# Another inexperienced couple sinks their boat. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 12, 2018, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657 "2018-02-12T00:39:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/61 "2018-02-13T04:40:50Z")
So, I took an hour sailing lesson last summer. I think I am going to sell everything I have and buy a boat in Toronto and sail to Fiji. Because that is the logical next step :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/62 "2018-02-13T04:41:59Z")
As long as you stay at a Holiday Express the night before, I’m sure you’ll be fine. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/63 "2018-02-13T09:21:36Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > What is the word again for someone so incompetent or ignorant they are oblivious to just how incompetent and/or ignorant they are? Presid\*\*\* ??? Don’t go there Steve! It will be a warning this time but watch out. Actually I think they were going to produce a reality show based on their experiences but episode one didn’t go so well. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/64 "2018-02-13T11:28:19Z")
> [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](#): > > As far as the _no insurance_ thing goes, I’m pretty sure that insurance is not available for off shore sailing. Even though they never made it all the way off shore, as they say, they would have been denied insurance had they bothered to ask. A quick search will show you that there’s all kinds of offshore sailing insurance available. In fact, there are many different policies based upon where you intend to sail. Now, this couple could well have been denied due to lack of a sailing resume - we had to provide a statement of our experience when we insured our boats. But I expect if you can afford the premiums, you can get insurance. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/65 "2018-02-13T12:57:48Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > 1. There is no way to overestimate the general resentment among the general population of people who live their lives differently than you. “Differently” is an overly general description. “Dumbly” is more specific. A couple who has a mid-life crisis in their mid-20s and decides that they can sail around the world despite being admittedly “new to sailing” fits squarely in the latter category. The “dumbly” gets amplified by their total lack of planning for the future, having left themselves with no cash reserve to recover from a major calamity and asking other people to pay for their dopiness instead of going back to work. Apparently they’ve never heard of that quote: _“If you do the things you need to do when you need to do them, then someday you can do the things you want do when you want to do them.”_ Still, it may be that we, the smugly uncharitable, are in the minority: their GoFundMe account is over $14K now, nicely exceeding their $10K goal. I don’t wish them ill, but if they achieve their goal of fixing this boat or buying a new one, I predict they will someday be lost at sea. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/66 "2018-02-13T15:20:29Z")
The boat was a 28 footer. I’m sure there are plenty of very experienced sailor who could take that around the world, but you don’t gain that experience in a few months. Not that a bigger boat would have made a difference for these people, but that’s a damn small boat to take out into the middle of the ocean. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/67 "2018-02-13T15:43:21Z")
Experience and planning make all the difference - I give you [Tania Aebi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tania_Aebihttp://). ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/68 "2018-02-13T16:22:54Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Experience and planning make all the difference - I give you [Tania Aebi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tania_Aebihttp://). :dubious: What the hell are you talking about? > [@Wikipedia article on Tania Aebi](#): > > Aebi’s story is unusual because she was by many standards, poorly prepared for her voyage, but prevailed through common sense, skills she both learned and honed underway as well as a strong sense of determination. > > Aebi had practically no sailing or navigation experience when she departed on her journey, on 28 May 1985.[2] Aebi did not have a GPS receiver because civilian GPS receivers were unavailable. Instead, Aebi had a sextant for celestial navigation and a radio direction finder. She used the first leg of her trip from New Jersey to Bermuda as a sea trial of her boat and was plagued by factory defects that may easily have been corrected before departure had they been exposed. It sounds like she was inexperienced and poorly prepared, but she managed to survive by dint of luck and some smarts. If you repeated her experiment ten times, I bet nine of them would end in disaster. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/69 "2018-02-13T16:30:23Z")
I knew a guy once who was in the Coast Guard and he said they rescued people all the time who thought they could buy a boat and take her someplace like to the Bahamas. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/70 "2018-02-13T20:15:08Z")
They ran aground on No Brains Atoll … ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/71 "2018-02-13T20:56:57Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I wonder if they had any fishing equipment. > > Given their lack of funds, they probably had some strange idea about being able to work a day or two here and there to pay for dockage and meals. Then there’s maintenance for the boat, medical and veterinary bills, clothes, fuel, etc. But I think all that could be filed under “didn’t think this through.” ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/72 "2018-02-13T21:58:50Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Still, it may be that we, the smugly uncharitable, are in the minority: their GoFundMe account is over $14K now, nicely exceeding their $10K goal. A fool will always find a greater fool to admire him. (Nicolas Boileau) ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/73 "2018-02-13T22:34:34Z")
This thread made me curious to try to confirm what I heard when I was a young 'un in the 70s: that the family from whom we would occasionally rent a catamaran for a couple of hours had ended up perishing on a 'round the world trip. And I found a newspaper article: in 1972 Kim Powell, a very experienced catamaran sailor, built his own large cat; did some trials; then took his family and a friend of one child on a planned multi-year sail, departing from Titusville Florida. They made it Key West, the Caymans, and Mexico, but the vessel broke apart near Honduras, apparently killing all 5 aboard. They were nice people. The ocean is unforgiving. ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/74 "2018-02-13T22:45:54Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > What is the word again for someone so incompetent or ignorant they are oblivious to just how incompetent and/or ignorant they are? Sophomoric. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/75 "2018-02-13T22:58:03Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > They ran aground on No Brains Atoll … 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/76 "2018-02-14T18:20:12Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Some years back, we owned an honest-to-goodness blue-water sailboat, more than capable of handling just about anything the ocean could dish out. Similar vessels can be had for around $100K, less if you’re willing to do some serious work on it… Q: What is the best simulation of sailing? A: Standing in a cold shower, tearing up $100 bills. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/77 "2018-02-14T19:30:34Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > So, I took an hour sailing lesson last summer. I think I am going to sell everything I have and buy a boat in Toronto and sail to Fiji. Because that is the logical next step :smack: That’d be against the law, because in Canada you need a boating licence. You can earn it in an course with a timed online exam, as I did a couple years ago, and get a nice piece of plastic allowing you to pilot boats of up to quite a large size without ever having set foot in a boat. So when you decide to sell everything you have and sail down the river, drop me a line and I’ll bring you to Montreal 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/78 "2018-02-14T20:00:30Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > > [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > > > The article says that Nikki Walsh, the female half of our dynamic duo, “booked time-share tours for a living”. I don’t know what that pays, but I can’t imagine it’s very much. Insert obligatory “GET A JOB YA BUMS!!!” here. > > Suddenly I’m not so concerned about her getting her job back. Suddenly I’m not so sure there ever was a boat. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/79 "2018-02-14T23:08:45Z")
> [@Barbarian](#): > > That’d be against the law, because in Canada you need a boating licence. > > You can earn it in an course with a timed online exam, as I did a couple years ago, and get a nice piece of plastic allowing you to pilot boats of up to quite a large size without ever having set foot in a boat. We have those too here in Texas. For kids 13 to 15. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657/80 "2018-02-14T23:55:40Z")
I spent a couple years hopping around the eastern Caribbean dealing with people who could sail about as well as this fine couple. There was no shortage of them. A competent sailor couldd easily find a berth to get from Tortola to St Lucia in exchange for keeping the idiots who chartered the boat from sinking it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-inexperienced-couple-sinks-their-boat/808657.md?page=5)