I've heard of a boy in a bubble....

localboy

...but not a dumb-ass, in a bubble.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/coast-guard-rescues-florida-man-at-sea-in-floating-bubble-again/

starcrafttom · Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 1:23 pm Post subject:

I do not think they should stop him, I just dont think they should save him anymore.

Dreamer · Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 2:52 pm Post subject:

I think the "craft" should have been scuttled after the rescue. Some people need to be rescued from themselves!

hardee · Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 3:02 pm Post subject:

localboy · Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 3:30 pm Post subject:

I'd agree, Roger. So stupid. And what did it cost to save his dumb-ass? I can only imagine. Rolling Eyes

hardee · Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 3:39 pm Post subject:

The USCG letter says he could get a $40,000 fine and up to 7 years. Why bother. Just let him do his trip and and save the tax payers the dough.

It'll only take once.

Sorry if that seems cruel, but you cannot save everyone from themselves if they choose not to let you.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

Kushtaka · Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 3:40 pm Post subject:

The USCG does not often save vessels when they are not likely to pose a threat to navigation. I'm surprised they towed this thing back in at all. As pointed out, helo rescues don't even try to save your boat, but rescues from ships don't tend to do that either. I would think this guy would be ready, willing, and able to build himself a new bubble if that happened though.

Some people have a wild hair to do certain things. This guy certainly has one for pushing a bubble to Bermuda for whatever reason. At some point he will either make it or die trying. Let's just hope his insistence doesn't get anyone else killed in the process.

But people doing these ridiculous things and actually pulling them off is where progress comes from. I'm sure the Wright Brothers had a lot of people calling them dumb for continuously crashing different prototype aircraft off the dunes in Kitty Hawk and the rolling hills of Dayton, Ohio, but now that we've been to the moon and back, broken the sound barrier, and make regular trips in packed commercial jetliners, their work seems not only normal and important, but somewhat mundane compared to where we are now.

I'm not saying that Bubble Boy is going to usher in a new era of marine travel or trans-Atlantic passage making, but his breed are the ones who actually stand on the shoulders of the giants that came before, and occasionally make a major breakthrough that changes everything. As something of an adventurer myself, and having had many people scoff at the early stages of ideas that ended up making a lot of sense and working out well, simply because they were a bit out of the box at first glance, I have some sympathy and empathy for this guy, and can understand his obsession, as I, too, become obsessed with ideas and with things I know can be done, but just need to be figured out first with some trial, error and luck.

So give Bubble Boy a bit of a break. In a few years we may all be enjoying the water differently, or maybe have a whole new breed of liferaft, or perhaps have some other capability that we didn't have before the wild hair stretched across Bubble Boy's...

localboy · Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 5:28 pm Post subject:

The difference as I see it;
1. When the Wright brothers crashed, no one risked anything and no one had to come rescue them
2. When the Wright brothers crashed my tax dollars were not spent to rescue them

This is different. It's reckless, hair-brained and utterly idiotic. I truly believe he is a typical attention you-know-what (rhymes with "bore"). If he wants to make a go of it, what do I care; go to your early demise. I'd have him sign a release freeing the CG, the Federal gov't and Florida from any/all liability.

I feel the same about people that hike up mountains and then others have to risk their lives to save them along with tax funds that could go to other, legitimate rescues etc. See it all the time on Rainier and our SAR people do it nearly daily in the Cascades. I don't have a problem when say, someone gets injured. But you go hike in the woods and are totally NOT prepared to do so, it's on YOU.

tsturm · Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 6:30 pm Post subject:

Will-C

Ya Mon it's Natural Selection. I hope he didn't have kids. You know the apple does not fall far from the tree.

Hunkydory · Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 1:13 am Post subject:

Lots of good points, but I have to ultimately side with Kushtaka.

Casey · Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 6:20 am Post subject:

I agree with the "let him go..." side of this debate. (Wo)man's Adventurous side is often challenged and sometimes that Adventureous side is successful, sometime's not. If death is the result of the Advenure, so be it. I agree that the cost of rescue should not be a public expense, but there are probably ways to mitigate that. In Switzerland, "rescue" can sometimes come with a hefty price tag. "Rescue insurance" can usually be prepurchased, and should be a part of pre-planning if the "Adventurer" is prudent. ...and if they're not prudent, they have the right to die if that's in the cards.

I have a difficult time saying what's Really Stupid any more. Free/Clean climbing big walls in Yosemite? NASCAR's cruising around a loop at 200+ mph? Crossing the Atlantic/Pacific in an 8' kayak (or a 40' sailboat)? Wearing a jet suit to fly among the Alp's? Riding a motorcycle? ...or riding a motorcycle down the Interstate at 75mph doing a "wheely" (as we observed yesterday while driving to Naples (FL)? Hand-feeding Great White Sharks? Heading West in a wagon train in the 19th Century? Or, trying to find the East by sailing West from Europe in the 15th Century?

Lots of things can sound pretty stupid/silly ... and many are probably just that. But they often fall under the spirit of Adventure and Discovery. ...and if events or poor planning conspire for something to be one's Last Adventure; so be it.

Best,
Casey&Mary

AstoriaDave · Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 11:46 am Post subject:

Casey, Good points. We should all reflect on Shackleton, or read Endurance. Not everybody sleeps between the sheets each night.

Kushtaka · Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 12:31 pm Post subject:

As someone who participates in SAR, I can tell you that the sentiment of "let them go" is not one that is shared by the people who are doing the rescuing. When a person is in need, SAR will go. There simply isn't a mental health or intelligence test that must first be passed. It's not something that exists only for the stable and the brilliant. This is a human being in the water, and if he is in distress he should be assisted if it is safe to do so.

I think it's hilarious when someone barks over "their" tax dollars being put to use in such a manner. But that's why the taxes get taken out of your control, and once collected, cease to become yours, and become OURS. Your taxes should be used to serve the greater good, especially in situations where an individual might not have an interest sufficient to act. It's in all of our best interest to have SAR available and for those standing for SAR to go willingly. This is simply not a tool to weed out the mentally ill or the less than brilliant.

I can only hope that none of you "let them go" folks never find the wrong part of your boat pointing at the sky, and if that comes to pass, and your beacons or EPIRBS get activated, that those standing for SAR deem you both mentally stable, or intelligent enough to be worthy of a rescue.

Honestly, the sentiments being expressed here with regard to a living person are pretty much some of the more hateful and disgusting things I've read on this site, and not very nice at all.

smckean (Tosca) · Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 12:45 pm Post subject:

Well said, Kushtaka