I think I'm going to team up with the MauganH17 side of this little debate and I've also got the flak jacket on. It seems like these guys knew what they were doing as they have been called "experienced" on a number of times. Let's think what would have happened had their daggerboards not broken, well they probably would have got back to the beach and had a great time telling everyone how "gnarly" they were out there. It just so happened that their gear broke, obviously something that they would not be expecting. At least they had the sense taking out flares with them and a cell phone, just think how many people go out sailing without them.

To say that they are idiots for pushing the boundaries, well that's just crazy. Agreed, they are not helping science or any of the other things that had been said about the astronaught analogy, however what about explorers, mountaineers, etc. Do we call Shackleton an idiot for failing to reach the South Pole? No we celebrate that he survived even when his ship was trapped and sunk in the ice. We even celebrate those who actually die in these sort of things, not dance on their graves singing "who's the idiot". These sort of recreational "accidents" happen all the time and are used as a springboard for manufacturers to improve their equipment that helps all of us in the long run.

As for putting the coast guard at risk, well that's also crazy. These guys sign up for the job they do. Not sure how it is in the States, but in the UK where I come from, the RNLI (same as the coastguard) is staffed by volunteers and they turn a lot of people away from joining. This shows that the people who do these jobs activily want to do them and know and accept the risks involved. And as for the costs, well to be honest it's not that much when you consider the annual budget. The budget would be spent in any event on training even if they didn't ever go out on a rescue in a year. It's just part of life.