The current (01/2007) issue of Latitude 38 describes the events leading to the loss of two American sailboats. According to the story, "The 'Islander 41 Christabella' sank just off the Baja coast and the 'Catalina 47 Starlet' had to be abandoned in the Western Caribbean in Honduras' Miskito Bank." The story continues, "We offer you excerpted versions of their of their tales of woe here, not so that armchair know-it-alls can critique their seamanship skills, but so that we can all benefit from the obvious - and not-so-obvious - 'lessons learned'" This really well written, 5-page long story sticks to presenting the facts and events without looking into 'what could have prevented' and 'what would you do defferently'. Unfortunately, the story is not available online. I have included links to some material that is available online at the Latitude 38 site. http://www.latitude38.com/LectronicLat/2006/1206/Dec06/Dec6.html#anchor322324 http://www.latitude38.com/LectronicLat/2006/1206/Dec08/Dec8.html#anchor1085433 In each of the two losses, there is a series of escalations. After each escalation, the situation is a little worse. And after each escalation, the skipper has options to consider and decisions to make. There may even be things some might consider SOPs. So, after you have read the article, it would be nice to do a 'lessons learnt' exercise. By the way, I think, this story is an excellent example of why so many love Latitude 38.