pretty basic stuff. I don't buy the Byzantine symmetry theory that both boats are to blame. The burdened boat is the over-taking boat when boats are on the same tack as they appear to be. Secondly, one has to question why Captain Crunch, skipper of Green Dragon 2, felt it necessary to maneuver so close when he was in the middle of a 82nm race. (There was plenty of water to go around.) Finally, these two boats were entered in different classes; they weren't even racing against each other.

This video of Captain Crunch has gone viral on the 'Net. And his real name is known and he is well on his way of becoming a poster-boy idiot of yacht racing.

But why am I posting this? 

Clearly this goes to the point as to why I relinquished the helm of Das Boot. I was at the top of my game. I had compleat crew, complete mastery of my boat's performance capability. I did not want my boat's name to be remembered because of a complete blunder I might have made years from now when I might be performing well below my current standard. Maybe after my sailing had become anosognosiac? I wanted to quit sailing my Laser-38 well before the nick of time.

7 comments:

  1. "I prefer maritime laws over laws on land. Maritime laws only exist to guarantee safe passage. There are no loopholes or biases to favor more powerful vessels. Every ship is equal, and no one is more powerful than the sea."

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  2. The data I have collected indicates the overtaking Beneteau's skipper, Gary Green (I have named him) advertised prior to the race for a "crew manager to organize crew, serve as tactician and as relief driver" w/compensation negotiable. I found that interesting: in the future, Green Dragon might have to pay even more for crew.

    Secondly, the Green Dragon owed the Cal-40 a ton of time and had no business being behind the boat she hit from behind) at that point in the race. This spells incompetence to me.

    I say Green was either an idiot, or he hired an idiot to organize his crew.

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  3. I don't think you are ever in danger of being a Capt. Crunch. It just isn't in your DNA, Doc. Your decision to pass the Laser 38 to your progeny was none the less wise as it insures the continued safe passage of Das Boot.

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  4. Replies
    1. Good point, Vlad! (I am changing the title to this post!) And BTW, I saw the Redford Movie as soon as myLaser-38 departed on the King Harbor race. It was a snoozer!

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  5. Hello

    I am wondering if you saw my comment the other day. I really would be grateful if you could let me know either way if you're interested or not.

    My name is Lizzie and I am writing from ADPR. We are a PR firm in Somerset, UK that specialise in marine and outdoor campaigns. We are currently working on the Governor’s Cup 2014. In case you’re not aware, this is a boat race that goes from South Africa to St Helena. This year will be the last it takes place this way, as there is an airport being built on the island of St Helena.

    We are hoping to gain as much global blogger coverage as possible about this amazing chance, as it is something that keen sailors will not want to miss out on! It is a fabulous event and appeals to absolutely everybody. We also want to get the word out to as many bloggers as possible in case they’re interested in entering too!

    For more info, please see here: http://governorscup.sh/.

    I wondered if there was a contact email address for the best person to speak to regarding editorial and spreading the news of this wonderful opportunity. I would be very grateful as we absolutely love your blog!

    Thank you so much for your help. I look forward to hearing from you! If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me on lizzief@adpr.co.uk

    Lizzie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment, Lizzie. The first thing and only thing I don't like is the word "last". I much prefer the word "NEXT"!

      I will send you email so we can address your concerns about publicity.

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