Before the family left, Lyra had salmonella poisoning, but doctors cleared her to travel after she was healthy again ...
Eric Kaufman is a Coast Guard-licensed captain ...”
When her sister first mentioned plans to sail with two young children, English recalled, "I thought it was nuts."
This last means the guy hand a six-pack license - can take 6 passengers for hire. The easiest license to get - a little sea time (sailing around your local bay will do), pass some open book navigation questions, etc., and presto instant captain.
Taking one’s two small children on such a lengthy open ocean voyage in a 36 foot tupperware sail boat, is the height of idiocy, let alone taking a child who is recuperating from salmonella poisoning (which may say something about the sanitary and food safety conditions in the home). It wasn’t “nuts” as the sister said, it was criminal.
Many of these sailboat types sail around in their local environment for a while, then decide to go somewhere in the open ocean because they consider themselves ‘proficient’ sailors ... way back when, their was a couple like this one who, after sailing around Puget Sound, WA, decided to take the family and sail to Hawaii. After a short stop at Neah Bay (at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca), they were never heard of again ...
Because they consider themselves not only accomplished sailors, but also look on gas power as something disdainful, stinky, and a polluter of the sacred environment, these day sailors frequently neglect the engine, which, in their view, is not really needed, but is too much trouble to remove.
I would not be surprised to learn they reported their initial position as southwest of the Golden Gate bridge ...
I agree with you 100%. I held a Master Near Coastal, 25GT License. A License makes you legal, it does not make you a true Captain. And 6 Pak also is no indication of the experience and wisdom needed to take other’s lives into your own hands.
I don’t fault the USCG. A person can have the “sea” time and pass the exams. Look at Captain Phillips. A large part of his crew don’t consider him to be qualified. You can’t fix stupid mistakes made from ego.
I also agree that a sail boat with working sails does not lack steering. A Captain can steer a sail boat, a License cannot.