What to do with a drunken sailor?

[mikefleetwood]

Sticking my nose in....

The OP called the man an alcoholic, then went on to describe a man who likes a drink when ashore. The two are not necessarily the same. Does he have any evidence that the man was still drunk when he set sail?

I don't know, I wasn't there, so I can't make meaningful suggestion as to if the OP should "do something". However, my advice would be don't.

1- if you're right and the man is sailing drunk, you won't get any thanks from him, and probably short shrift from CG who don't want to deal with him either.
2- if you're wrong and he's stone cold sober, if CG impound his boat you'll have spoilt his holiday for nothing.
3- if he's survived sailing this far, he'll probably survive a little longer, at least until he's far away from you.

I won't be quite as strong as some of the other comments made, but "live and let live" is a pretty good motto.

 

[salinia]

Would anyone have stopped this "dude".

 

[Mark-1]

Swede in Portugal?

He got that far. That's maybe his way.

Leave him be.

+1

 

[Champagne Murphy]

Hypothetically, if at a later date, you were called as a witness at an inquest because you were the last person to talk to or see a drunk sailor put out to sea in deteriorating wx conditions, think what would you say to his loved ones or children if you do not report him to the CG.

How would you answer in court when asked, "Did you think of reporting to the CG?"

Added to the above, think of the lives he is putting at risk if, in very poor weather conditions, he needs to be rescued because of his stupidity?
.
.

+1

Another idea; why not call the CG and ask what they would rather.

Report back to the forum please!

 

[Koeketiene]

Or perhaps he is a very highly skilled sailor who is utterly capable of sailing in rough weather when drunk,and knows this fact. Whereas you perhaps would not be, and thus are pointlessly worrying your pretty little head?

Quite so.
After all, isn't an alcoholic just some-one who drinks more than you do?

 

[chanelyacht]

+1

Another idea; why not call the CG and ask what they would rather.

Report back to the forum please!

Or wait for me to find the thread

A difficult one, this.

I certainly don't think, to quote an earlier poster, you'd get "short shrift from the CG who wouldn't want to deal with it". We would never give any caller "short shrift" - we're grateful for any information passed onto us.

As to what we could actually do, that's more complicated. We certainly couldn't "impound the boat", unless one of our surveyors had boarded (who do have the power to detain craft) and had found deficiencies with the vessel. There is, as yet, no enacted legislation regarding alcohol and leisure sailors, so the police couldn't detain on our behalf on those grounds. A local harbour may have a byelaw about alcohol, on which the police could act, but that varies from port to port.

Probably the most we would do would be to log the intended voyage, and try and make contact with him to ensure his safety. Plus, the details of the vessel would be useful early on if it did end up being a SAR incident.

But do always report it to us - some advance info is by far better than none.

 

[temptress]

Cutting a long story short a single handed sailor on a decent boat, believed alcoholic, appears tanked up as usual and goes out in pretty bad weather.
Should you say nothing or report the matter to someone?

Nothing - he is an adult and not breaking any laws. Leave him alone.

what do you do if you see a drunk in the street? Phone th epolice and say ' there is a drunk guy here? What's he doing? Nothing.......'

 

[Jabberwocky]

But a drunk on the street is not going to endanger the lives of the CG who might have to go out in the bad weather to save him.

 

[Greenheart]

I hadn't realised this man had reached Portugal from Sweden, alone, if indeed that's the case. If he's used to being plastered (as it does appear), and if his condition certainly hasn't caused inexcusably erratic course-keeping or docking disasters, then I wouldn't intervene...

...it's so very normal for many people to live their everyday lives with much more than a breakfast-Buck's Fizz flowing round inside them, we'd be in immediate danger of resembling Captain Waggett in Whisky Galore. Technically, an offence may be at risk of occurring...

...but looking for faults and feeling compelled to point them out, is the work of a narrower mind than I'd ever want between my ears!

All a question of degree. I remember three noisy bon viveurs, deep in wine, climbing into an undersized inflatable at Seaview in the 'eighties...they were a long way off the beach before they finally started their outboard...and the whole esplanade was roaring with laughter.

I reckon a "zero tolerance" policy would make a far, far worse world than we currently enjoy, even including occasional tragedies.

 

[Seajet]

It should be borne in mind that some medical conditions such as diabetes can make a person appear drunk; that doesn't reduce the serious hassle and chance of a punch-up if trying to deter them from setting sail though, and if it is a medical snag one might need to be forceful to save the bods' life !

However if the person has been observed drinking heavily it's another matter.

I sailed once with an ex- Royal Marine chap who went on to sail round the world; when he was doing his yachtmaster course he and the rest of the students became thoroughly fed up with the instructor, a serious drinker who crashed out below and left them to navigate back across the Channel.

They decided to call his bluff, so when out of sight of land ( this was before Decca or GPS ) they woke him up, " we're lost and haven't been keeping a log " - by all accounts no-one ever sobered up so quickly !

Unless someone is completely trollied and in charge of a big steel boat - or taking other inexperienced people along, I think 'Live And Let Live' is the way to go.

 

[capnsensible]

Nothing - he is an adult and not breaking any laws. Leave him alone.
'

Definitely. Have you ever tried to reason with a drunk? Ask yer wife!

Do the Portugese Coastguard care, even if you explain it??

Nah, be British and Mind your own

 

[BruceDanforth]

Cutting a long story short a single handed sailor on a decent boat, believed alcoholic, appears tanked up as usual and goes out in pretty bad weather.
Should you say nothing or report the matter to someone?

Report him to the Stasi. After all you have plenty of conjecture to go on.

 

[RupertW]

I'd have let him go as he's not likely to harm anyone but himself.

Being drunk is extreme, I admit, but having come across people who think its unsafe to cross the channel without a GPS, leave the Solent without a liferaft, or sail anywhere without a VHF I think that we all have differing ideas on what risks we should take, and should be allowed to get on with making our own mistakes - whilst offering advice and help when it's asked for.

In my earlier working days I could often make better technical decisions on business critical systems when I was so drunk I couldn't walk ,compared to my on-call colleagues who would get me to log in and fix things when they had run out of ideas. So I have no doubt that it's possible for an excellent but drunk sailor to be handle a voyage better than many sober forumites including me. Whether this guy was, Ive no idea.

 

[xyachtdave]

Quite so.
After all, isn't an alcoholic just some-one who drinks more than you do?

Nicely put!

As an analogie, when racing superbikes anyone that got in front of you was instantly a 'lunatic' and a 'nutter' with a death wish.

The fact that they won and you lost forgotten.....!

 

[Blueboatman]

Drunks ( ie true alcoholics) may drive regardless of what they know to be sensible.The alcohol is driving them. At least he is not operating a jetski or large mobo(?) at speed in coastal waters with risk to other yachts and their crew, or swimmers...
Good luck in prevention but sadly he'll probably sail anyway, and a well made, decent quality oceangoing fibreglass yacht is of course to be feared in a 50000t ship.
Cruising you will find that word gets round about tales of, er, woe or eccentricities bordering the insane, perhaps he is well known for such behaviour already?

Notifying authorities is a step toward regulation innit

 

[Nostrodamus]

So the majority verdict is ignore him and let him go.

One thing I could say is that he was drunk as I am a expert when it comes to drunkenness.
I don't think he was right in what he did as it leaves those who watched him go with worries. If something did happen there would always be an element of guilt left.
I did try to verbally dissuade him but I was in no doubt he would carry on regardless.
He is a grown adult, and the decision has to be his just as it would be my decision to go out when I want to even if others disagreed.
I just though I would see what the forum opinion was.
Thank you for your candid replies.

 

[LadyInBed]

Assuming he is a grown man, he has the right to decide for himself.

Yep, and if he's going far enough he will have sobered up by the time he gets there
Short of preventing him from leaving, once he has gone there is nothing you can do, so keep your nose out and don't put everyone on alert for something that might not happen.

 

[Babylon]

Nah, be British and Mind your own

I agree.

If you're that worried about drunks, then you could pop back to any British city on a weekend night and you'd have hundreds of drunks to help. Why should the fact that he's a sailor make any difference?

 

[johnalison]

Apart from the moral question, there may be legal consequences, depending on the country's laws. In the UK, unless I am mistaken, there is no obligation to assist someone in distress and you can't be prosecuted for failing to throw a lifebelt to someone who has fallen into a pond, for example. I believe that this is not the case in France, and perhaps other countries with Napoleonic Law, where failure to assist will result in prosection.

 

[PaulGooch]

Apart from the moral question, there may be legal consequences, depending on the country's laws. In the UK, unless I am mistaken, there is no obligation to assist someone in distress and you can't be prosecuted for failing to throw a lifebelt to someone who has fallen into a pond, for example. I believe that this is not the case in France, and perhaps other countries with Napoleonic Law, where failure to assist will result in prosection.

I believe you are mistaken.

Solas Regulation 33 - Distress Situations: Obligations and procedures

1. The master of a ship at sea which is in a position to be able to provide assistance on receiving information from any source that persons are in distress at sea, is bound to proceed with all speed to their assistance, if possible informing them or the search and rescue service that the ship is doing so. This obligation to provide assistance applies regardless of the nationality or status of such persons or the circumstances in which they are found. If the ship receiving the distress alert is unable or, in the special circumstances of the case, considers it unreasonable or unnecessary to proceed to their assistance, the master must enter in the log-book the reason for failing to proceed to the assistance of the persons in distress, taking into account the recommendation of the Organization, to inform the appropriate search and rescue service accordingly.