capable of that adventure and an element of danger realises for rescue and quite reasonably. These are what make it an
the true capabilities of the human body, mind and spirit. adventure. To the novice sailor the singlehanded passage
20 miles along the coast in daylight will be a big thing and
Without examples to follow only the very bold would rightly so – it is! Any successful and safe arrival should be
adventure. Literature and history are full of the exploits of celebrated but what if events take a turn and that solo sailor
heros and heroines, the history of our many nations and of needs to be rescued. What if no weather forecast was taken,
our sports is full of those who have pushed the boundary no charts were on board, there was no radio or any flares
of what is normal. When I was growing up my sailing heros –was it reckless rather than Corinthian adventure. Where do
were Chichester, Tabarly, Knox-Johnston, Caradec, Birch, you draw the line?
Poupon. Later I have had the privilege to work with people
who have become heros to others; Goss, Macarthur, That is the issue for me. If we start having insurance policies
Hempleman-Adams. They are all normal people with you then have to pre-qualify. Everyone will have to prove
enormous drive, courage and determination through which competence (we have seen evidence where a piece of paper
they have achieved great and inspiring things. Their example does not really prove that), everyone will have to carry the
has inspired many to follow. appropriate equipment or the insurance will be invalid (do
they know how to use it), their boat must be safe for the
However they started as Corinthians and in the end journey being undertaken (so we have to be surveyed every
they ended up as successful adventurers. Should they five years then?), etc etc I just hope it does not come to that.
therefore support an insurance scheme for their sponsored I cannot conclude this Opinion piece. I am torn. I hate to
adventures? This winter the Vendee Globe, Volvo Ocean see brave individuals risk their lives to rescue others who
Race and Portimao round the world race have charged have been reckless. However I do not want our freedom
through the Southern Ocean. To my knowledge only the to adventure taken away from us and placing restrictions
Vendee has called upon the rescue services. You could argue on what we can and cannot do means that we will not
that it would not be unreasonable for them to chip in for the adventure and we will not have adventurers who inspire and
cost of the rescue of its competitors. However when you that detracts from the human spirit. It will be another victory
look at that statement there were several entrants, Raphael in the dumbing down of our society and we should not allow
Dinelli and Steve White spring to mind, for whom a rescue that.
insurance premium might just have been one additional
cost too far and they would not have been able to raise the However if we have the knowledge and experience we
premium and they could not have competed and in turn should be responsible. Individual responsibility is essential in
inspired others to follow in their wake. The Vendee would not avoiding unnecessary risk and we should not unreasonably
be the race it is without the individuals who have raced on a put ourselves or others at risk. If we are responsible and
shoestring budget and done amazing things. An insurance rescues are a result of a genuine accident then to me that is
premium would place another barrier to entry into the world acceptable.
of professional sport and that would damage sport.
Do you have an Opinion on this – discuss it on our
What about the right to adventure – is it a right or is it forum on www.multihullreviewco.uk or comment on
irresponsible. In a world where imagination, initiative, our Facebook page.
invention and inspiration is steadily being drowned in a sea of
Health and Safety, risk assessments, policies and procedures
you could argue that participating in unsupervised individual
activity is dangerous. Surely if you venture out on a mountain,
on or under water or up in the air it is too dangerous as the
individual should be accompanied, be capable of being
“
I hate to see brave
individuals risk their
lives to rescue others
assisted or self rescued etc etc. This is a tougher argument.
When I have climbed and dived it has always been drummed
who have been reckless.
into me that YOU MUST NEVER GO ALONE. Buddy up
is the phrase in diving; you check each others equipment,
However I do not want
agree the dive plan together, stay in visual contact or tie
our freedom to adventure
yourselves together and off you go. You would not think
of going alone. Likewise it is very rare to see an individual taken away from us and
climbing alone, the risks are too obvious to do otherwise. Yet
we do not think that on the water as gravity is not as obvious
placing restrictions on
when sat on a boat as being 200ft up a cliff face!
what we can and cannot
However there are probably more elements of the sport
means that we will not
that make it harder for us to control events. Weather, tides,
adventure and we will not
collision with shipping or debris (fishing pots, containers etc),
gear failure, personal injury, fatigue are all cited as reasons
have adventurers who
inspire
”
4  MULTIHULL REVIEW : JUNE 2009
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