O/T: Abby Sunderland

exactly. bringing us back to the OP question:

my point being, as a group, the 2 aren't comparable. one, or both, as you state, may not even be obtainable.

Reminds me of a stud horse in a dressage arena with a bunch of mares lined up for ribbons, first time I'd ever seen a horse in the judging booth.

He looks good, I hope he has many more years to ride, for me it is simply not my passion and therefore not worth the risk anymore.

basilisk

Fine, let's see you make a knot in 7x19 wire rope. _____________

Fine, let's see you make a knot in 7x19 wire rope. Obviously, you know zero about sailing. _____________

It isn't the age so much as the (probable) lack of experience. For example...

1. To/from Catalina with others.
2. Crusing off shore to/from La Paz with others
3. To/from Hawaii with others.
4. All the above single handed.

Like that.

Experience (and common sense) really *does* count. I recall a fellow years ago that was - IIRC - near Ecuador. He dropped and broke his sextant. They found him nine months - *NINE MONTHS* - later out in the middle of the Pacific. He was still alive, subsisted on rain water and (mostly) plants and critters that grow on the bottom of boats. He had no idea where he was.

If he had any experience and the sense that god gave geese he would have known that you can sail downhill most anywhere in the world and hit land.

Thanks ... met too.

I feel your pain. :)

I got real tired of the "human vanity" aspect of the horse business at a young age ... like breeding 1200 lb horses with feet that take 000 shoes because they "look better" to some fancy pants judge.

That, plus mucking 10 to 30 stalls a day for the first 17 years of life tends to suck the romanticism right outta of the equine "mystique".

Of course, I changed my tune again for a time in my twenties when noticing how just many lovely young ladies were horse crazy ... :)

Now, I try to stay out of horse conversations, particularly with my Dad, who will name every progenitor in the bloodline of this one, or that one, going back 20 generations, along with how much they, and each and every one of their offspring have won on the track, and the speed and distance at which it took them to do so.

Sense is especially lacking around these parts. Many figure...well hell, it's a LAKE, right? (Lake Huron)

;~) I cannot go anywhere without my dad remarking about every corner and what happened there 30 years ago.

Aren't you old enough now to remember for yourself what was on those street corners 30 years ago?

I actually had someone tell me to turn left at "that house where the Vanderburgs used to live"

Better yet look at upscales response.

LOL.... One would think.... I know one day too soon I will miss his repeated comments.

I actually had someone tell me to turn left at "that house where the Vanderburgs used to live"

You musta been out in the country.... Every one knows where every one lives out there. ;~)

On Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:10:49 -0600, "Leon" LOL.... One would think.... I know one day too soon I will miss his

That makes me think back to my dad who died in 1986. I remember some of the heated arguments we hand when I was younger. Now I'd give anything to say some of the things I should have said back then. Why do we wait until it's too late?

----------------------------- We are not talking about stink boats here but well found blue water boats designed for the task.

Lew

On Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:45:27 -0800, "Lew Hodgett"

I'm guessing by stink boat, you're talking about some floating barge with all the buoyancy of a lead bucket. In any event, I was referring to the better boats, designed to be safer. Any boat can capsize in the open seas under the right circumstances, even with an experienced sailor.

Sorry, I'm not arguing this anymore.

These modern day pirates are after big settlements from insurance companies. I suppose that if the opportunity presented itself, they might hold her for ransom, but they want container ships and tankers.

-------------------------------------------------- Actually, a British couple, experienced sailors, deep into their 50s, who basically sold the house and bought a boat to go cruising, are being held for ransom right now in Somalia.

The pirates are demanding $500K, the couple doesn't have it.

They chose to sail off the coast of Somalia and paid the price.

Poor decisions are not limited to the young.

Lew

----------------------------------------------- "Stink boat", a term used by sailors to describe the toy power boats found in most marinas.

Anything under about 60-70 ft qualifies.

"Floating condos" best describes the larger ones including Tigers.

Lew

My 30 foot sailboat has been knocked over flat on it's side a couple of times in severe conditions. The thing about sailboats is that they pop back up. The danger when it happens is that things and people go flying. In the sort of conditions where that can happen, all openings in the boat are shut and secured, and anyone topside is clipped in on a short tether.

It's not uncommon for the crew of a sailboat to call for rescue and be picked up, and then the boat is found floating months later with little actual damage.

The vast majority of sailboats that sink, do so while at their dock, tied up.

I am aware of that case and they were fools to go that deep into pirate territory.