Conference unifix::sailing

    I was in Sydney last week on business.  While there, a couple of
    stories going on.
    
    1. Someone sent a letter to the Sydney paper saying "So what if it
    costs money to find these guys, What else is the Australian Navy going
    to be doing???  Last fight they were in was 50 years ago, and still they
    ask for tax money each year. Might as well help someone out for their
    efforts as they are suppose to be out there sailing their 
    destoryer around anyways" 
    
    2. A 3rd competitor is missing and considered dead between South America and
    Auckland.
    
    3. A major hullablew started in Australia when one of the two guys
    picked up went to all the major candy manufacturing implying that he
    survived the ordeal on chocolate, and for the right price, he would
    remember the brand as being theirs.  What a dirt bag...

On the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald on Jan 1st, top of "Column 8",
appeared the following:

... The English magazine "Practical Boat Owner" November issue tells the 
story of a Peter Davis who was motor-sailing in the English Channel off 
Cherbourg when his motor failed and he was being swept towards rocks.  He 
called the French coastguard who arranged a tow to safety - then billed 
him for 1400 Pounds ....

On page 2 of SMH on January 10th, French competitor Dubois is quoted as
saying, in response to a question about rescuing competitors in the race,
"This is a very important question.  An Australian guy could have the same
problems in the Atlantic and the French would come and save him."

Is there a different standard for Englishmen and Australians?  Just curious.

Regards,
Keith

re .11:

Without knowing the details, this could be a situation like in the US. 
If you're life isn't in imminent danger, the Coast Guard will call a 
commercial towing service for you, and you will get a bill from the 
commercial folks.

My somewhat jaded view of the French yeilded of course there is a double
standard, they're French and the rest of us our rejected dog meat.

I must confess that my exposure to the French has left a permanent bad
taste in my mouth.  They rank below New Yorkers in my opinion.  Both
places are great, IF you could get rid of the people.  Been there, done
that.

On the other hand, I have never met a nasty Austrailian.  Been there also.

Doug

    I suppose I should continue the notes files tradition and post an ugly
    American story here and extrapolate from a single isolated incident to
    some comment about all Americans or all Digital employees, but let me
    offer this counter example instead...
    
    Another parallel situation to consider might be ski insurance in
    France.  Most skiers in France carrying ski accident insurance through
    an annual ski discount card which is purchased.  If you are a casual
    skier, you can pay an extra few francs for your daily ski pass to get a
    single days ski insurance.  If you require the assistance of the
    mountain rescue service, you'll get a bill from them for the
    helicopter, rescue personnel's time, etc, but you just forward that on
    to your insurance company - no problem.  The problem comes when you
    have mutually conflicting sets of expectations, for example, a skier
    from a society that expects mountain rescue as a free public service is
    skiing in a country where the norm is that you pay for it.
    
    It wouldn't surprise me at all to find that the SNSM charged for their
    services and expected insurance to pay for it.  Of course, long
    distance sailors are quite popular in France, so it also wouldn't
    surprise me to hear that these fees were waived for them (although I
    doubt that they would consider crossing La Manche to be long distance).
    
    I actually like the French model.  It separates out the businesses of
    rescue and insurance/risk management.  Why shouldn't long distance
    racers carry insurance that they can use to reimburse their rescuers,
    whether they be Australian, French, or whatever?
    
    Tom

    re .13   Doug, you really shouldn't make general statements like that.
    I have met lots of folks in Southern France who are a friendly as can
    be, same as the folks in Australia. For an ignoramus like me, the fact
    the Aussies speak a language close to mine makes it but a tad easier.
    
    re .14   Well if this is correct, did the French Navy send Issabelle a
    bill when they dispatched that Navy Frigate after she snapped her
    rudder on her way to Australia the last race. Or did the French Air
    Force bill her for the air transport of the mast she needed to replace???   
    You gotta play fair...
    
    IMHO I have trouble when governments spend my money looking for numbnuts 
    who are clueless. I consider it nature's selection to get rid of the 
    oddballs. If some zero launches himself at the moon looking for moon 
    maidens, should NASA or some other space agency go rescue them? 
    
    I like that 70 year old Englishmen who left NZ without the safety
    check, only to sail into a killer storm. Took 6 months to get home.
    Everyone thought he was dead. But he didn't expect anyone to come
    looking for him. If he didn't make it, that was OK as it was his own
    fault.
    
    More to the point of this note's origin, how many more will die before 
    a light goes on between some race organizer's ears and they start to 
    define a mimimum design standard that is stronger than the current one. 
    In the past two races, we have 2 deaths and a bunch of crash-and-burn 
    dropouts. Note the BOC boats break down, but they can afford to push it, 
    as they have large crews and spare parts from which to effect a repair.
    
    What to push the design?  Great, do it in C-cats or 12 metres or in
    shallow trenches (ie Yellow Pages). In these you have lots of spectators 
    close by to effect a rescue. Want to go where there is little help?  Then
    do it like the BT Global Challenge folks do with extra reliable boats
    and serious analysis of any failure.
    
        john
    
    ps the noter considers himself a born-again ex-numbnut after almost
    getting himself & S.0. killed when learning to sail. By the way, we got
    a bill for the rescue...

re .15:

>>> Note the BOC boats break down, but they can afford to push it, 
>>> as they have large crews and spare parts from which to effect a repair.
    
The BOC is a singlehanded race also. The Whitbread is the one with lots 
of crew folks.

    re .16   Alan
    
       My mistake, I meant to say the BT challenge or the Whitbread.
    
    

.11 asked if there was a double standard.

.13 I agree that this is off topic.  But, those are my feelings.  Detailed
reasons are available offline.  Incidently I have friends who live in
southern france, and relatives who regularly visit and/or live there.  The
general taste is still a bad one.

.15 Admitted to the preferntial treatment by the French airforce in air
freighting a mast to a Frenchman for free, etc.

Having said that, boat racing always has a double standard.  Sort of the
golden rule.  He who has the gold, makes the rules.  The bad part is trying
to claim that the playing feild is level.

.14 Mentioned the French (and actually I think European) insurance program
for search and rescue.  For any number of reasons I personally preferr to
underwrite the program through taxes  and overlpping treaties (like it is
currently done).  Still an interesting idea which deserves consideration.

Charging money for rescue delays rescue calls and endangers peoples lives.

This fact needs to be kept in mind when formulating rescue policy.

--RS