Foiling Moth sailor rescued

 

Do you? ... I don't.

 

The first rule is that to win you have to finish.

 

If anything looks iffy then address it.

 

I think gear failure is pretty rare these days with professionaly built boats.

actually, most racing dinghies are older, and arguably more seaworthy in their design.  Even newer popular classes like the RS200 and RS400 have room to stow a paddle....  In my opinion, I think something like a foiling moth restricts most sailing to an environment with rescue cover or at the very least, sailing in a buddy system with means of communication.

 

That was a very interesting read.

Recalling a programme about the Penlee lifeboat disaster, I got the impression that the situation deteriorated after the Master of the Union Star had declined to negotiate or accept help from salvage tugs which were available to assist. O.K. salvage tugs are not charitable organisations, but the principle is the same.

It's a funny business when vessels get into difficulty... At one time potential rescuers could stand off and deliberately allow all in peril to drown before they could rightly? claim the spoils.

I'm not an expert in maritime law, but there should be some sort of mechanism that protects the interests of all involved. Just look at the current case of the Costa Concordia, there is bound to be fallout from that, and certainly the delay of the captain declaring the situation to the coastguards (when he was already in a lifeboat) will be a major point.

I think we are very fortunate in the UK to have organisations like the HM coastguard, RNLI and air sea rescue that are prepared to risk themselves for us.

I think you've clearly missed the point of any criticism levied in this thread John.  Those who are critical are actually trying to defend a free and non-interventionist approach to sailing we currently enjoy.  However it is by the actions of some individuals that leads to groups getting legislated against and potentially banned from pursuing their passions.  It is the reason why some local councils have attempted to ban windsurfing at their beaches through by-laws, this is despite years of history with little incident- the reason, kite surfers and the perceived danger of their long lines, especially if they try solo launches.  Do you really think a local harbour authority will differentiate between a foiling moth, laser, musto skiff or wayfarer? 

I think consensus of opinion here would support everyone's right to sailing freely, however the caveat that comes with this is that we should take necessary precaution to mitigate risk and that a foiling moth, with no means of communication in the depths of winter on the solent probably was a bit of bad call.