They think it's funny, but it's not.
- Thread starter Jackdaw
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Reading the article about them and some of their posts reminds me of what it was like to be very new to sailing, not knowing what I didn't know (and still probably don't).
Yesterday my son and I hoisted the outboard up onto a stand and started it up, checking everything to make sure it ran. This after fully winterizing it and draining every drop of fuel and cleaning the carb. Lots of folks here just leave their outboards hanging on their boats for the winter, then start them again when they launch in the Spring. Most of those people are also much better sailors than I and more experienced, which is one of the reasons I'm so careful. With all that I still have to learn about sailing and handling a boat, it seems such a simple thing to be sure the motor is going to be reliable; my distaste for asking for help drives me to be as self sufficient as possible. There is no way I'd ever be one of these guys, putting my own ignorance and lack of knowledge out there for the whole world to see. So, in that sense I have a certain admiration for the lack of pride they seem to have.
Yesterday my son and I hoisted the outboard up onto a stand and started it up, checking everything to make sure it ran. This after fully winterizing it and draining every drop of fuel and cleaning the carb. Lots of folks here just leave their outboards hanging on their boats for the winter, then start them again when they launch in the Spring. Most of those people are also much better sailors than I and more experienced, which is one of the reasons I'm so careful. With all that I still have to learn about sailing and handling a boat, it seems such a simple thing to be sure the motor is going to be reliable; my distaste for asking for help drives me to be as self sufficient as possible. There is no way I'd ever be one of these guys, putting my own ignorance and lack of knowledge out there for the whole world to see. So, in that sense I have a certain admiration for the lack of pride they seem to have.
I guess I am a bit the other way. I dont have a problem with people trying to learn something new, but far too many today want to jump to many steps ahead. If these two had simply spent a while reading, reading, reading, and then spent a while learning the boat, rather than simply taking a new them boat on a new to them adventure without having the slightest clue, they wouldnt have had so much trouble.
Yeah, its true that boat handling does take practice and years of it make you look a lot better than a rookie. But when real rookies thumb their nose at learning even the basics and journey forth on a huge adventure with stupidity, it makes everyone else look bad.
Yeah, its true that boat handling does take practice and years of it make you look a lot better than a rookie. But when real rookies thumb their nose at learning even the basics and journey forth on a huge adventure with stupidity, it makes everyone else look bad.
A friend of our son went out drinking and rolled his 4 wheeler, ending up in a coma for a month and a half while everyone waited. Would he walk again, much less live? After all that the kid still gets drunk and drives crazy.
A lifetime of funerals has taught me that very few parents, friends or relations like saying goodbye to a child who did something stupid. Adventure is one thing, going off half cocked with a devil may care attitude, waiting to be constantly rescued, its just simple ignorance and stupidity. Come on guys, these clowns have been rescued 4 times. Most people can go a lifetime without ever needing a tow more than once.
Put another way, I would be rather embarrassed if it were my son mixed up in this ordeal, and seeing their story discussed all over the web. They are jackasses. There isn't anything else to say about them.
A lifetime of funerals has taught me that very few parents, friends or relations like saying goodbye to a child who did something stupid. Adventure is one thing, going off half cocked with a devil may care attitude, waiting to be constantly rescued, its just simple ignorance and stupidity. Come on guys, these clowns have been rescued 4 times. Most people can go a lifetime without ever needing a tow more than once.
Put another way, I would be rather embarrassed if it were my son mixed up in this ordeal, and seeing their story discussed all over the web. They are jackasses. There isn't anything else to say about them.
My Dad used to say "Too soon old, too late smart"
After a too-timid start to life (punctuated by bursts of adolescent stupidity) I'm actually a bit more of a risk taker now... but of calculated risks. I do good maintenance and planning, and the risks that remain are those we truly can't control - freak weather, accident, etc. Don't most good sailors operate this way?
How in hell did the kid get his licence back? Up here, DUI carries a minimum 1 yr suspension and a criminal record.anchorclanker said:
It was an off road 4 wheeler (ATV) accident, and for whatever reason wasn't charged. He laid in a ditch almost three hours before being found by his buddy at 4:AM. I believe the reason it wasnt charged was it was on private property. He had a BAC of nearly .30 when he came into the hospital.
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