Sea-Fever
Well-Known Member
Brilliant. I love this thread.
Disaster waiting to happen .
- Thread starter sailaboutvic
- Start date
dolabriform
Well-Known Member
How to say this without sounding like a hippy / do-gooder / dreamer?
Do you know his life story? I can see that everything you have described raises alarm bells but could he be someone who is not in a good place right now?
I know it's hard and very difficult to put ourselves in a place that might make us responsible for another human being. But from what you describe he seems either crazy and needing advice ( which of course requires accepting it ) , or not in a very good place and needing help.
Of course, it could be that the friend he is waiting for is a very experienced Yachtmaster who will solve everything.
Forgive me for asking questions.
Do you know his life story? I can see that everything you have described raises alarm bells but could he be someone who is not in a good place right now?
I know it's hard and very difficult to put ourselves in a place that might make us responsible for another human being. But from what you describe he seems either crazy and needing advice ( which of course requires accepting it ) , or not in a very good place and needing help.
Of course, it could be that the friend he is waiting for is a very experienced Yachtmaster who will solve everything.
Forgive me for asking questions.
sailaboutvic
Well-Known Member
All good question ,
He could crazy I think you many have a point but who knows,
both myself and silver fox another member of this forum who help out yesterday agree the guy shouldn't be on board , and I tried telling him .
the first day I helped him he pointed to an building and told me he lived there , yesterday while lying in the dinghy because he couldn't sit I asked him if he like me to go inside and remove anything he needed and we help him back ashore , but he refuse , I wonder if there is an apartment .
I not sure he got anyone coming to help him ,
he had a couple of carries bags of food when we helped him on board and said he now plain not to get off for the next few weeks so he be fine .
Both his legs are covered in cut no word of a lie both. Bleeding badly plus he got a cast on his foot , his arms where also covered in cuts , he told silver Fox he had some kind skin of problem only very few people have got ,
I think most likely its injuries he got from going ashore when he lost his last boat .
The boat a westerly as someone pointed out , it was once a good sea boat , it no longer sea worthy bits of strings holding things together .
Although it's sound some thing our of a comic book what I wrote it's really a very dangerous issue , lucky at the moment the weather has settle down but if any NE F 4 comes in , he has a big problem because it gets very choppy here over that he in trouble and he need to move and he won't be able ,
We are all anchored within 70/ 90 meters of a rocky shore , because of the depth of water plus the channels going into the marinas .if any of us had to move it would need to be don't double quick , if he was unlucky to drag in his condition he be on the rocks before setting one foot out of the cockpit .
If some one drag into him or he drag into another boat in any wind , not only wouldn't be able to help but he put everyone in danger.
We waiting for fair winds to sail to Sicily and this is the best jumping point , but I am temped to sail out of our way to another anchorage to distance ourself for this situation.
My problem now is I feeling a bit responsible for the guy .
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Seajet
...
All you can do is offer help, as you have done - some people just won't be helped even if in trouble, I think a mixture of 90% mental problems 10% misplaced pride.
I was once alongside a Sailfish 18 in Yarmouth IOW, the skipper - with wife and two kids aboard - casually mentioned the lift keel had fallen off on the way there, but anyway they were off west to Cornwall.
When I said in my best Sergeant Wilson ' I say, do you think that's terribly wise ? '
He became very stroppy indeed, nearly a punch up.
I tried to discreetly shadow them when we both set off the next day but he spotted me and began hurling abuse, very slow too so I thought ' OK chum have it your way ' and carried on.
Nowadays with a mobile phone I'd have called the Coastguard to tell them to keep an eye on this idiot, not VHF as that would advertise my meddling in his apparent suicide pact, hopefully he got scared enough to turn back.
You just can't help some people.
I was once alongside a Sailfish 18 in Yarmouth IOW, the skipper - with wife and two kids aboard - casually mentioned the lift keel had fallen off on the way there, but anyway they were off west to Cornwall.
When I said in my best Sergeant Wilson ' I say, do you think that's terribly wise ? '
He became very stroppy indeed, nearly a punch up.
I tried to discreetly shadow them when we both set off the next day but he spotted me and began hurling abuse, very slow too so I thought ' OK chum have it your way ' and carried on.
Nowadays with a mobile phone I'd have called the Coastguard to tell them to keep an eye on this idiot, not VHF as that would advertise my meddling in his apparent suicide pact, hopefully he got scared enough to turn back.
You just can't help some people.
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Tomahawk
Well-Known Member
You are not responsible for him.
You have freely given help and advice for his benefit. For various reasons he has refused your offers of advice. If there is a back story, he is not helping himself by keeping quiet about it. Most of us would help someone down on their luck if they were open about their situation. But you indicate some of what he says doesn’t add up.
Time to step away. If he drags onto the shore, the result will be as it will.
You have freely given help and advice for his benefit. For various reasons he has refused your offers of advice. If there is a back story, he is not helping himself by keeping quiet about it. Most of us would help someone down on their luck if they were open about their situation. But you indicate some of what he says doesn’t add up.
Time to step away. If he drags onto the shore, the result will be as it will.
robertj
Well-Known Member
+1
To help out with compassion is what makes us human.
By the way what’s wrong with being a hippy/ do gooder/ dreamer?
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Tomahawk
Well-Known Member
Nothing at all.
But and it is a but... in this case the said hippy type is living on borrowed time until something bad befalls him. In ths case it may be the next wind shift and the need to reposition himself before his anchor starts dragging.
But and it is a but... in this case the said hippy type is living on borrowed time until something bad befalls him. In ths case it may be the next wind shift and the need to reposition himself before his anchor starts dragging.
Seajet
...
I think most of us who've been sailing for a while have helped people out, usually it's well recieved with a happy ending.
There are a couple of exceptions,
one time a chap on a small yacht was anchored in Emsworth Channel waving a fuel can begging for petrol so we gave him a full can - then it turned out he'd done this all the way from the Hamble, he must have had a small tanker load onboard !
On another occasion we helped a chap with navigation as he'd got lost and ended up in Jersey - we loaned him charts, nav gear and lots of waterproofs for his family - he was very snotty about returning the waterproofs.
However that's just a couple of bad examples, for every one of them there's a hundred grateful people, of course one helps out anyone on the water, it's Karma, man !
There are a couple of exceptions,
one time a chap on a small yacht was anchored in Emsworth Channel waving a fuel can begging for petrol so we gave him a full can - then it turned out he'd done this all the way from the Hamble, he must have had a small tanker load onboard !
On another occasion we helped a chap with navigation as he'd got lost and ended up in Jersey - we loaned him charts, nav gear and lots of waterproofs for his family - he was very snotty about returning the waterproofs.
However that's just a couple of bad examples, for every one of them there's a hundred grateful people, of course one helps out anyone on the water, it's Karma, man !
DownWest
Well-Known Member
I think most of us who've been sailing for a while have helped people out, usually it's well recieved with a happy ending.
There are a couple of exceptions,
one time a chap on a small yacht was anchored in Emsworth Channel waving a fuel can begging for petrol so we gave him a full can - then it turned out he'd done this all the way from the Hamble, he must have had a small tanker load onboard !
, of course one helps out anyone on the water, it's Karma, man !
Not boaty, but, for a bet, a couple of US guys, way back, got people to tow their (engine-less) Ford T right across the US by holding up a tow rope and asking for help to the next garage/town. Not sure how long it took them..
Seajet
...
That sounds like the basis for a good book.
Reminds me of ' Around Ireland With A Fridge ' by Tony Hawkes - for a bet he hitched the entire way around Ireland, standing by the roadside with a fridge, as I recall nobody actually asked him what the fridge was for
Reminds me of ' Around Ireland With A Fridge ' by Tony Hawkes - for a bet he hitched the entire way around Ireland, standing by the roadside with a fridge, as I recall nobody actually asked him what the fridge was for
mjcoon
Well-Known Member
Stemar
Well-Known Member
True, but who's the worse parasite - the hippy type with minimal needs/desires and we have the option to help or not, or the robber baron industrialist (at whatever scale) who exploits his workers who have little choice in the matter, taking as much as he can and giving as little as possible back?
oldmanofthehills
Well-Known Member
Difficult
I do mountaineering in a minor way. That is to say I am up and down UK mountains in rain, snow, fog or even occasionally sunshine. Yet I note many callouts by Mountain Rescue Team are to people very poorly equipped and more embarrassing for me, to people who are well equipped but haven't planned well enough to get up or down what they planned. The former group risk their lives, and their childrens lives. The MRT drag out in all weathers to help them. MRT members have injured themselves on shouts and a few have even died. The MRT never comment directly as to blame though one can read between the lines but are always willing to help, and that is as it should be.
A numpty who doesn't listen to advice is willingly risking others well being. Failing to anchor correctly in the OPs scenario risks damage to others boats. Going in a wilfully ill equipped boat or refusing assistance might result in stress or danger to lifeboat crew. Penlee lifeboat disaster was an extreme case.
Though I do things that might require assistance if it all goes wrong beyond my ability to recover, I still think that those who act as fools are parasitic
I do mountaineering in a minor way. That is to say I am up and down UK mountains in rain, snow, fog or even occasionally sunshine. Yet I note many callouts by Mountain Rescue Team are to people very poorly equipped and more embarrassing for me, to people who are well equipped but haven't planned well enough to get up or down what they planned. The former group risk their lives, and their childrens lives. The MRT drag out in all weathers to help them. MRT members have injured themselves on shouts and a few have even died. The MRT never comment directly as to blame though one can read between the lines but are always willing to help, and that is as it should be.
A numpty who doesn't listen to advice is willingly risking others well being. Failing to anchor correctly in the OPs scenario risks damage to others boats. Going in a wilfully ill equipped boat or refusing assistance might result in stress or danger to lifeboat crew. Penlee lifeboat disaster was an extreme case.
Though I do things that might require assistance if it all goes wrong beyond my ability to recover, I still think that those who act as fools are parasitic
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nortada
Well-Known Member
Reminds me of Captain Calamity of yesteryear.
Wonder what happened to him?
Wonder what happened to him?
nortada
Well-Known Member
sailaboutvic
Well-Known Member
Well a bit more info has come to light this morning, after silver Fox had another word ,
If Steve want to share thar fine with me .
We looking at moving on to morrow or Thursday .
If Steve want to share thar fine with me .
We looking at moving on to morrow or Thursday .
oldmanofthehills
Well-Known Member
Hope you are not referring to some members of this forum.
Sailors are a broad spectrum and thus must encompass sociopaths, the careless, the lazy etc. I hope none are too extreme but give me the aspergic or anal retentive any day when safety is concerned
steve1963
Well-Known Member
I was recently in Port Ginesta for a couple of nights, sailing with an old friend of mine. The Marina, being full, put us on a berth near the fuel pontoon. Nearby was a smallish (29ft) cruiser in a very bad state; mast down and rigging all over the place, no fenders; so was grinding against the wall, cockpit a mess etc. A youngish guy came over to speak to me about my boat, and as he walked away, I realised that he was the owner of the aforementioned wreck. That night, at about 2AM we were were woken by continued shouting and swearing, and thought it was someone having an argument. We poked our heads out and realised it was the same guy, ranting and raving to himself as he walked up and down the pontoon. This carried on, so I went off and fetched the security guys; he was obviously suffering from some sort of mental condition or was off his head on drugs. We later learned that he had arrived a couple of days earlier, left the marina, only to have his mast fall down about a half-mile out, and had tried to set a jury rig to get the the Balearics. The police towed him back. The marina were at a bit of a loss as to what to do; he seemed determined to leave. All quite sad really
boaterbaz
Well-Known Member
As a counter to this thread does anyone remember the tale of shrimps and I think it was Shane Acton sailing around the world with no prior experience in a caprice? Not all dreamers fail.
DownWest
Well-Known Member
'Shrimpy' and the book is available on line to read.