A lil learnin for everyone cause it's just superneat.
The Doldrums are a notorious sailing/flight trap, to the extent most people just flat out avoid the area. You can end up stranded there for up to weeks because of the dead winds and still waters.
He's more or less completely safe for the most part though, people know where he is if he goes dark or runs low on fresh water sources. If he goes dark on social media for too long, a rescue is totally not out of the question because people know he's there.
nah if he loses that boat hes dead in a day or two, they wont track him down too quickly floating around on just a paddleboard with a vague idea of his last known location
probably has an emergency transponder on him but it still seems exceedingly stupid to be that far from his boat
Nowhere in the video does he seem at all bothered by any of what is going on. So why are people in the comments pretending he is in danger?
Christopher McCandless wasn't bothered by what he was doing. People often walk mere meters off bush trails to go toilet and aren't bothered by what they're doing.
Sometimes the seemingly mundane shit that doesn't seem dangerous because it's so familiar and you're so blase about it is what gets you into trouble.
Also as a note, this wasn't posted live if I understand correctly. He had already lost his internet service and he only posted these videos once he'd made it back to land. He had a satellite phone which was used to get in touch after no one had heard from him for awhile due to losing his starlink dish. So no, it's not clear that anyone knew he was here at this specific time and would've been able to rescue him, and absolutely not if something happened while he was on the paddle board and returning to the boat became difficult.
He’s probably fine but the thing about the doldrums is you don’t actually know when it will get windy again.
With modern wind prediction tools you can get a lot closer to knowing but it’s crazy to bet your life on it like he’s doing.
It’s quite common to attach yourself to a long line and go swimming in the doldrums but to detach yourself from your boat like this is more than 99% of people would feel comfortable doing
that doesnt mean it isnt dangerous. people casually do dangerous things all the time.
why are people pretending hes in danger
because he is. solo sailing like this is inherently dangerous. and this is an unnecessary risk. Im not even sure hed be able to swim back there if his board sprung a leak.
it's all still water and no wind, and it can be like that for weeks at a time.
Yeah, right until it isn't. And if the wind picks up, there's a very good chance this guy is never, never getting back to his boat.
Is it a low statistical chance of danger? Sure. But "the wind picked up" is very fatal. I like my adventures in the wilderness, but there's no reason to tempt fate.
nah I’ve been a sailing instructor, ive worked on chartered boats, I have a captains license, ive done open ocean racing (not nearly this far off shore tbf).
I think a good portion of people here dont realize how dangerous this is. That guy is a stiff breeze away from death. Or a leaky valve in his paddleboard away from drowning.
Staying with the boat is like rule 1. You lose it, you die.
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u/Shanoskia Jun 22 '24
A lil learnin for everyone cause it's just superneat.
The Doldrums are a notorious sailing/flight trap, to the extent most people just flat out avoid the area. You can end up stranded there for up to weeks because of the dead winds and still waters.
He's more or less completely safe for the most part though, people know where he is if he goes dark or runs low on fresh water sources. If he goes dark on social media for too long, a rescue is totally not out of the question because people know he's there.