Lost At Sea

Well, hurricane season is getting an early start this year and, as always, brings with it the promise of stupid people doing incredible stupid things at the worst possible time. Today I caught the noon news, and already the Coast Guard is pulling people from damaged ships offshore. You would think if someone could afford a sea worthy vessel, they'd invest in a radio to keep track of the weather ... or if nothing else, take the time to watch the forecast before going out. It's bad enough these weekend captains endanger themselves and their crew/guests, now they drag the U.S. Coast Guard into their mess because "it looked like a nice day to go sailing". I really don't know much about oceanic boating, but I'm pretty sure that the USCG requires an inspection of seaworthiness to vessels venturing out to sea. Obviously, the operators test for pleasure boating consists of rules and regulations, and not common sense.