Channel4 9pm Monday 13th

[Spyro]

My Family's crazy gap year.

"All his life, yachting fanatic Jason Lawrence has dreamed of sailing around the world. Now he's decided it's time to fulfil his ambition, and he's taking his wife and two young children.

This episode follows the Lawrences on their formidable maritime quest as they set out to cross the world's largest oceans on a mammoth journey from England to Australia. Battling through heavy seas it's not just their boat that's nearly pushed to breaking point.

Isolated for months at a stretch with his wife and children, Jason Lawrence is forced to confront what it really means to be a father"
Appologies if already posted.

 

[OGITD]

Thanks!

Thank heavens!…. something to watch on the Tele.

 

[Mark-1]

In a freaky coincidence I met this couple doing the same thing in Plymouth last week:
http://burchfamilyontour.wordpress.com/

 

[Whitelighter]

What is the boat?

Looks like a gunboat or a Chris White cat? Anyone know?

 

[Searush]

Yeah, nice boat 42' cat - I had to laugh when they did the dramatic comentary bit about 2 adults & two young kids in the "cramped accomodation".

They should try 5 adults (or even 4 adults & 2 kids) in a 31' monohull. OK I wasn't crossing oceans, but we were still damn glad to dry out or anchor up & put some on the beach!

There in the doldrums now & she's still slipping thro the water quite nicely.

There seems to be a forward cockpit/steering position that looks useful & the whole family lying on the bow net together watching dolphins is an experience they couldn't get anywhere else. But Dad does seem to swear a lot as the stress levels rise.

 

[Whitelighter]

I think it is definitely a Chris White boat.

These are performance cats, fast and light but he wasn't taking the piss when he said it could flip over - they take some serious sailing and would not be my choice for a famy year away. You need two experienced people to really sail these...

To be honest, I think he is coming across as a bit of a selfish knob - his famy aren't going to get in the way of his dream for sure...

 

[sailorman]

My Fish Supper is giving me Gyp

 

[JKay]

Opps do not eat "paddle tails" !!! I would have it looked great

 

[Major Catastrophe]

To be honest, I think he is coming across as a bit of a selfish knob - his famy aren't going to get in the way of his dream for sure...

At least he admits it and mellows by the end. They have decided to extend the adventure until 2012.

 

[tudorsailor]

Opps do not eat "paddle tails" !!! I would have it looked great

Just watched the program. They are lucky to be alive after ciguatera poisoning. Here is what Wiki has on it. There may be symptoms for years! I think I will stick to cod and chips

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciguatera

Tudorsailor





Ciguatera
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ciguatera fish poisoning
Classification and external resources

Chemical structure of the ciguatoxin-CTX1B
ICD-10 T61.0
ICD-9 988.0
DiseasesDB 31122
MedlinePlus 002851
eMedicine emerg/100 ped/403
Ciguatera is a foodborne illness caused by eating certain reef fishes whose flesh is contaminated with toxins originally produced by dinoflagellates such as Gambierdiscus toxicus which lives in tropical and subtropical waters. These dinoflagellates adhere to coral, algae and seaweed, where they are eaten by herbivorous fish who in turn are eaten by larger carnivorous fish. In this way the toxins move up the foodchain and bioaccumulate. Gambierdiscus toxicus is the primary dinoflagellate responsible for the production of a number of similar toxins that cause ciguatera. These toxins include ciguatoxin, maitotoxin, scaritoxin and palytoxin. Predator species near the top of the food chain in tropical and subtropical waters, such as barracudas, snapper, moray eels, parrotfishes, groupers, triggerfishes and amberjacks, are most likely to cause ciguatera poisoning, although many other species cause occasional outbreaks of toxicity. Ciguatoxin is very heat-resistant, so ciguatoxin-laden fish cannot be detoxified by conventional cooking.[1][2]
Researchers suggest that ciguatera outbreaks caused by cooling climatic conditions propelled the migratory voyages of Polynesians between 1000 and 1400.[3]
Contents [hide]
1 Symptoms
2 Detection methods
2.1 Scientific detection
2.2 Folk remedies
3 Treatment
4 Epidemiology
5 History
6 See also
7 Footnotes
8 References
[edit]Symptoms

Hallmark symptoms of ciguatera in Humans include gastrointestinal and neurological effects.[4][5] Gastrointestinal symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, usually followed by neurological symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches, paresthesia, numbness, ataxia, and hallucinations.[1][5] Severe cases of ciguatera can also result in cold allodynia, which is a burning sensation on contact with cold (commonly incorrectly referred to as reversal of hot/cold temperature sensation).[4] Doctors are often at a loss to explain these symptoms and ciguatera poisoning is frequently misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis.[6]
Dyspareunia and other ciguatera symptoms have developed in otherwise-healthy males and females following sexual intercourse with partners suffering ciguatera poisoning, signifying that the toxin may be sexually transmitted.[7] Diarrhea and facial rashes have been reported in breastfed infants of poisoned mothers, it is likely that ciguatera toxins migrate into breast milk.[8]
The symptoms can last from weeks to years, and in extreme cases as long as 20 years, often leading to long-term disability.[9] Most people do recover slowly over time.[10] Often patients recover, but symptoms then reappear. Such relapses can be triggered by consumption of nuts, alcohol, fish or fish-containing products, chicken or eggs, or by exposure to fumes such as those of bleach and other chemicals. Exercise is also a possible trigger.[1] Filipino and Chinese people may possibly be more susceptible.[1]
[edit]Detection methods

[edit]Scientific detection
Currently, multiple laboratory methods are available to detect ciguatoxins, including liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS), receptor binding assays (RBA), and neuroblastoma assays (N2A). Although testing is possible, in most cases liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry is insufficient to detect clinically relevant concentrations of ciguatoxin in crude extracts of fish.
[edit]Folk remedies
In Northern Australia, where ciguatera is a common problem, two different folk science methods are widely believed to detect whether fish harbor significant ciguatoxin. The first method is that flies will not land on contaminated fish. The second is that cats display symptoms after eating contaminated fish. A third, less common testing method involves putting a silver coin under the scales of the suspect fish. Only if the coin turns black, is it contaminated. It is not known whether any of these tests produce accurate results.
Various Caribbean naturopathic and ritualistic treatments originated in Cuba and nearby islands. The most common old-time remedy involves bed rest subsequent to a guanabana juice enema.[citation needed] Other folk treatments range from directly porting and bleeding the gastrointestinal tract to "cleansing" the diseased with a dove during a Santeria ritual[citation needed]. In Puerto Rico, natives drink a tea made from mangrove buttons, purportedly high in B Vitamins, to flush the toxic symptoms from the system[citation needed]. The efficacy of these treatments has never been studied or substantiated.

An account of ciguatera posioning from a linguistics researcher living on Malakula island, Vanuatu, indicates the local treatment: "We had to go with what local people told us: avoid salt and any seafood. Eat sugary foods. And they gave us a tea made from the roots of ferns growing on tree trunks. I don't know if any of that helped, but after a few weeks, the symptoms faded away."[11]
[edit]Treatment

There is no effective treatment or antidote for ciguatera poisoning. The mainstay of treatment is supportive care. There is some evidence that calcium channel blocker type drugs such as Nifedipine and Verapamil are effective in treating some of the symptoms that remain after the initial sickness passes, such as poor circulation and shooting pains through the chest. These symptoms are due to the cramping of arterial walls caused by maitotoxin[5][12][13][14] Ciguatoxin lowers the threshold for opening voltage-gated sodium channels in synapses of the nervous system. Opening a sodium channel causes depolarization, which could sequentially cause paralysis, heart contraction, and changing the senses of hearing and cold. Nifedipine is a calcium channel blocker.[5] Some medications such as Amitriptyline may reduce some symptoms, such as fatigue and paresthesia,[15] although benefit does not occur in every case.[16] Steroids and vitamin supplements support the body's recovery rather than directly reducing toxin effects.
Mannitol was once used for poisoning after one study reported symptom reversal.[5][17] Followup studies in animals[18] and case reports in humans[19] also found benefit from mannitol. However, a randomized, double-blind clinical trial found no difference between mannitol and normal saline,[20] and based on this result, mannitol is no longer recommended.[4]
[edit]

 

[fergie_mac66]

12 mins in

Yeah, nice boat 42' cat - I had to laugh when they did the dramatic comentary bit about 2 adults & two young kids in the "cramped accomodation".

They should try 5 adults (or even 4 adults & 2 kids) in a 31' monohull. OK I wasn't crossing oceans, but we were still damn glad to dry out or anchor up & put some on the beach!

There in the doldrums now & she's still slipping thro the water quite nicely.

There seems to be a forward cockpit/steering position that looks useful & the whole family lying on the bow net together watching dolphins is an experience they couldn't get anywhere else. But Dad does seem to swear a lot as the stress levels rise.

"His options were so f@@king limited it might turn over?" in that little popple??

why does every one swear so much on tv get so boring the lack of more interesting descriptive phrases..Bring back Lord Longford and friend Mary !

 

[Saguday]

We all watched it, thought it was a bit over dramatised at the beginning and frustrated they chopped out all the "tedious intervening bits" like the Canaries, Grenada and Caribbean but in the end it was good and very pleased they all came together as a family - it is a life changing experience to do that with your family. I swear a lot when I get stressed so could relate to the guy a bit to be honest but it was nice to see him chill out and get into the groove. It is a big responsibility going off with your kids like that, theirs are a bit younger than ours were when we did it but they are doing much more ambitious sailing, we coast-hopped with some overnight runs only so the kids got to run around, bit feeble really.

Watching it though my kids want to go off again, they both looked at the islands the beaches and the sea and said wow lets go. Very pleased they decided to continue on and keep cruising, I know of a few that got that far and then stopped. Wish them well with their cruise.

 

[Clarky]

I thought it was another documentary about rich nobs having a few away days,their accents were awful,I thought a bouy was something that floats,not a child.... daaahling ...
how dreadfully irritating to meet some locals as well en route ,can you imagine how annoying that was...

 

[Tintin]

We all watched it, thought it was a bit over dramatised at the beginning and frustrated they chopped out all the "tedious intervening bits" like the Canaries, Grenada and Caribbean but in the end it was good and very pleased they all came together as a family - it is a life changing experience to do that with your family. I swear a lot when I get stressed so could relate to the guy a bit to be honest but it was nice to see him chill out and get into the groove. It is a big responsibility going off with your kids like that, theirs are a bit younger than ours were when we did it but they are doing much more ambitious sailing, we coast-hopped with some overnight runs only so the kids got to run around, bit feeble really.

Watching it though my kids want to go off again, they both looked at the islands the beaches and the sea and said wow lets go. Very pleased they decided to continue on and keep cruising, I know of a few that got that far and then stopped. Wish them well with their cruise.

Commentator...."they have survived the worst the bay of biscay could throw at them".


mmmm

 

[sailorman]

Commentator...."they have survived the worst the bay of biscay could throw at them".


mmmm

"REALLY"

 

[bendyone]

Thought it was a good program.

 

[Blue5]

Well I thought it was good watch, we enjoyed it,

SWMBO wanted to know why they were able to set the sails and just leave them but we (read I) have to keep constntly fiddling with them.

He came across to me as extremely confident in handling the boat and I could relate to the shot of him up the mast cursing and letting off at SWBMO below. The nature of programmes like this mean they want to show the warts and all and very few of us can remain calm and composed the whole time.

A very courageous trip with two very young children

 

[photodog]

I missed that... is it on one of those digital playback things?

 

[Lakesailor]

why does every one swear so much on tv get so boring the lack of more interesting descriptive phrases..

Why not see what Stephen Fry thinks about the issue?

I thought the guy was a bit of a knob-head and perhaps the kids were too young to enjoy the experience. In years to come they may not remember it very well and wish they had been older.
He did get fairly stressed, but as he kept reminding us, he was taking his family out of their comfort zone and it was his responsibility.
I don't see why people feel they have to criticise the programme on the basis that it wasn't as scary as it could have been or the conditions weren't as bad as they made out or whatever. I certainly don't see any purpose in critcising their accents. I speak East Yorkshire. I have many friends who have a wide variety of accents. Some very "posh". But they are not defined by that.

Like all documentaries it was made to inform and entertain and for the vast majority of viewers it will have been just fine.

Except Long Longford's descendant's will have been reaching for the Basildon Bond

 

[[2574]]

I certainly don't see any purpose in critcising their accents. I speak East Yorkshire. I have many friends who have a wide variety of accents. Some very "posh". But they are not defined by that.

Agreed, criticising accent is no different to a blue ensign debate. And, please God, let's avoid that at all cost.

rob