Solo Sailor Took His Own Life

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by reed1v

Oh dear clueless, third world medical facilities tend to be very run down, or become rather dilapidated quickly once set up. We set up a clinic on Marjuro back in the 80s. Ten years later we went back and found most of the windows gone, the -ray machine rusting and impossible to use, rat poop along all corridors, and generally a filthy mess. Same experience in outlying Colon, and same with rural clinics in Kenya(and that is probably the most progressive nation in Africa).
It takes management, organization, and training to keep a medical facility operating to WHO standards and most poorer nations just do not have the resources to do that. Its not just money, its the way the society is set up.

how on earth did you get on to medical facilities in third world countries

What on earth are you on about ? Better still, don't explain that, just go and start your own thread

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

Are you purposely trolling for an argument? If that's your intent, go elswhere and do it. The thread topic was a legitamate one of which I'm really quite interested in. Though I've not seen anyone so far address it.

Rustic Charm,

I am quite sure Snow Petrel addressed the topic.

If not even he did, then maybe you could say in a different way what it is that you wanted to discuss relative to this sad disclosure 2 yrs. after the fact.

Ann

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Rustic Charm,

I am quite sure Snow Petrel addressed the topic.

If not even he did, then maybe you could say in a different way what it is that you wanted to discuss relative to this sad disclosure 2 yrs. after the fact.

Ann

How ? This was my question Ann

Very sad. Being a solo sailor can no doubt be emotionally hard. Are any solo sailors willing to share your own experiences of emotional lows and difficulties?

[Tientos]

What a total shock reading this post! We met Don about 15 years ago in Darwin; he was behind us on the moorings. Having a fall and breaking his arm meant he was fairly restricted in his movements so we instigated 'meals on dinghies', taking an evening meal for him. Aspro was an amazing small vessel that was his home and life. RIP Don, it was a pleasure knowing you.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by reed1v

Oh dear clueless, third world medical facilities tend to be very run down, or become rather dilapidated quickly once set up. We set up a clinic on Marjuro back in the 80s. Ten years later we went back and found most of the windows gone, the -ray machine rusting and impossible to use, rat poop along all corridors, and generally a filthy mess. Same experience in outlying Colon, and same with rural clinics in Kenya(and that is probably the most progressive nation in Africa).
It takes management, organization, and training to keep a medical facility operating to WHO standards and most poorer nations just do not have the resources to do that. Its not just money, its the way the society is set up.

I guess I should have bought it 13 years ago? Don't equate the developed world with those that destroy a gift and it turns to ****. It is not the responsibility of those providing aid to change a social structure nor can they.

This is totally out of context with the thread.

[Reefmagnet]

With a history of recent groundings prior to and including this unfortunate event, I would suspect he may have been suffering the onset of a condition such as dementia and has decided to exit this mortal coil on his own terms. He may not necessarily have decided on his actions on the spur of the moment.

Sent from my SGP521 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Lizzy Belle]

Originally Posted by alansmith

As for me, I feel it is perfectly acceptable to take one's own life if there is unremitting pain and no way out. I would never allow the medical system to drain my finances and leave my wife's continued existence in jeopardy.

So do I - I merely wanted to point out that there's a difference between a "gentle way out" in case of unremitting pain / health issues etc. (tho I am unsure of the laws in the US) and a fairly healthy person committing suicide by jumping off a boat / bridge or whatever (more or less "violent") way because they just don't know how to go on due to whatever problems they have (financial, loneliness, etc. etc.).

As I said, I've had to deal with both in my life, and there's a huge difference. Both for the person involved and those who stay behind.

[TheThunderbird]

Being solo-sailors is a metaphora, as we happen to be alone on some decisions....

How to sail....
How to live..

How to die.

As the olds said, a wise man accepts his/her own death. Alone.

Personally, I don't want my sons to mix-up with my last times, as much as I didn't want it with my father. Indeed I keep the nice memory of him in his full 'persona' as a young 50yo man :-)

Of course, if anyone feels fearful about it all (the End), it is a human duty to be helpful, or at least of comfort.

I think that solo-sailors have a particular dislike for society as we live in, and the way people die is just a part of it...thus dying differently may be part of that choice.

[aliddell]

I would like to hear your opinion when you are 61.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

How ? This was my question Ann

Very sad. Being a solo sailor can no doubt be emotionally hard. Are any solo sailors willing to share your own experiences of emotional lows and difficulties?

I'll share an emotional low if that please's you..
It was during my 1st solo W-E Transat.. I'd got carried away with the wonder of nature in a mid June start from St Martin.. cotton ball clouds each spitting its own individual lightning.. chased by first one.. then 2 and 3 waterspouts.. witnessed Orca attacking a Female and calf from a distance.. then had the pod accompany me every night for close on a week.. seen a superpod of 1000+ dolphins.. heard them before they came over the horizon.. all leaping and somersaulting headed to who knows where.. Birds of Paradise hanging round.. turtles.. I was glutted with nature and could not stop.. so I sailed on past the Azores..
Then things turned bad.. a lower shroud popped and while rigging up a jury stay I cracked a couple of ribs.. then lost elec's during a thunder storm..
Just had a 10W solar panel and small spare car battery to run my TP.. from midnight to dawn I'd fore reach while I slept.. food was down to lentils cooked with stock cube and pan bread with olive oil.. no coffee, no sugar just a dessert spoon of condensed milk a day.. only nav had been my HH GPS which had crashed with everything else so it was DR with my Small Boats Chart of the North Atlantic.. 1972..
Then I hit the calms.. first 3 days.. then 5 days with only an estimated 30 miles in two days in between..
It happened in the afternoon of the 3rd day.. I was sitting on the cabin top watching two dolphins lazily moving around about 300 metres away.. the sea was mirror calm and I have never felt so at peace.. then I thought about hitting land in about 7-10 days and the entirety of all the chaos and insanity of the world I was returning to.. in comparison to what I was living.. flooding my mind brought on the most intense sadness and weight..
My 'Crowhurst' moment.. and I concluded that I'd be better off just stepping of the boat with nothing but wonder in my last days..
I stood up and looked into the deep.. then the two dolphins swam up to the boat with the most perfect miniature dolphin you could ever wish to see.. sobbed my heart out..
50 hrs later the wind came and I closed the Southern Approaches to find more wonders in store.. plus.. my navigation got me to within 20 miles of Falmouth.
I've told this tale before in various ways I guess.. but the essential truths remain the same..
I've sometimes wondered what might have been had those dolphins not been there..

PS; this happened on my 36th day at sea.. 47 days port to port

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by boatman61

In a lot of ancient.. and not so ancient.. tribes the old used to purposely walk off into the wilderness to die when they felt of no more use.. and to ease the burden of the tribe.
In the North it was usually a winter ritual as freezing to death is a relatively easy and painless affair.
Considering productivity is the driver of man.. it seems illogical to prevent someone from voluntarily 'terminating his contract' if he feels he can no longer cope with the 'Piece Work' expected.. so long as he does it in a manner that does not endanger others in the performance.
If you want to jump.. do it off a tall river bridge.. those folk on the pavement below have done you no harm..

You are a G*# Damn Poet..BRILLIANT ..SPECTACULAR.."they have done you no harm" ..Go some where else and do that..

[Scotty Kiwi]

I am reminded of the Autobiography of Dr David Lewis, 1917 to 2002, called "Shapes on the Wind" (Harper Collins), which touches beautifully on the topic of ageing at sea.

One reviewer said of the book " "Shapes on the Wind" could well be the inspirational handbook for people planning to grow old disgracefully and vibrantly."

He had been a doctor during WWII and then in the East End (London), giving up for a life on the briney in the 1960's. In both capacities he contributed greatly, and kept sailing solo into his mid 80's despite diminishing faculties, being guided by the few brightest of stars that he could still see and by friends watching out for him over the radio. He said the aches and pains felt on land magically disappeared at sea.

His last email to his editor: "Eyesight no worse, needs more rum. Ciao, David".

The book reports he also grounded and was towed off several times in his final voyage, weeks before dying of a stroke on board in Tin Can Bay, Queensland.

I didn't know anything of Donald Marshall, so can only imagine that there would be some parallels, which I greatly admire.

The very best to Mr Marshall, to his family and friends, and also to those of us who aspire to keep it up till the inevitable gets us. You'll have my support, as long as I am able to give it.

[daletournier]

Wow Boatie, thanks for the humaness.
Cruising can ruin us, it's hard not to be aware of the ridiculousness of the charade when I return to the normal world. I discovered time on the boat, the only thing that I have a limited amount of, the thing is I'd never learnt how to savour it and just enjoy it for what it is, life! All my life I was taught to distract myself with busyness, cruising can teach you whats valuable.
Left alone with your own mind can be a gift or a curse depending on how it's used. I haven't experienced old age yet, so can't really understand how those that are older feel. An older man (83) that I very much respect and who has been a productive , capable and strong person all his life recently said to me "Dale, old age ain't for whimps"

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[boatman61]

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

You are a G*# Damn Poet..BRILLIANT ..SPECTACULAR.."they have done you no harm" ..Go some where else and do that..

Well they tend to be considerate in the UK.. Beachy Head.. Clifton Suspension Bridge to name a couple..
Human Rights rule.. until one tries to claim them..

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by reed1v

Sorry about that, but old folks really should be placed in rest homes and out of the way of those who must get on with life. One can quibble as to the exact age, but certainly somewhere in that range one does become daft and should not be trusted with anything that moves. Exceptions do exist, but they are exceptions to the rule that humans start to rot very quickly after 60. Every military on earth recognizes that.

You need to read Winston Churchill's six volume history of the second world war.