:
: 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.

Fellow mariners,
Slightly more off this topic making it slightly less off topic for us ??
For the decision making process it is crucial in asking the obvious "what could go wrong" and providing a contingency plan for this.This question is often furthest from our minds especially when on our sunny shores.
We have noticed that poor serial decisions accumulate risks and consequences,each decision in it's self not too bad.We can and do use the three lemons in a row analogy[look up kask.org.nz They don't muck around without doing risk analysis]. The first bad decision can often be undone when pride,risk denial or new information is exposed.The second bad decision digs your bad position in deeper but usually there is still an opportunity to reverse out of it.The third bad decision usually to persevere with the litany of mistakes is the one that will seal your fate and we see this to be the case time and time again. Learn to recognize the lemons and then keep a count ,it's worth it....
Cheers from Paul nz.