Coastguard - fake news "rescue"

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Agreed, it can be pretty self serving. I just get my hackles up on the 'fake news' thing, as in my view it undermines free press which undermines democracy. The more the phrase is used the more 'normal' it becomes.

I agree with you, its an American thing started by the President but why everyone wants to copy this is beyond me. It makes everyone look stupid.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

I agree with you, its an American thing started by the President but why everyone wants to copy this is beyond me. It makes everyone look stupid.

'Fake news'?

Is that what some of us still refer to simply as 'bullsh!t' ??

I wonder what the CG would have had to say if it was the Pardeys they towed in.. ?

[Polux]

Wrong information above: I had heard about a delivery skipper but after all he had the good sense not to sail with the owners:

"a couple from Brazil came here to buy cat. They sold everything. Then a third person contacted me to sail with them on their journey to Brazil. I asked for a professional survey, they did not accept, so I gave up. Then in a week, they decided to go. Last night."

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Benz

Sure. Do you file dumb "float plans"? Is anything more ridiculous?

Given that a filing a 'float plan' is all same as requesting a zarpe yes I do.... no choice in the matter....

However if I think my ETA at final destination is sometime in June I always put down August.....

[redbeard1]

Originally Posted by Polux

They were well, the sea, contrary to what they said was better than what is was to be expected to this time of the year, the boat even had a wind vane....it seems that the only thing that was out of service was the engine.

Winds were reported at 18 knots and waves at 9 feet. Maybe conditions were worse when the call was made. Is 9 feet normal for 18 knots of wind in that part of the ocean?

Salvamento a 120km a sul de Sagres | Força Aérea Portuguesa

[DumnMad]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

I agree with you, its an American thing started by the President but why everyone wants to copy this is beyond me. It makes everyone look stupid.

"Fake News" is real.
Very few news outlets are publishing investigative journalism. As far as I can see most are just looking for scandalous headlines to see how many 'views' they can get. Often the article is reasonable but the headline is fake.
They are far more likely to write about Trumps hair or tweets than his policies.

[Tetepare]

Fake news. I’m going by Wikipedia definition of rescue.

Ranks up there with “arsenal”’when they bust someone with ten crappy guns and a few thousand rounds of .22. Or the major drug haul they value as if it were cut twenty times and sold in dime bags.

Rubbish.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by redbeard1

Winds were reported at 18 knots and waves at 9 feet. Maybe conditions were worse when the call was made. Is 9 feet normal for 18 knots of wind in that part of the ocean?

Salvamento a 120km a sul de Sagres | Força Aérea Portuguesa

Yes in fact 9ft is nothing. I have sailed not far from that with 6m waves and 25/30k winds. That has more to do with this time of the year. The waves are not vertical like on the med and with 25/30k wind they don't break or just break at the top.

Problems may only come with considerable more wind that can make the waves break.

[DumnMad]

Originally Posted by Polux

Yes in fact 9ft is nothing. I have sailed not far from that with 6m waves and 25/30k winds. That has more to do with this time of the year. The waves are not vertical like on the med and with 25/30k wind they don't break or just break at the top.

Problems may only come with considerable more wind that can make the waves break.

I think those guys forgot their seasick pills.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by DumnMad

Yes I suppose it will be counted on the list and used to promote the organisation. Thats where the deception lies. I've seen lists which include such 'helping hand' situations given same ranking of a dangerous lifesaving rescue.
It doen't seem right.

That is because it isn't right!

Lending a hand (giving a helping hand) etc does not equate to a rescue. To suggest otherwise is disingenuous at the best and deception at the worst.

Being towed into / out of ports is a long tradition in the sailing history and such was never considered a "rescue".

IMO, those who suggest the opposite should refresh their understanding of "rescue".

[hpeer]

I lost the engine motor sailing around the N end of Newfoundland. I could not make any reasonable course without the engine and was beat so I hove to for the night AFTER I called the Canadian CG to contact my family and that I would be late and all was well. Not exactly a float plan but kinda sorta.

Another time I told my Wife my itinerary for the next week. Somewhere along the line she confused place names with the concept that places with name have people and phones. So not hearing from me for a few days she freaked and called the CCG. I did stop at one small town and buy a fender. The CCG got my cc number, saw the transaction, and intelligently figured I was alive somewhere. When I got to the next populated spot some fellows came down to the boat and told me the CCG had been hailing me for a few days and were on the line at the post office wanting to have a chat. I’d been up some fjords and out of all VHF range. I was completely embarrassed but got a new Iridium phone out of the deal.

But really, various CG units have PR men attached to them and he may have needed a quota, or the journalist may have had a slow day, or it was his girlfriends cousin, or whatever.

Decades ago when I was in USCG aviation our missions would go unreported UNTIL there was a big commercial crash. Then for a few weeks after every little thing we did would be in the paper. Then it would calm down again until the next big crash. There were a couple of big ones in the mid 70’s.

Just saying.

[Polux]

I guess you have to be really a a rookie to have lost the engine on regular weather and call the coast guard for a rescue. To be a delivery skipper and have done that is just incredible.

I lost the engine twice, one of them at 100nm from land. That did not prevented me to stop the passage and to made more 200nm to the more distant shore I was headed too.

Then I continue sailing for two more days, anchoring without engine to a bigger town when I knew I could find the pieces for a repair.

This is nothing special, of course, many years ago A Scottish sailor passed on my home port on a 33ft boat without an engine. He was doing a circumnavigation that he ended with success. That is something special.

[Jdege]

I always liked this:

He went away from the basement of Building 14 that day, and left this
note in his cubicle, on top of his computer terminal: "I'm going to a
commune in Vermont and will deal with no unit of time shorter than a
season."
-- Tracy Kidder, "The Soul of a New Machine"

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by DumnMad

"Fake News" is real.
Very few news outlets are publishing investigative journalism. As far as I can see most are just looking for scandalous headlines to see how many 'views' they can get. Often the article is reasonable but the headline is fake.
They are far more likely to write about Trumps hair or tweets than his policies.

We all know that in this day and age with 24/7 cable news, the news is more entertainment that great journalism but I think we have to be very careful with our senses being dulled to the point that when the news disagrees with our preheld biases that we simply write it off as fake news. The President of the USA does this and it's a dangerous path to follow. Wise people try their best to keep their minds open.

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

I agree with you, its an American thing started by the President but why everyone wants to copy this is beyond me. It makes everyone look stupid.

Agreed, the title got my knickers in a twist too.

So I have this straight:

1) Homemade boat
2) Sails in poor condition
3) No Communication equipment
4) No electronic navigation instruments
5) No head
6) No Engine
7) Solo mariner exhibiting signs of disorientation
8) Well off-course
9) Unable to reach initial destination
10) Unable to reach updated destination
11) Requested a tow.

Honestly, you can play semantics games all day. However, this sounds very much like a RESCUE.