petem
Well-known member
Now, I quite like MBY and prefer it now that they've gone all posh. After all it's far more interesting reading about £1,000,000 boats that you can't afford than reading about £10,000 boats that you also can't afford.
However, on page 118 there's an article called 'A difficult delivery'. For the sake of those of you who haven't read it the story goes as follows:-
Bloke buys 23ft boat and wishes to deliver it himself from South Brittany to Amsterdam. Gets a few others to help. Manages to get about 250 miles (over a few days) before the inevitable happens. Yes, it gets rough and he falls badly and injures his ribs. The following day they try to continue their trip but the weather is too bad and his ribs are too painful. So, what conclusion do MBY come to?
I quote "What did this trip achieve? First it showed that such a voyage can be made. Hans and crew safely took a 7m open boat with a petrol outboard 360 miles from La Trinite to Le Havre. Only an accidental injury and an out-of-kilter departure from Le Havre into antagonostic conditions prevented us from completing the passage"
Er, no guys. You did not complete the passage therefore this does NOT show that such a voyage can be made. It's a bit like me walking to the end of my road and declaring that this proves I can walk round the world. It also does not demonstrate any kind of safety to me. What it shows is that trying to complete an over ambitious delivery schedule in a small boat will lead to accidents. Cracked ribs are an unfortunate but very real hazard of motorboating. If you want to prove this trip is can be done safely then do it 100 times with no accidents.
However, on page 118 there's an article called 'A difficult delivery'. For the sake of those of you who haven't read it the story goes as follows:-
Bloke buys 23ft boat and wishes to deliver it himself from South Brittany to Amsterdam. Gets a few others to help. Manages to get about 250 miles (over a few days) before the inevitable happens. Yes, it gets rough and he falls badly and injures his ribs. The following day they try to continue their trip but the weather is too bad and his ribs are too painful. So, what conclusion do MBY come to?
I quote "What did this trip achieve? First it showed that such a voyage can be made. Hans and crew safely took a 7m open boat with a petrol outboard 360 miles from La Trinite to Le Havre. Only an accidental injury and an out-of-kilter departure from Le Havre into antagonostic conditions prevented us from completing the passage"
Er, no guys. You did not complete the passage therefore this does NOT show that such a voyage can be made. It's a bit like me walking to the end of my road and declaring that this proves I can walk round the world. It also does not demonstrate any kind of safety to me. What it shows is that trying to complete an over ambitious delivery schedule in a small boat will lead to accidents. Cracked ribs are an unfortunate but very real hazard of motorboating. If you want to prove this trip is can be done safely then do it 100 times with no accidents.
