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Old 10-29-2012, 04:53 PM   #23
bobofthenorth
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City: Cowichan Bay, BC
Vessel Name: Gray Hawk
Vessel Model: Defever 43 Offshore Cruiser
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 570
Since we're talking about lessons learned here, the story of the Fantome is illustrative of a rule that I believe exists for all stories of fatal human interactions with nature. The rule is that the inciting incident or the point of no return often happens a long time ahead of the actual disaster. Its been a year since I read the book but as I recall Fantome made a critical course decision several days before she finally sank. From that point on it is absolutely true that she was boxed in by the hurricane but at that point her options were open and her captain made the wrong choice. Even absent the benefit of hindsight I think it is clear he made what he knew was the riskier choice. We all make those calls and fortunately most of the time we get away with our risky decisions but sometimes fate catches up with us.
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