 |
| Today you get a picture of sea bird because while I do try to have themed photos for each post, I've yet to take any photos of roosters on rocks. |
I usually don't read the Feedback letters but for some reason, today I did. I think everyone should rush out and read the phenomenal letter on page 16 from Dennis Wright Michaud. No, really you HAVE to see this. The level of snobbery, elitism and just plan jack assery displayed in this letter is simply not to be missed. Ok, you don't have to read it I'll just give you a brief synopsis.
Commenting on a previous story where the wife of a sailing couple contracted ciguatera poisoning, Mr Michaud takes excception to the fact that the able bodied sailor did not immediately seek medical attention for his ill wife. I think people who are sailing their boats around the world are probably old enough and wise enough to determine whether they wish to/need to seek medical treatment but I can see his point somewhat. What galls me is the opinion of this guy that the sailors in question probably did not seek medical attention for financial reasons. There are so many other reasons they might have skipped it- religious beliefs, accessibility of medical care, a preference for natural health (I could go on and on) but no,
But wait! It gets EVEN better. Every single time I try to put into words the feelings that are conjured up by this epistle my left eye starts twitching funny. So let me instead just quote directly Dr. Michaud's last paragraph: "I could have cruised for the past 20 years. Instead I finished my Ph.D, taught at Brown and Yale, started two companies, and now am gearing up to hire over 500 professionals in the Middle East. This is why I can now speak to the folks at S&S about a new custom yacht (which will be U.S.-built) and pay ridiculous yard bills. Frankly, I resent the glorification of sailing vagabonds who are at times viewed as celebrities by the sailing media."
Folks, snobbism in sailing is alive and well and residing in the bitter and jealous heart of Michaud. Fortunately, I haven't run into that many of Denny's ilk otherwise I would conclude that sailing is a sport for jackasses and not being one, it isn't for me. Thank goodness that the majority of sailors we've come across have nothing in common with him.
The folks we've met sailing have come from every walk of life- younger families who've done exceptionally well in business and can leave it all, retired blue collar workers, dead broke college age kids who have given up security in favor of adventure, retired white collar professionals, hippies, conservatives, Dr.s, middle aged artists, writers, scientists, engineers, painters, musicians, stock brokers- the list goes on and on. Here's the thing, the people that we've met through sailing come from every walk of life imaginable and while we have more affinity for some more than others, economic position has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not we like them.
The people we admire are the folks who try to live life a little differently, who use their ingenuity and creativity to solve problems. We admire people who have an innate ability to read the wind and trim the sails as much as we admire those who can barely get the sails trimmed enough to move the boat but they sail around the world anyway. We like the folks willing to lend a hand, share their experiences and just be all around nice people. We like nice. These are people worthy of glorification in my opinion and I hope to hell SAIL keeps on glorifying these "vagabonds" because if people like Dr. Michaud begin to be glorified (not sure what he's done besides exactly what he was told), well my right eye would start twitching as well. Besides, isn't Forbes kind of already covering the Michauds of the world?
It is probably a really good thing Michaud hasn't been cruising. can you imagine his utter disappointment to sail to a foreignland only to come ashore and find it rife with under financed people? Quel Desastre!
HOLYCRAP WTF!!! I can't wait to meet up with this piece of work one day in an anchorage. OY.
ReplyDeleteI think you are safe from that happening. I think you are unlikely to meet him in an anchorage, more likely you would have to moor at the yacht club to meet him.
Deletehaha, That's what I was going to say. I'm thankful we'll never meet up with him in a anchorage. Geesh...what a snob. I wonder what the billionaires say about him.
DeleteDani
Since he is in the business of advising banks and since apparently, his advice hasn't been all that great (given the current state of the world's banks) they might not be quite so impressed with him as he is with himself!
DeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one who had this reaction to that guy's BS. I'm not surprised that his opinion exists, I just can't figure out why it would get published.
ReplyDeleteExactly Chip. The only thing I can figure is that it was published for shock value. I imagine the staff at SAIL had the same reaction.
DeleteYeah, maybe.
DeletePerhaps if he'd cruised for the last 20 years instead of pursuing that Ph.D he'd be a little more mellow.
It's incredible how transparent that guy is! A small part of me feels sorry for Dr Michaud... but you know what? There's a bigger selfish part of me that says "SUCK IT"! If everyone with the dream was out here, it might get a little crowded, and I'm not sure I'd like all the personalities. ;-) BUWAHAHAHAaaaahhhh.....
ReplyDeletePart of me feels sorry for him as well Behan. I can't decide if I want to know the name of his custom S&S boat so I can avoid him at all costs or to organize a gypsys, tramps and thieves raft up right next to his boat.
DeleteNarcissism is alive and well, I see. Sail magazine comes down a notch in my book for bothering to publish the guy's drivel. One has to wonder, if he was within shouting distance of the wife with food poisoning, would he have bothered to respond, considering how 'underfunded' the couple was? I compare him to a pufferfish. All puffed up and spiny, nothing but air inside. Say, aren't those things poisonous to eat?
ReplyDeleteWhen one feels it necessary to name-bomb to establish cred, one really has little cred.
ReplyDeleteHere is a bio for the anointed one...just so you'll have something to talk about (that he finds interesting) should you ever cross paths: http://techne.us/page3/page5/page5.html
ReplyDeleteAhhh so he is in banking and business which means he doesn't actually make anything or do anything that benefits anyone. Good to know.
DeleteHey wait...so am I (finance)! =) Although I like to think of myself as a paragon of virtue in an otherwise vast moral cesspool. Eh...who am I kidding? I'm just collecting a paycheck until I can cast off.
DeleteNothing wrong with working in finance so long as you aren't purporting to be superior to others based on the size of your bank account. There is a difference in being a person who works in finance and being a total douche bag who works in finance. :)
DeleteWhat do you want to bet he wrote his own bio? My, my how the mighty do inflate! Some people won't ever have to worry about wind out there, since they will provide their own.
ReplyDeleteHa! I bet you are right. I think we should all wrote our own bios. 'Cidnie is chock full of awesome. She can't cook or sew and is a crap sailor but man oh man- CHOCK FULL OF AWESOME.'
DeleteA lot of other Sail Magazine readers agree with your assessment that this person is a complete jack ass. They put the numerous responses on line:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sailmagazine.com/vagabonds
We are all of one accord...
DeleteI can only hope he does not fly an American flag on his mega yacht. I hate when our country is associated with his ilk.
ReplyDeleteGents, you clearly do not understand the point of my letter. My rather extensive, not armchair cruising experience has led me to arrive at a factual not emotional response to how some of you approach cruising.
DeleteI too took time off in my early 40s (41-43 to be precise) taking two trips down to the Caribbean via Bermuda as well as four trips to Down East Maine. This was done on a really fine 52 foot sailboat which I upgraded to the nine’s creating a lot of good jobs for people right here in Rhode Island. I subsequently sold this vessel to a very fine Canadian Family that undertook two trans Atlantic passages. In over 40,000 miles of sailing I am happy to report that the boat is still in tip top shape, no one every had a injury or illness remotely approached the incident that was discussed in Sail Magazine. This is due to proper preparation of the boat, with a well-trained crew. This is the primary responsibility of any Captain of any vessel that chooses to venture offshore.
While a cruising vagabond, does indeed have the right to venture offshore in vessels that are undermanned, not properly maintained, or underequipped you do not have the right to except gratis assistance from search or rescue staff from the US, Bermuda, Canadian, or other Coast Guards to expend human and financial resources to save you when you run into serious trouble due to inadequate preparation arising from an inadequate resources.
About 20 years ago a good friend of mine, went offshore from what was seemingly a modest passage from the Bahamas to the West Palm Beach. He did this in a sailing vessel that was not up to the task (with respect to design, equipment, or crew) despite being advised against the trip by his part time Captain (who refused to go) and the dock master at the Marina in the Bahamas. The result was the loss of the vessel and crew (including a visiting Mid West couple) and a massive sea and air rescue search by the US Coast Guard that covered thousands of miles up the Florida Coast and Gulf Stream.
I was also tactician during a Nautor Swan Regatta in the 90s when I saw major sailing hardware fail with a near near serious/fatal injury to a crew member (a young woman along for the ride). This accident occurred because the owner (a friend of mine) chose to jury rig a mainsheet traveler and drill out tab on an undersized hydraulic backstay adjuster to receive an oversize pin for the rod rigging. The net cost savings was a few hundred dollars (which I am sure many of those Sail Magazine readers who have responded negatively to my letter who applaud). However, I think the young woman who could have been fatally injured disagree with these Sail readers.
I also did a delivery on a 70 foot S&S designed yawl Petrol in the late 1970s from Bermuda to New York City. During an unexpected full gale, the seems opened up with the crew having to pump like mad. Moreover, the boat was undermanned (part of the crew were two rather attractive female greenhorns that were useless) resulting in only 4 capable crew to deal with a 70 foot 40 year old boat in 60 knots.
The result of may past experiences that I have witnessed is that I NEVER go out on anyone else’s boat unless I know the history of the boat, the capabilities of the Captain and crew, and how well the yacht is maintained.
At my point of life 61, I am only interested in logic and facts not emotion. That is how I approach decision-making and life strategies. It has worked rather well for me. I am not sure what next boat that I am going to purchase or have built as I have, by choice, little time outside of my company due to my responsibilities to my customers, my partners, and my employees. I do find that my decisions now are driven by what do I really need rather than what can I afford.
Sincerest Best Wishes
It's just so hard to know where to begin with this, but I cannot let it stand so here goes:
ReplyDeleteClearly, Doctor, your opinions on this subject are grossly misunderstood by many people. While I fear this might happen more often than you like to admit, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you really, truly do not understand why so many people are offended by you and cannot find a way to agree with you on this matter. Perhaps you did not grow up in this country and this is a cultural misunderstanding of some kind.
If you want people to listen to your opinion on this matter let's be clear: it's not the message. It's the delivery. Plain and simple. Your message is lost in the delivery. If you wanted to fix this problem you would need a lot less condescension, a lot less snobbery, perhaps (dare I say it) a little more heart and a hell of a lot more humanity for a start. Perhaps even being more inclusive in your verbiage? (The use of the word 'you' in the opening paragraph, for instance; a word which, as you use it, serves to set you well apart from the rest of us 'cruisers'. Might I suggest the word 'people' INSTEAD of 'you'? It barely scratches the surface, but it's a start.) That is what is needed in order for people to take your message to heart. The listing of what amounts to a sailing curriculum vitae comes off as nothing short of self-congratulatory, grossly inflated self-worth, even if all of the facts are true. You cannot simply expect to somehow cast a sort of 'spell' over people and expect them to take you seriously, regardless of how much sailing you've done on very large and expensive yachts. Even if people thought you had a valid point, you leave them no room to agree with you because they would then feel associated with your snotty attitude. Surely this cannot come as any kind of surprise to you. I can only hope that it's not your usual style. Perhaps in corporate America it works, but not in sailing America.
One thing is certainly clear: you believe you are ruled by logic and facts. However, in your original letter to the editor, you speak clearly about your own resentment of people who go 'vagabonding' on their boats. Resentment is an emotion, Doctor. Not a very nice one, but emotion nonetheless. I cry foul to your claim of relying only on logic and facts. Mr. Spock, you are not.
At the end of the day, if so many people 'misunderstand' your message, perhaps it's up to you to amend your delivery. After all, you are the 'expert' here. Many people were offended by your tone. I'm pretty certain they are not all fools.
Oh, and some of us are neither 'Gents' nor 'armchair' sailors, FYI. Those kinds of condescending assumptions get in the way, too. Man, you really got off on the wrong foot in that opening paragraph.
Good luck with your super yacht. Should we share an anchorage in the future, please do call on me should you need assistance of any kind. I'll be in the good old boat nearby. You know what they say about sailors: we always help the other guy (or girl) out. And I wouldn't even expect you to pay!
Here is proof that you are one of the nicest and most patient people in the world. You carefully explained the salient points taking an extraordinary amount of effort to be kind and to try to help him perhaps learn something. I fear you try in vain though, some people are just douche bags. We need douche bags though, without them it would be difficult to really appreciate the non-douchey folk in the world.
DeleteI'm sorry I got lost. Was the above response justifying his previous article or was it a variety of what has gone wrong on various boating expeditions?
DeleteMy main concern is exactly how many crew do we need to take Sundowner sailing to be worthy of a sea rescue if we ran into trouble?
I would say that even the most experienced crew with the best equipment can still run into trouble on the high seas. I'm not sure there are search and rescue statistics compiled for "well equipped" and "vagabonding" boats that can lead to an exclusion of certain people being worthy of rescue.
And who is the decider of this adequacy? The king, pope or president? Myabe it’s the guy that talks the loudest at the bar or the guy who has had the worst sailing experiences. I imagine there are others out there who have sailed just as much on different boats that come to a different conclusion. I wonder why just because one person has experiences he thinks his conclusions are “right”. Seems like all of this is awfully subjective.
I hear this a lot, like for example not wearing eye protection, "but I've done it this way my whole life, I'm fine". Sure you’re fine until you lose an eye, then what do they say? That we all need to live in glasses and never go outside.
Along these same lines I suppose you should never go hiking, camping, or biking in small groups into the wilderness. What about swimming at all? Do I need a crew to go swimming? Anyone less than Michael Phelps is probably inadequately prepared.
Where is the middle ground? What do I need to do to cross the adequacy line and be suitable for respect and rescue?
Only Tate and I are going on our boat, and to be honest even if I could afford a crew I don't think I would want one at this point due to privacy and self sufficiency.
I have met the yachty types though, no offense to them I suppose. They sometimes seem like they live in a cloud full of conviction and purpose above the rest of us vagabonds.
Well, you know Cidnie, I could have spent the last 20 years cruising around on my good old boat, vagabonding around the world, as it were, but instead I've been getting paid by the hour to be patient with narcissistic people. (CV upon request! :) I'll never be able to afford a super yacht because of this choice, but I figure when I die I will be able to say 'job well done' on some level, so it's not a total loss. Much as I like money, sometimes it just gets in the way of people being real. You know? Darkness only makes the light that much brighter.
ReplyDelete