Gee. Funny, I’m not thinking that. I’m thinking about what might have gone wrong in your childhood to make you think that way. (Also, I wonder about your reliance on The State to “punish” people who make it stupid mistakes.) These folks weren’t ready for a weekend sail, much less a circumnavigation. The Navy saved their asses. The Coast Guard does this sort of thing all the time... And I know a few Bosun’s Mates who are completely hopeless as sailors. Give the guy a break. He screwed up, and he almost killed his own kids. That’s punishment enough. Plus he’s probably a Liberal Democrat, which means God will punish him no matter what.
Is it? Really? Not nearly enough punishment in my book.
When your tax bill comes in take a good long look and figure it would have been just a bit cheaper if these useless fools had been left to their well earned reward.
What is the point of skipping all the “fun” in life because it’s risky and things could go wrong and then you’d have big consequences to deal with, when some halfwit who doesn’t think above an animal level has all the fun they feel like with no FEAR of consequences, knowing all the prudent suckers will foot the bill? What would happen if everyone did whatever they liked brainlessly without ever stopping to think “I could be in a real mess if this goes bad.”?
Can you tell me why they shouldn’t have to repay every dime wasted on their behalf? You know perfectly well it wasn’t cheap. Expecting the state to send them a bill for every last penny spent is the only fair punishment possible.
They do it with hikers and mountain climbers, this should be no different. If it’s a couple million bucks..well, maybe being beggared will teach them to *think* and serve as a strong warning to anyone else to know the risks and make good decisions.