Captain Partee!

So it looks like former VC Michaela Rabas was the skipper on the fateful June 6 cruise in which an Edgewater student died after jumping overboard. We checked Michaela's ratings and she does appear to have an O'Day rating. But was she in any way responsible for what happened?

No one who was on board is talking, maybe because the incident is still being investigated. The rumor is that there was plenty of alcohol on board. Yet, it still doesn't seem like it's the skipper's fault if someone who can't swim decides to jump overboard. Is it the pilot's fault if I pop the emergency door and bail out of an airplane at 37,000 feet? Not really.

However, the incomparable Michaela could be held accountable if Mohammad Bagabir was obviously drunk at the time he jumped into the water. That's because the skipper controls the flow of alcohol on board and is thus responsible for the behavior of drunk people on board. The skipper should also know who on board can swim and who can't. When I skipper and it's not all good friends on board, I ask everyone straightaway whether they can swim, just like on a lesson. That's common sense. I am frequently hammered, but that doesn't affect my decision-making with regard to swimming ability because people have been known to drown in their bathtubs, which means the lake is a dangerous place indeed.

Note that the HSC Ground School Manual states repeatedly:

Remember... you [the skipper] are responsible for everyone’s safety!! (p. 11)

You are ultimately responsible for the safety of the vessel and all crew. (p. 13)

it is important to recognize that the skipper is responsible for the safety of all your crew and equipment (your boat) at all times. (p. 15)

As skipper of your boat, you are ultimately responsible for the safety of your crew (p. 16)

The skipper of a boat is ultimately responsible for the safety of the crew and the boat at all times. (p. 17)

The skipper of a boat is ultimately responsible for the safety of the crew and the boat at all times. (p. 22)

Here's a link to Michaela's Facebook page... let her know what you think!

C-Cup '15 ROCKS!

Really, we are talking about rocks--literally. One big one in particular located between the sloop pier and mooring field. Anyone who's been on a Decoy lesson in the past several years has been made aware of this rock due to Decoy's 6' keel. To inaugurate C-Cup 2015, Capt. M. steered Decoy directly into the rock, jolting the keel so hard that everyone on board is still vibrating three days later. That also damaged the keel so badly that Decoy's season is finished. Permanently. The boat is "a total loss" and will likely never sail again.

Meanwhile, as of Tuesday evening, the lakefront is dead. Is it bowling night, or is C-Cup '15 a non-event? It is surprising given that this year's C-Cup is FREE! Which is unprecedented as far as we know, but the club is desperate for participants.

You don't even have to be a club member to participate. Anyone can join C-Cup this year--well, almost anyone. Tailoring the rules to exclude unpopular individuals seems unconstitutional, but Union Director Mark Guthier doesn't worry about such things as he operates in his own little universe.

Anyway, to get everyone juiced, here is a video of "battleship" played at C-Cup three years ago. Pretty tight.

And here is a post from 2013, when the catch phrase was "Make Better Friends". Huh?

And here is a write-up on last year's C-Cup--the first under the new alcohol policy.

Have fun and try not to let anyone embarrass you!