Urgent Assistance To Find Missing Australian Yacht

[a64pilot]

Growing old, ain't for wussies, it's hard


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[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by darylat8750

One good thing about the memory issue is that your supplies can last longer if you forget to eat lunch...... I seldom forget two meals in a row though and still seem to have a spare tire around my beltline.

Maybe you are forgetting that you've already eaten lunch ....

[Cadence]

Not to make light of his situation. The other half says I told you yesterday, I'm not sure if I or she was wrong?

[darylat8750]

Jim I have a friend who is diabetic. Sailing single handed from Isla Mujeres to Florida he had an episode that became critical. The Coast Guard lifted him off the boat and put a crew of 2 on his boat and they sailed it to port. I don't recall how far from FL he was when rescued but I seem to remember thinking that the Coasties would need a couple of days to get the boat home. They did chastise him a little for undertaking a trip with his health as it was.


I do hope this situation works out. I would hate to have the decisions he has had to make.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by darylat8750

Jim I have a friend who is diabetic. Sailing single handed from Isla Mujeres to Florida he had an episode that became critical. The Coast Guard lifted him off the boat and put a crew of 2 on his boat and they sailed it to port. I don't recall how far from FL he was when rescued but I seem to remember thinking that the Coasties would need a couple of days to get the boat home. They did chastise him a little for undertaking a trip with his health as it was.


I do hope this situation works out. I would hate to have the decisions he has had to make.

Well done the Coasties in that instance.

But there have been a lot of reports (unknown truthfulness) where this service was not offered. I reckon that responses differ with the situation, the mission that the CG is involved with when responding, the individual skippers and the availability of "extra" crew on the CG vessel.

And one must remember when comparing the Kiwis and the USCG that the total population of New Zealand is less than half that of the city of Chicago. It is a tiny country with the responsibility for a huge lot of ocean SAR. As a long term visitor to this area, I truly appreciate their efforts.

Jim

[a64pilot]

Germany is made up of mostly thousands of small towns, there is a completely different mentality in small towns. Everybody knows each other and therefore watches out and takes care of each other. There is essentially no crime etc. when I lived there, great place.
A lot of the US is huge cities, and with that comes anonymity, people cuss other in traffic and drive right by without helping someone in desperate need. That doesn't happen when you know them, you grew up with them, your Mothers are friends etc.
I lived in Ozark Alabama for a while after Military retirement, a tiny town. You couldn't pull off the road there, everybody stopped and asked if you needed help if you did, nobody locked their cars or houses, we came home one day and found a package on our Kitchen table, the UPS man whom we had never met didn't want to leave it outside in the rain, so he came in the house and left it on the table.
I needed a ground fault breaker to fix my pool and went to the only electrical shop, got the part, tried to pay and found out they were closed. The man told me to come back next week sometime to pay. He had no idea who I was. Manager at the local Walmart offered their refrigerators to keep my food in until the Army delivered mine. I could go on and on. Bottom line, small town people go out of their way to help someone, city people are afraid to get involved.
I can only assume the small town mentality exists in Oz.
I miss Ozark, people joked your entering Alabama, turn your watches back 100 yrs., that's not all bad.


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[Rustic Charm]

Ok, just putting this thread, back on thread.

78 year old, still missing, hopefully somewhere East of Brisbane. Been no word from him since last Thursday. He's still listed as a missing person. Given ten days worth of food last Thursday, which will be expecting to be running short very soon. Picture of the boat is earlier in the thread. Though here is another just to keep it up there.

[RaymondR]

Does anyone know whether or not he actually cleared out through customs and immigration, if not he may just sail into an anchorage somewhere quietly and anonymously and hole up for a while?

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Does anyone know whether or not he actually cleared out through customs and immigration, if not he may just sail into an anchorage somewhere quietly and anonymously and hole up for a while?

Hmm... IMO, there is little chance of him "flying under the radar".

AMSA know about him (2 EPIRB alerts), NZ navy know about him, a cruise ship knows about him so I reckon Coastwatch will know about him. The NZ navy might want their Satphone back one day.

And perhaps more importantly, the world's largest and best known cruising community know about him.

Finally the girlfriend in Fiji might have spies around the Oz waterfront bars

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Finally the girlfriend in Fiji might have spies around the Oz waterfront bars

wottie...

Boy that sure would be some spectacular planning and documented backup if all he was trying to do is ditch the GF...

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

The man is either a true romantic or an exceptionally horny old bugger.
.

These traits are not mutually exclusive

[tchavei]

Originally Posted by HappyMdRSailor

wottie...

Boy that sure would be some spectacular planning and documented backup if all he was trying to do is ditch the GF...

Maybe he knocked her up and now isn't prepared to assume the responsibility

Seriously, I have been following this thread, crossing my fingers everything will go well but this saga raises an interesting question... When should one give in and face the situation?

On one hand, the boat isn't in any immediate danger nor disabled. On the other, his mean of propulsion (sails and engine) aren't 100% (damaged sails, low or no fuel) and he called for help two times already... Kinda contradictory.

Another question (I'm a sailor wannabe, sorry): if he got into trouble during his initial two week trip, why wait another 3 weeks before hitting the emergency button? Would the rudder fix itself with time? He seems like he wasted 3 weeks to eat through his reserves before calling for help although the boat must have been disabled long before that?

Regards
Tony

Sent from my keyboard through my phone or something like that.

[Pelagic]

Just to continue the thread drift until we get some (hopefully) good news....
If an old solo sailor wets the bed....would anybody know?

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by tchavei

Seriously, I have been following this thread, crossing my fingers everything will go well but this saga raises an interesting question... When should one give in and face the situation?


Regards
Tony

Sent from my keyboard through my phone or something like that.

Never, never give up, things change, if you still have food and more importantly water, there is hope.
Plus and this is just an opinion, but he is part of the "greatest generation" I believe the world went through things that the rest of us can't truly imagine then, and it changed them, I believe they are more self reliant, more likely to think, I got myself into this mess, I can get myself out of it, than later generations, mine included.

Plus just from watching my own Parents grow old and pass, I believe as you get older, you lose some of the terror of passing away.
My Father told me before he went that the lucky people get to pick when they go, and he did.

Maybe, just maybe, this guy had rather tough it out on his boat, and maybe he'd rather go down this way, than in some nursing home laying in a bed.

All of this is pure supposition of course, but the average guy his age is not out in a small boat, crossing oceans are they?

[Strait Shooter]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Just to continue the thread drift until we get some (hopefully) good news....
If an old solo sailor wets the bed....would anybody know?

Now that's funny!

As to what we should do as a society, for the protection of our older society members that do stuff like this. I would humbly suggest that we use a pittance of the global war fund, and just follow the guy at a distance......you know, keep an eye on the old bugger just in case he needs more help.

Long may you run..........