Monday, June 23, 2014

Big Mistakes Cost Bigly

Digital Globe Image
Found On Tomnod
In a perfect world everything goes perfectly.  In the ocean, when one thing does not go well, everything goes wrongly, fast.  There are a lot of things that went wrong for the crew of the Nina.  When the crew comes back, yes their return is optimistic, but possible, we will hear about all of the things that went wrong on the Nina end. 

As I sit writing this, the families are waiting on a government sanctioned report to tell us what went right or wrong in the search.   It is common sense to say something went wrong because nothing, not a single plank, life vest, raft, sail, or anything has been found of the Nina.

Sure, the Tasman Sea is vast.  She swallows boats and sailors like a voracious tiger.  But she nearly always leaves a few clues.  

While the Tasman Sea turned into the Milky Way of search patterns, the faith and hope of the families remains 10 times greater.  That is 10 times greater than most people can imagine, but my bet is with the families. 

 Sooner or later the truth of the fate of the Nina will come forth.   Some of the family members hope part of that truth will be through the voice of an independent reviewer who may shed light on why it took 21 days to start a search for a yacht that went through near typhoon sized wind and waves, that communicated several times every single day since her departure on May 29th, 2013, and which fell silent on June 4th, 2013.

Whether or not the Nina is found, the results of this report may make a difference.  They will certainly make a difference for the families who wait for word and survive on pure faith.  The results could also make a huge difference for future sailors who depend upon a search and rescue system that, in a perfect world, is always seeking better ways to save sailors, hence invites honest and hard hitting reviews.  

Until then, some family members ask the public to keep a constant watch for a boat lying low in the water and wrecks on remote reefs and islands.