And Baby Makes 4 - To Be Rescued

Parents who brought two toddlers along on their dream of a world cruise aboard a 36 foot sailboat are getting blistered in the media today. Mother, Charlotte Kaufman, expressed misgivings about taking her two daughters, ages 1 and 3, on the family Odyssey from Los Angeles to New Zealand in a 36 foot boat in her blog. After battling multiple storms and with 1 year old Lyra ill, husband Eric decided to pull the plug, so to speak, and call for help.

Most captains know if you call for help and it comes, it means the end of the boat. With no one left aboard, the boat becomes a hazard to navigation and is usually scuttled. That is what was done with the 36 foot Hans Christian, the Rebel Heart, the well built, ocean going sloop that had become home to the Kaufman family.

From the Kaufman blog

"We believe that most people lead lives of quiet desperation, and we have vowed to not let our lives end up accordingly. We want to squeeze out every precious drop of our existence together, because tomorrow maybe I’ll die, or Eric will die, and where will we be then?" Charlotte said in a letter to her critics published in the San Diego Magazine.






Charlotte continues, "We don’t believe in waiting for far-off “afters,” like after Eric gets a promotion, after Cora finishes kindergarten, after the girls graduate, or after we retire. No. Life is too short and too valuable to gamble on pushing your dreams off until later. We believe in going now, and doing it with gusto.

Many don't agree with the Kaufman decision to take two tots sailing on a major crossing. A relative, Charlotte's brother, James Moriset, said "the whole thing is nuts."  He claimed he saw the potential for all of the problems the sailing couple encountered.

Time line for rescue

Critics argue the rescue cost over $600,000.  This is a bill the Kaufman's won't have to pay, as it is time budgeted in training drills or rescue, whichever comes in first. One thing made clear, the couple was as prepared for the trip as one could be.  They popped the EPIRB satellite rescue device and both the California Air National Guard 129th rescue wing and the U.S. Navy responded.

Eric Kaufman said in his blog, "Rebel Heart allowed us to see ourselves for who we were. We learned what we really could accomplish. We learned that chasing down dreams and doing the impossible is actually quite possible, and not just for other people. We learned that we could be so much more than we thought. "

Venezuela Remains A Dangerous Place

Many sailors have made a second home in Venezuela.  It used to be a great place to go to dodge hurricanes while enjoying some of the best that South America had to offer. 







 Hugo Chavez changed part of that.  While making life a little better for most Venezuelans, he seized private companies and private property and gave a cold shoulder to Americans.  Using the Fidel Castro approach, he set up block captains whose job it is to keep track of dissenting citizens, rather than to protect their barrios.  

Meanwhile, violent crime in Caracas has made the country one of the most deadly places to live in the world short of bona-fide war zones.  Protests have rocked the country with midnight roundups and rumors of torture, common.  

Corruption is rampant and inflation has made nearly everything more expensive in Venezuela.  Price controlled items are cheaper if they can be found.  However, corrupt people buy out price controlled items and sell them on the black market at the world price.  One of the most prized possessions today is a simple roll of toilet paper.

While citizens might be better off, they are only slightly better off, rather than wealthy from the billions of dollars in oil revenue generated every year.  At least 10 billion dollars of those profits that could go to Venezuelan citizens is given to Cuba, which sells the oil to finance domestic operations and to oppose "imperialistic thinking".

The Nicolas Maduro government, which was handed power after the death of Hugo Chavez, and then elected after silencing opposing views in the press, blames the U.S. for an alleged wild plot to overthrow the government.  Journalists have been expelled from the country and a major television station removed from the air for reporting on the Maduro regime.  Hence, visitors should obtain press credentials when reporting, while non-professional reporters should be careful what they say, lest they be accused of plotting against the government.  Social media is subject to government scrutiny.  

Still, the people of Venezuela are wonderful people who welcome tourists, as outside of oil, tourism is one of the few industries left.  

Sailing in Croatia a La Bam Bam

Enjoy this playful video taken 

in spectacular cruising grounds!

"Trip Tease"

Medsailors.com

Croatia Sailing Charters

Bareboat Holidays

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.  

Piracy in Panama, Beware

The following article courtesy of Noonsite, incidence of piracy. 
 and the Cruisers forum

By Sue Richards — last modified Apr 25, 2014 06:22 PM
This nasty incident occurred over a month ago, on March 15th 2014, however it’s taken some time to get the facts clear and verified before reporting. The boat owners who made the report have asked to remain anonymous, however they are keen to warn other Panama cruisers of the possible dangers in this area.

Published: 2014-04-25 00:00:00

Topics: Piracy 

Countries: Panama 

File photo, not the boat in the article

“This morning at 02:30 our vessel (a private cruising yacht on a circumnavigation) anchored at Taboga Island, off Balboa, Panama City, was attacked by three pirates.

“The Captain heard voices beside the boat as we slept and went up into the cockpit. One of the pirates had come aboard whilst being warned not to very loudly by the Captain, waking the other crew members. Five shots were fired from a 26' vessel (approx) with a black rub rail nearly as high as our freeboard, but none injured our crew despite holes in the fibreglass top sides just inches from where the Captain stood. They appeared young, fit and organised and they were intent on robbery at the very least.

“We were at anchor with no one else in sight, close to shore in the cut between the two islands. We had arrived at 17:00 the day before and had not been ashore.

“We responded to defend ourselves and the pirates were overwhelmed by the response. The one who had boarded jumped back into his boat when he realised they had underestimated the situation and they fled. There were no other incidents that night as far as I know.

“We left the anchorage immediately and went back too Las Playita de Amador”.

Editor’s Note: This incident took place near the southern end of Taboga Island in an isolated area, not at the Taboga mooring field. Nowhere in Panama should yachts anchor at night in remote areas without being accompanied by other yachts.

Found Sailboat In Australia Not Likely Schooner Nina

There has been a lot of hype about a mast caught in a fishing rig in the Timor Sea being from the missing schooner, Nina that disappeared on the Eastern coast of Australia in the Tasman Sea.  Part of that hype is a well written story from the Herald Sun News, Northern Territories, a publication with a sterling reputation, which does nothing more than sensationalize the remotest of possibilities the sunken yacht found in the Timor Sea is the Nina.  If the author had been doing her homework, she would have printed a more accurate headline, "Timor Sea Find Not Likely Nina".

"Not really, we are just trying to sell papers"

Sensationalist stories have hurt the Nina search before.  One of the most famous stories suggested the Nina was in horrible condition.  The authority upon whom the writer relied had never been aboard the Nina.  In fact, the authority for the story is not a shipwright, hence not in a position to make official statements about what condition the Nina is in.  Few people know, a survey was completed in 2012 in which the Nina was found to be "a sound yacht".  That story has never been made public.

The story in the Herald Sun, Northern Territories, also speaks about how massive the search for the Nina was.  If you repeat something enough times people begin to believe it.  While the search for the Nina was large, the families say there were massive errors in the search, another fact not well reported.  There is a significant likelihood the search missed the Nina and her crew because of those errors.  

The families ask all people to keep a sharp eye out for a boat lying low in the water, as well as wrecks on remote islands and reefs, debris and flotsam.  At one time that request was for boats in the Northern Tasman Sea.  Considering the currents and passage of time, the Nina could be about anywhere.

Whangarei Harbor

Authorities have been closed mouthed about the details of the mast found in the Timor Sea.  The information I have I am not at liberty to disclose at this time.  Suffice it to say, the mast found was very distinct and does not sound like it came from the missing schooner, the Nina, according to sources.  Is it possible the Nina crew found a floating wreck and salvaged a mast?  Sure, but not very likely.

We encourage the Herald Sun News, Northern Territories, and all publications to focus on things that have the potential to help the missing crew and their families.  The families have their hands full doing what authorities from many countries should have done.  Putting out sensationalist fires makes their efforts more difficult.  The truth may be just as sensational, but it is going to take someone with a lot of moxy to bring it forth.

Anything, of course, is possible.  Until divers can check the ocean floor to verify there is, in fact, a boat, and the mast was not simply blown overboard and snagged on the bottom, no one can say for sure what authorities will find.  However, speculation the found mast is the Nina is likely sensationalist journalism to sell papers and does an unjust service to the Nina sailors and their families.

They Look For The Airliner But Not The Nina?

It is time for change.  Please sign the petition.  Ask the good boy's network to bring the crew of the Nina home!

If we told the whole Nina story, the public would be shocked.  So would some officials who, so far, have refused to lift a finger to save seven valiant lives aboard the schooner Nina.
Breaking news coming soon regarding the sunken boat found in the Timor Sea.