Some People Want to be Alone

[Jared77]

Absolutely it's a poor decision on the part of the parents.

Sick or not sick taking young children out into the Pacific for that length of time was a terrible, and extremely selfish decision.

I would honestly like to know what "the plan" was in the event of one of the kids getting sick even if they were not adrift? Because every parent knows kids get sick. It happens.

Unfortunately a failure to plan DOES constitute an emergency on my part. I've lost count the number of calls I've been on that with people doing things that would have Darwin rolling in his grave. It doesn't change how I do my job as they are simply a person in need. I might think you need to re-evaluate your decision making processes but you will still get 100% of what I have to ensure you're poor decisions that lead to me meeting you are not the last decisions you get to make.

 

[PotterWatch]

I don't think they were irresponsible nor do I think taking small children on that voyage was a poor decision. They seemed to be knowledgable about living at sea. The article I read said that they had been living at sea for the past seven years. When something went wrong, and what I have read is that the baby was not sick when they left two weeks previous to their distress call, they did the appropriate thing and called for help. I don't know what problem the boat developed or when but I wouldn't call them irresponsible without all the facts. If my car breaks down in the middle of the desert while on a road trip with my kids, it's unfortunate but not irresponsible unless I knew of the problem before I left and did nothing to fix it. How close to medical attention does someone have to live to be considered responsible? To what level of medical attention do you need to have access to be considered responsible? There are lots of families who live on the water or out in the boonies and the majority of the time they are fine and don't require outside help.

 

[thistlebloom]

Good points Potter.
There are examples of parental irresponsibility surrounding us on dry land in our own neighborhoods on a daily basis, disguised by a semblance of "normality". My good friend operates a preschool and after school tutoring business and the accounts she tells of what passes as "parenting" will make you shudder.

This is a little off topic (surprise!) but if I ever needed to be dissuaded from taking a sailboat out into the middle of the ocean I would only have to watch "All is Lost".
Good movie.

 

[digitS']

How close to medical attention should parents live/travel with their children? That is a good question.

Let's see. If I got my distances correct, and they probably weren't planning on going all the way to Bora Bora without a stop, it is over 4,000 miles to Hawaii from San Diego. Then, over 4,000 miles from Hawaii on to Bora Bora. Averaging 5 miles per hour sailing . . .

The mother said that the one year old's care would be her "biggest challenge." But, it wasn't because she was a "bad baby." I didn't know there were "bad babies." Maybe high maintenance babies . . . kind of like all of them are.

Steve

 

[PotterWatch]

I haven't read the article you are quoting Steve, so I can't comment on that. I'm not sure what your point is about the mom's comment. If they have been living at sea for the past seven years, they have dealt with having a baby on board since they also have a three year old.

So how far do you think is too far when it comes to medical attention? Is there a number? Adults get sick and hurt as well, should no one live or travel more than a certain distance away from medical care? I'm not saying being that far away doesn't have a certain amount of risk, but so does driving my kids an hour away from my house to go to the doctor. My point is just that we all make choices in our lives that put us at risk. We do what we can to mitigate that risk, but we can't possibly live risk-free.

 

[digitS']

If they sail past Bora Bora, after awhile, they will reach the Kerguelen Islands, also known as the Desolation Islands. There are about 70 people there on research assignment, no airport. In any direction the next nearest community is over 2,000 miles away.

Beyond thousands of miles of open water and travel at the speed of a brisk walk there is not much left except the space between planets. Steering may not make any difference at some distance.

It seems to me that some responsibility comes with just simple existence. There are the extremes . . . It would be too bad if it just came down to the bother of going out of our way.

Steve