I'm not going to berate these guys for making a poor decision. I believe they realize their mistake at this point.

One thing I have noticed is that in high wind the 5.2 boards seems to snap. I've seen this now a couple of times. I don't know if it's related to the age of the boards or not.

I've also made some poor choices along with many others. I recall a Steeplechase that I pushed off with an offshore breeze and didn't realize the velocity or the danger. Many others pushed off that day and ended up scattered all over the coast broken and battered. I also had to call the Coast Guard that day to save a sailor that had become seperated from his boat. I ended up beaching my boat and heading out in a fishing boat to rescue that sailor.

I think these guys biggest mistake was expecting someone to rescue them. I'm a firm believer that any sailor should go out with the tools to rescue themselves. If they had considered that they were the only ones responsible to rescue themselves they might not have left shore that day.

Keep One Hull Flying,
Mike Hill
H20 #907