s/v 'Flight of Years' Solo Circumnavigation

[GordMay]

Post removed by another Mod - Off topic Mr Gord, naughty

[imagine2frolic]

Sometimes it is more than just a physical disability to stop one from sailing. No disrespect to Heather I admire her strength to write about her inner thoughts. I have a gut feeling after some thought she will be drawn to the water again....

[Mike Banks]

The money spent on health budgets does not always translate to patient care. In some systems the delivery of health care is a corporate business, in others it is a non-profit government service.

The Australian system was once funded via state lotteries and other now privatised concerns--and the services are really abyssmal compared to how they used to be since training local doctors was severely curtailed. I avoid going to Australian clinics. I am sure some of them are fine but there are long waiting lists for "elective" surgery such as fixing anything not immediately life threatening.

Once Australia had a great system--and so did New Zealand. I suspect the Kiwi system is not what it used to be either--but I am not certain--all I know is they privatised most of the government entities whjich helped fund the best welfare system in the world at the time.

Now--I do not know how any of this relates to Flight of Years--but is someone in the profession could take a look at Heather and fix her hand at mate's rates I think all of us would applaud them.

[jzk]

This is a pretty rough story. Perhaps if she can get her injuries healed, she might consider heading to the bahamas and island hopping for a while. Avoid the rough passages and log some time in paradise first.

[GordMay]

Post removed by another Mod - Watch thread drift please or spankings for you

[roverhi]

On what are theses rankings based. National Health Care systems have kept their costs low by rationing health care. They treat acute illnesses quickly and well. Not the case with non acute cases. Try and get a knee replacement or heart bypass surgery in a timely manner under these National Systems.

Of course, one big expense the National systems don't have is lawyers like Edwards costing the system untold millions on bogus health issues and junk science.

Our system isn't perfect but it works damn well for the indigent and those with health insurance from work. There are about 20 million people, don't give me that 47 million figure it's BS, that voluntarily don't have health care largely because they won't pay for it. Unfortunately, the way the system is set up, there are few incentives to cut costs. The doctors are practicing preventive law suit medicine and patients aren't paying enough out of pocket to be concerned about the cost or need for the services they demand. There is also a dearth of 'affordable' medical policies for major health care issues among the self-employed. It ain't fun to be self-employed and have to pay for insurance for a family, btdt.

The reality is that if we go with a 'single payer' health care system, services will be rationed to keep costs down. Those with the means will buy supplemental policies to cover holes in the system. The quality of health care for the majority of our citizens will go down. Those currently without coverage, won't have to worry about ducking out on the costs of serious illnesses that are provided to them, now. Maybe serious preventative health programs will be intitiated that could result in health care savings but I wouldn't count on it.

Aloha

I have exchanged several emails with her. Great lady, but she sounds defeated at this point. Very sad. I only hope she does not let this be the thing that directs the rest of her life. Consider the success she had. She bought and outfitted the boat. She accumulated the funding. She left the dock. Many try, and few succeed at what she was doing. She came much closer than many who never even untied the lines. For that, she deserves respect. If she is able to move forward to the next adventure wit the same exuberance as this one, she will be a success.
That's my opinion FWIW

By the way, the healthcare issue is something appropriate for this site, as it affects cruisers, but could we start another thread on it, and move this one back to the original topic? I think this is a good subject and hate to see the thread lose it's point.

[Wotname]

Kai, I would like to "second" your last 2 posts on this thread!!!!

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Kai Nui

move this one back to the original topic? I think this is a good subject and hate to see the thread lose it's point.

Good idea

I too sent her an e-mail recently - to wish her well.

Not always easy to have one's hopes and dreams for the future unexpectedly dissapear down the sh#tter........and as "they" say - "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

Had a few (fortunately minor) hand injuries over the years, and have an inkling of how frustrating it can be - it's kinda amazing how useful hands are , and how much one automatically uses them for stuff. Ouch

[MaDouleur]

One of things I greatly admire about Heather is that she had the guts to write about her FAILURES! Think about it - how many people blog about failing their entire plan? It's just like when someone goes to Atlantic City or Las Vegas - you only hear about it when they win. (For anyone that thinks I'm badmouthing her - I don't mean failure like she sucks or she's a loser - I just mean that her plan didn't work out!)

I think Heather had an ambitous plan and would have realized her plan were it not for the combination of circumstances. Besides the hand injury, her father fell ill (or some such family thing).

Reading Heather's blogs made it clear that her passion for her plan came from the very core of her being. Even if she actually sells Flight of Years (great name!) I believe she will end up back on a boat somehow someday...

- Jake

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Kai Nui

I have exchanged several emails with her. Great lady, but she sounds defeated at this point. Very sad.

Nicolle exchanged a number of emails with her too. It is sad, and yes she is defeated. She has used her cruising kitty getting over her trip-let and now has the boat for sale and she is looking/back at work.

But I think we are stupid if we do not critically analyse what went wrong:

She had never sailed.

She bought a boat and never sailed it.

She outfitted the boat but never sailed it.

She planned a world voyage but never learned to sail first.

She left on the voyage....... on a 20 foot boat.

Too late to learn to sail.


Can you imagine what a half decent wave must look like from the deck of a 20 foot boat when you're seasick? Any NON-sailor would have been totally freaked out.

She was nuts and learned a lesson. I hope we have too.

IMHO


Mark

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

...
She was nuts and learned a lesson. I hope we have too.

IMHO


Mark

Somehow I suspect the collective we probably didn't learn a lesson. There was a lot of armchair support and hyping of this trip, along with put downs of those that might have suggested this was not a wise way to start a trip like this. Internet hyped trips like this one and Vann's Tin Can tri sound better as reality TV shows than as true sailing adventures. Encouraging these people is not serving them any good.

Paul L

[Mike Banks]

Well--I think the boat was too small for me--but if any 20 footer was capable this one would have been it.

I think Heather knew how to sail--just took extra lessons to brush up. Too many people did gee her up--but if she had been sailing a twenty six foot folkboat which is about the same seaworthiness as her Flicka by some accounts, the trip would not have seemed too risky. Plenty of Norwegian Folkboats have circumnavigated.

I hope she is able to sell her boat for a good price and put the money to her immediate needs--then buy a nice Wharram Narai or a Pahi to complete the voyage if minimalistic sailing is what gives one a buzz--or a Tayana 37, Bayfield 36 or something similar if one wants a bit more comfort in a mono. I would go for the Wharram though--something about them appeals.

[dcstrng]

<Any NON-sailor would have been totally freaked out…>

Yep, agree… however, the fact that she held it together and aborted relatively safely says a lot of what she’s made of… I don’t know her, other than exchanging an email, but my sense is Heather is not foolhardy or someone who decompensates readily… seasick, injured and in a new and formidable environment is not a scenario guaranteed to foster clarity of thought for many folks… including many with years of experience... how she handled it is to her credit.

Patton is reputed to have said, that: “even the best coon dog is gun-shy the first time out…” The fact she had little first hand ocean experience and was jumping off on a sizeable voyage says good things for her ability to plan and prepare, but she was hamstrung by lack of experience – which left her in a weak position when the environment got strange and intimidating… one of the main reasons military and law enforcement (especially SWAT) both have confidence courses in their training is so the officer/soldiers have met the monster in a relatively realistic, but controlled, environment… so the next time they see it for real, they won’t be a bowled over… for most of us, we learned saltwater sailing either in a formal course, or because someone more experienced took us under their wing… pity that wasn’t available here…

I don’t think the 20-foot Flicka was a negative – she was well aware that the vessel was demonstrably capable of doing what she envisioned, and for the premium investment a Flicka usually commands I’m sure she could have purchased and equipped a somewhat larger vessel had she the mind… it is simply a trade-off… larger vessel, larger work-load; of course with at least a semblance of greater security – sometimes… but it seems to me the fact she’d not met the monster yet was probably the most daunting factor…