Bluewater yachtsmen are usually highly skilled, and well aware of the dangers. And they are there in spite of that, But these sub passengers bought tickets from a business that profited from the transaction–or, at least, expected to profit… And it was a business that was willing to gamble with the lives of its customers by using an untested technology and make excuses for it it with the usual free-market double-talk: “government regulation and certification stifles innovation and creativity”. Its the arrogance of the entrepreneurial mentality; “Leave us alone, we know what we’re doing, we are the source of all that’s good in the world, we are better than those who are afraid to take the risks”.

Granted, regulation and certification does not guarantee safety, any more than lack of it guarantees hazard. Even the highly regulated airline industry sometimes kills its customers. But outside oversight at least provides an extra level of security. But the passengers on that sub paid for their tickets. They died to feather another man’s pockets. The pilot of that craft (also co-owner of the company) was willing to put his life on the line, and for that I respect him. But his passengers were victims to his greed. They were sacrificed bankrolling his dream.

I suppose you’re wondering why I always seem to be especially harsh on those who profit from an ill-fated activity. Well, it seems to me the reason for that should be self-evident.

Think about the miners trapped deep underground in Chili about ten years ago and the hundreds of millions spent to successfully save them. Rescuing people in trouble, whether they are thrill seekers, workers, billionaires, whatever, is a cost society seems willing to pay. It gives people the knowledge that if they were ever in a situation like that they wouldn’t be abandoned. In a way, it gives us all hope.

This was brought painfully home to me a few years ago when a friend bought a Com-Pac 16. took some courses, and learned how to sail. Knowing about my experience, He asked me if I would be interested in accompanying him on a few more ambitious sails after he had mastered the basics, We decided it might be interesting to sail direct from his launch marina in Coconut Grove to the northernmost of the Florida Keys, Elliot Key.
The Com-Pac is cramped, but the cabin will sleep two in a pinch, one comfortably. Its about 12 nautical miles across Biscayne Bay, mostly open sea and which (depending on the wind) might take anywhere from 6 to 24 hours. So there was a good chance we’d be doing a major piece of it at night.

I used to do cruises like this all the time with my 12′ San Francisco Pelican on the Gulf Coast, in similar waters (St Joseph’s Sound). about 40 years ago. But when I started planning the trip, studying the chart and making the calculations, I realized this was a long and dangerous trip. The round trip might easily take a week. If a stiff wind kicked up against us we might get exposed to the full fury of the Atlantic all night long, with nothing but mangrove swamps, mud flats and limestone reefs to our lee. Biscayne Bay is shallow, dotted with shifting sand bars and coral heads. I imagine it can kick up into a vicious chop.

I was glad to hear when Robert decided to sell the boat. His partner decided, after one afternoon sail, that he didn’t want to go sailing after all.

This one would have been a challenging but enjoyable sail for me and the Pelican 40 years ago, but I could clearly see now all the things that could go wrong.

Com-Pac 16
https://images.harbormoor.com/originals/5d630337-bc7a-415a-b353-1c7e7a9c2695

San Francisco Pelican
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRFEY2u_AyARN8v_NTOryT5RCilIoHLLiW7aw&usqp=CAU

Recently, a free climber, one who climbs rocks without ropes, fell to his death in a canyon near here.

I have become more risk adverse as I get older. Perhaps the most dangerous thing I used to do was going into really old mines. But it wasn’t for fun, it was work or school.

No way I would climb into that can and go two miles down. Even if it managed to surface, the crew could not open the door from the inside.