Posted on 07/11/2014 9:01:04 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
SAN DIEGO - The family that drew national attention when they were rescued at sea off their sailboat, Rebel Heart, in April is finally setting the record straight.
Charlotte and Eric Kaufman and their two daughters were about 1,000 miles west of Cabo San Lucas in the Sea of Cortez when 1-year old Lyra became sick. That was when their adventure of a lifetime turned into a nightmare.
It began with a fever, then a rash and then Lyra became lethargic. That was when the couple used their satellite cell phone to call a doctor. He advised them to begin treating Lyra with the antibiotics they had stored in the sailboat's well-stocked medical locker.
When the antibiotics did not work, Eric Kaufman, an experienced sailor, called the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard told him to keep the satellite phone on and said they would consult with a pediatrician and call them back. The call never came.
Kaufman noticed the phone was showing a SIM card error. He tried everything to restart the phone. He soon realized they were "in a really dangerous spot."
He said he had no choice but to activate the sailboat's emergency beacon.
"We've left the land of this is an adventurous trip with the family, and we've gotten into this is life and death now," he said.
Within 12 hours, paramedics had been airlifted to a spot near the Rebel Heart. It turned out all Lyra needed were more antibiotics.
But it was too late for their sailboat, which had been the Kaufmans' home for eight years. As the family boarded the USS Vandegrift, Eric Kaufman did what was necessary to sink the Rebel Heart.
They returned to San Diego amid criticism about whether it was safe to take two small children on the open sea.
"I think a lot of people think we grabbed a six-pack of beer and hopped in a boat and headed to Tahiti, fates be damned, let’s do it, and that wasn't the case at all," said Eric Kaufman, who added that every safety measure was well thought-out. Everything but the satellite cell phone, which the Kaufman's say had been deactivated by their provider, Whenever Communications, LLC.
"I think the evidence clearly represents that they did what they did and that was the action that ultimately started a chain of events," said Eric Kaufman. His wife added that the satellite cell phone company's recklessness led to the family losing their home.
"Our home is gone, and I have friends who are sailing oceans right now, who are on their sailboats, out adventuring and I don't ever want this to happen to anyone else," said Charlotte Kaufman.
The couple will file a civil lawsuit against the satellite phone provider later this week. Attorney Dan Gilleon says they should not only compensate the Kaufmans for their loss, but should also re-pay the federal government for the expensive military rescue at sea.
"The at-fault party here was that satellite phone company," Gilleon said. "The Kaufmans did everything they were supposed to have done."
In spite of what happened, the Kaufmans say they plan to travel the world with their kids again, as soon as they get a new sailboat.
In spite of what happened, the Kaufmans say they plan to travel the world with their kids again, as soon as they get a new sailboat.
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“I’ll take Doubling Down on Stupid for a Thousand, Alex.”
Was the service cancelled because they didn’t pay their bill???
Those poor kids — having morons for parents.
and no backup communications?
I don’t know, but I’ll bet that the card was re-issued with a new date and nobody remembered to notify the automatic payment plan. That has happened to me.
Seriously, blaming the satellite company for a situation out of their control?
The phone was working and then stopped. I don't get how this is the satellite company's fault.
Why couldn't the wife go with the girl and he could sail the boat back?
I watched this mindless mother say that they raised their children to be sailors and love the sea —
Her kids are 1 and 3 years old.
To those who may find this deliberate sinking odd, if a vessel has to be abandoned, it cannot be allowed to drift as that makes it a "Hazard to Navigation!" Either sufficient capable people would have to stay on board to safely navigate the vessel OR it must be sunk!
To your question, because the boat was taking on water whenever they tried to start it up so the coast guard had to sink it. Funny how that is not mentioned in this article.
This couple are typical liberal thinkers. When the consequences of your poorly thought out actions come to bite you in the butt.... blame someone else.
We have a winner Alex!
Because they're incredibly stupid?
I'm sure that thought occurred to every last person on the USS Vandegaft as well... "He did WHAT?!?!?!"
All the cell phone providers I know of allow you to call 911 and the phone company itself even on a disconnected phone. They want you to pay your bill and will let you do it pretty easily. I don't know whether sat phones have the same feature.
What was the connection issue? Did they not pay their bill?
Why in the world would you bring kids too young to handle it if they fall overboard, even with a life jacket?
Why did they have to scuttle the boat rather than putting the kids and maybe one parent on the helicopter and try to return to port with the boat or at least stay on board for and pay for a recovery crew to come out to sail or tow it to a nearby port?
All sorts of questions which the idiot press won't cover in a three minute human interest story.
An “experienced” sailor without a VHF, 1000 miles out to sea, relying on a sat cell phone? That would be like an experienced sailor without a sail, I’m assuming he took one of those with him, of course.
The fact that the news report left that out makes me wonder what else they left out in order to make the story better for the idiot family. If they didn't bother to update their billing credit card and are blaming the phone company for that, I hope the company crushes them and gets lawyer fees from them.
HAHAHA, for sure, another set of parents that are Darwin Award prospects!
Maybe I’m missing the obvious, but why didn’t they return to port when the child became ill? Or at least sail back once she was airlifted off, rather than sink the boat? I think the best they’ll be able to establish is some degree of shared liability against the phone company.
There’s no explanation of why their service was shut off.
So we must wonder why the father didn't stay aboard when the family was offloaded, so he could bring back the boat.
Traveling like that with very young kids is beyond irresponsible.I don’t care *how* many antibiotics or satellite phones they have on board.
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