“I only navigate with apps.” Coast Guard rescues him twice in one week

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collage-savingThere is a gentleman in Britain who is in danger of becoming the laughingstock of the British boating community if his name is revealed (for now, the “Daily Mail” has not disclosed any information on the matter). This self-styled sea wolf forced the Coast Guard to rescue him twice in one week as he was attempting, aboard the 32-foot Vita Lote II, to sail the 300 miles from Milford Haven (Wales) to Portsmouth (Hampshire). And so far, it could be just bad luck.

WITHOUT TOOLS AND WITH EXPIRED FIRES
Too bad the experienced sailor had no instruments on board, claiming to tackle challenging navigation (Britain’s coasts are full of pitfalls, including shoals and tides, as well as being very windy) only with a navigation app on his smartphone. Result: in Cornwall he was towed to St. Ives. after he found himself in trouble, with his engine broken down and dangerously close to the rocks off the beach town; A week later he was stranded in the shallow waters of Poole Harbour., in Dorset, forcing the Coast Guard to intervene again. A check on board revealed that the man had 27 expired emergency fires on his boat: but not for a few months, but 13 years!

APPS ARE FINE, BUT …
Due final parenthesis: we always recommend the use of boating apps, but as a COMPLEMENT (let’s write it in block letters) of traditional instrumentation, since without 3 or 4G they are of little use and reception is not always good at sea (unless you have an on-board router but on very small boats that is not an economical solution).

(photos by Ed Davies/PooleRNLI/BNPS and Ben McGarry/BNPS taken from www.dailymail.co.uk)

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