Learning Curve 'Altantic Emergency' (Aug YM)

[Rob_Webb]

Learning Curve \'Altantic Emergency\' (Aug YM)

Lesson learnt no.1: never sail with a skipper who is such an arse as this guy.

OK, maybe this one's already been done to death but in NZ we are a few months behind and have only just got August's issue. But I can't believe what I've just read - if the seriously ill girl in his crew had been his own daughter I bet it would have been a completely different story. No delays, not ranting about a 'personal disaster' for himself, just a beeline for help.

I'd love to hear what the girl herself (and her parents) thought of his decision-making process.

All imho of course.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[StellaGirl]

Re: Learning Curve \'Altantic Emergency\' (Aug YM)

I couldnt agree more. i did the ARC last year with a couple of people and hope in the same situation they would have acted quickl! Not moaned about the inconvenience! How could that guy have lived with himself of the worse had happened? And how would he have explained this to her parents.

<hr width=100% size=1>Its 11.59am - lets open the beers...

 

[Rob_Webb]

Re: Learning Curve \'Altantic Emergency\' (Aug YM)

Exactly. I got the feeling from his article that he was almost absolving himself from his ill behaviour by writing about it and admitting it. But if you were the poor, sick girl in question you wouldn't take any consolation by thinking "Oh well, at least in 3 months time he will realise what an arse he has been and how awful his attitude was and he'll write his 'confession' to a sailing magazine and call it a learning experience". No way would you think like that. You'd be livid (assuming you were lucid). I seriously take a really dim view of this guy and reckon that his actions have been underplayed - they were bordering on the reckless/negligent and if the worst had happened surely he would have been up for prosection for his behaviour? When you are on land within arms reach of a doctor and medical facilities you can afford to take a 'wait and see' approach - but when you are at sea and cannot confidently obtain a safe diagnosis you just can't take this approach - you have to assume the worst and act accordingly whatever impact it might have on your cocktail party schedule.

Maybe I'm just taking life a bit too seriously .... but I was appalled by what I read and I think this guy is a 1st class muppet.

Rob


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Nickel]

Re: Learning Curve \'Altantic Emergency\' (Aug YM)

Agree entirely - was quite surprised at how honest he was in his article. Either he doesn't realise how bad his decision making process is, or he is involved in some inverted confessional process without realising that you have to actually be 'sorry' for it to work!

<hr width=100% size=1>Nickel

Being paranoid simply means - having all the facts.

 

[blackbeard]

Re: Learning Curve \'Altantic Emergency\' (Aug YM)

Sorry if I seem to be disagreeing with everyone else, but there's a very important point here which seems to have been missed by at least some of the contributors.
This guy has the guts to let himself appear in a bad light, specifically so that we can learn from his experience. If we take the opportunity to point the finger and heap up criticism, the next guy to make a mistake is going to avoid admitting it and we shall all be the poorer as a result.
Consider yourself immune from the above if during the whole of your sailing career you have never made a stupid or dangerous mistake.
From what I remember of the article, the really chilling point was the number of skipper who said that, in the circumstances, they would have carried on ...

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Rob_Webb]

Re: Learning Curve \'Altantic Emergency\' (Aug YM)

You are right, it is good in principle to be able to admit and talk about a bad decision and for you (and others) to discuss and learn from it. So in that sense 'good on him' for confessing. But my point is that the difference here from most Learning Curve writeups is that it wasn't a split-second bad decision or even one that went on for a few hours- it went on for days and I believe he should have seen his error given the buildup time. And I'm also trying to picture how it felt to be those poeple on the receiving end of this poor judgment and how a subsequent 'confession' wouldn't be much consolation!

And finally, I am a bit sceptical about the statistic about "half the skippers etc".... I reckon he has put this forward to soften the appearance of his own poor judgement. He's a strategy consultant for goodness sake (as am I!) and it's a classic way to round-off some bad news by stating a dubious statistic to support your case.

Sorry, I realise I'm being a bit harsh here and yes, of course I've made many stupid mistakes in my 25yrs of sailing and could probably write several Learning Curves! But I just really felt for that sick girl when I read the article and had no sympathy for the skipper's view. But fair go to him for writing in!

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[snowleopard]

isn\'t hindsight wonderful

in retrospect one can see that it was a real medical emergency but at the time, who's to say it wasn't just a prolonged bout of seasickness?

this isn't a trip across the solent, it's a lifetime's ambition we're talking about. do you expect the skipper to just chuck it all in without a qualm? if he really had carried on and let her die it would have been a different story.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[graham]

Re: Learning Curve \'Altantic Emergency\' (Aug YM)

Unless I read the article wrong,once he had medical advise to get her ashore ASAP he abandoned the ARC and made for the Cape Verdes which allthough further distance than the Canaries lay downwind which gave a quicker passage time.

He is very honest in admitting to us that he was gutted at pulling out of the ARC rally .

Not having been aboard at the time it is hard to know when it should have been obvious to him iit was life threatening.

The way I see it he (allbeit reluctantly) took the sensible option and headed for the place he could reach quickest.


On a 40 mile coastal passage in reasonably good weather (force 4 to 5 but on the nose) I once had to decide if a crewmember needed evacuation by lifeboat/helicopter or was merely sea sick.(turning back against a strong tide was not an option)
The chaps medical history was a worrying factor.I made the decision to push on and ultimately was proven right.

Had I made the wrong decision with serious consequences I would not have had the courage to expose my inner feelings leading up to the decision in a Yachting Magazine.

Knowing the mental process I went through when only half a day from port I can only imagine the anguish if this happens way out in the Atlantic.

<font color=red>Hindsight is a wonderful thing</font color=red>

 

[Sailfree]

Re: Learning Curve \'Altantic Emergency\' (Aug YM)

Thanks for reminding me as I intended to relay the main facts of this article to a number of sailing friend with more medical knowledge than me and ask when & what they would have done.
I would like to congratulate the author for his honesty and agree that hindsight is a wonderful thing.
The lesson I took from the article is that a important judgements can be influenced by what you want to believe. Is it the one bad weather report you make your decision on or the majority (most likely!). How common an occurence was this girls condition?
Taken to its extreme we would never go outside the range of immediate medical help as if it is possible for someone to quickly become seriously ill you are negligent in not always allowing for that possibility.
I find this attitude to be the trend and everyone goes on just ticking the boxes on the Health & Safety forms, produce lots of documentation but with no real evaluation or awareness of the risks involved.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[AndrewB]

You are over-harsh on him.

Certainly, it was a bad call to leave the Canaries with Helen - though this seems to have been after taking medical advice. Returning to the Canaries once 500 miles out really wasn't an option. Paul is frank in describing his frustration with the situation and in admitting that he took it out on Helen, but by contrast his decisions and actions seem to me entirely defensible.

I can't honestly say I would have called it different either. Seven years ago I fell ill when in Tenerife, lay on my bunk for a week and thought my partner and I might not be able to continue. But we took the chance and left even though I was still weak, and had a wholly successful Atlantic crossing. Unlike Paul, we had no means of long-range communication for calling for help, but life isn't about being permanently swaddled by the security blanket.

 

[BrendanS]

Re: Learning Curve \'Altantic Emergency\' (Aug YM)

He told it how it was. It made good reading. He was honest about about his thoughts at the time. He learnt from it

<hr width=100% size=1>Me transmitte sursum, caledoni

 

[jimi]

Re: Learning Curve \'Altantic Emergency\' (Aug YM)

Yes.. i do'nt think you can actually learn from this experience. The problem was that it proved not to be the seasickness it seemed to be. Having sailed with a couple of people who are almost comatose with mal de mer and become hardened to it (Now I just ensure they're safe and out the way) I can sympathise, what I did find hard to relate to was the concern about the race, If it'd be me I'd have been overcome with feelings of (undeserved) guilt about being un uncaring and ignorant skipper and would'nt have given a shit about the race.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[tome]

Re: Learning Curve \'Altantic Emergency\' (Aug YM)

Just heard some relevant info on this thread. haven't yet read article, so will do and then post if appropriate. Just pushing it up for now...

<hr width=100% size=1>