: I wonder about the decision to sail, given the size of the storm,
: the small crew and the size of the vessel. The wave height at
: her last reported position was at least 18 ft so the wave length
: would have been comparable with the length of the vessel, a
: dangerous match. She might have been safer in harbor and the
: crew certainly safer ashore.

: Bounty was 40 years old, rumored to be imperfectly maintained, had
: changed ownership and was up for sale again. Perhaps she wasn't
: fit for the trip; the equipment failures (loss of engines and
: generator) doomed her. At one time she was apparently under a
: scrap of sail, but with a crew that small they would have
: rapidly become exhausted trying to sail her in those conditions.

I was assuming she was up to snuff for the trip. As for the generators and engine, that was likely due to flooding. They were taking on a lot of water (by their own transmissions to base as noted on their own website) before the "iron jib" went kaputt, followed by the gen set. Sounds to me like the water just got too high and flooded the engine. I'm not so sure it was failure of the equipment in and of itself.

Anyway, look at their positions below. If you look at the distance travelled from "B" on 10/27 to "C" on 10/28, they easily could have been in BDA (Bermuda) by 10/28, safe and sound in Hamilton, enjoying dark and stormy's and fish chowder at the Hog Penny Pub. Bermuda had little weather, and even if the storm had turned to BDA then they would have had ample time to continue heading east to avoid the storm. It sure looks like he wanted badly to get to Florida for their event on Nov 10. Sad that lives had to be lost.

We all make bad decisions, and it is sad that he will be remembered for this one when actually Captain Walbridge was a very knowledgeable, skilled, and proven sailor. It's also sad that at least one life is lost due to that decision.

We often make decisions like whether or not to wear a PFD, or to go out in rough seas or approaching weather. When things like this happen we should be reminded that our fate often lies in seemingly simple decisions. Always err on the side of caution.