16YO trying to sail around the world, found alive with boat disabled, rescue on

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

^ "Taken" was an awesome movie. If little girls Dad was Liam Neeson's character...

If little girl's dad was Liam Neeson's character in 'Taken' he wouldnt have let her out of the harbor in the first place.

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I'm trying to figure out how this thread went from stupid 16 year old sailor to the government funding the arts.

I want to know where the Dolphins fit into the equation!

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by Locke

If little girl's dad was Liam Neeson's character in 'Taken' he wouldnt have let her out of the harbor in the first place.



I want to know where the Dolphins fit into the equation!

Not the exact article I was looking for, but cool as well:

A group of local men braved dangerous broken ice and frigid waters in a fibreglass speedboat to rescue a pod of dolphins and help them back to open water, the mayor of Seal Cove, N.L., said Thursday.

"We didn't get any response from (the Department of Fisheries and Oceans). It takes so long to get things done when you go through government departments," said Mayor Winston May. "So, some local guys decided to put out their small speedboat and put on their survival suits, and didn't they put a channel through the water to where the dolphins was at."

The dolphins had been stranded by a slab of ice since Sunday in White Bay off the coast of Seal Cove, a village of about 400 people. A chunk of ice was rapidly closing in around the mammals and threatening to suffocate them.

"You'd hear them crying, every night," said one of the men in the boat, Rodney Rice, 39. "I went down there last night and you could hear them trying to break up more ice. . . . They wouldn't have lasted another day."

May said it took the four men about three hours to break a channel in the ice with their boat, and one — Brandon Banks, 16 — got into the water and helped calm one of the dolphins weakened by the ordeal so they could tow it to open water.

"I had a floater suit on," said Banks, "And they would come up and rest their head on me and I would keep their head out of the water so they can breathe through their blowhole."

May said the men carved a channel by ramming the five-metre fibreglass-hulled boat up onto the ice, then jumping out and onto the ice to hack away at it. He said it took them three hours before they had a path from the main body of water to the pool of slush and water where the dolphins were trapped, a distance of about 250 metres, he said.

"One of the dolphins was really weak, and one of the young guys who had a survival suit on got into the water with it and stayed with it, and the dolphin just kind of wrapped his fins around him. . . . It was amazing."

He said two of the dolphins made for the open water, while the third, weaker one "they had to give some help," May said. "They put a harness around it and gradually took it out to the main body of water. . . . And local boys done it."

May said they were at the point where something had to be done to save the dolphins.

"The mammals were getting so weak, if somebody didn't do something in the next 12 to 48 hours, they would have died."

May acknowledges what the men did was "pretty dangerous. It was pretty scary . . . but I guess they felt that somebody had to help."

Lydia Banks is the mother of 16-year-old Brandon, the youth who went into the water in a survival suit to help the weakest of the pod.

"I'm proud of him. It was good what he done," she said. "Before, everybody was saying somebody's got to get out there and help them. So they took action."

She said her son told her the dolphins "had cuts on them everywhere where they were beating themselves up on the ice."

The dolphins were initially frightened by the boat and the men, but after a few minutes, "the mammals were so friendly once they got to know the boat. The two just followed the boat right out to open water," May said.

"It's a beautiful ending. It's been an emotional last few days," he said. "The one was really weak, but even he swimmed away. Once they get out to open water, they'll get food and we'll just pray and hope that nature will look after them."

Seal Cove is about 600 kilometres northwest of St. John's.

With files from Tiffany Crawford
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

I guess the government didn't even want to send out help, so all those who would have let those dolphins die, you win...I guess....??

Thank-god for Newfies!!!

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by troutman

Sure we can. If an insurer won't cover a risky adventure because it is too dangerous, than the adventurer should post a bond. If you want to feed your ego, then be prepared to pay when it all goes wrong.


IMO, it is selfish for anyone with dependants to participate in high risk sports. It is also selfish to expect taxpayers to underwrite your follies.

http://outside.away.com/peaks/features/transcript.html

How do climbers square the risk with the reward when embarking on these expeditions?

In fact, statistically the risk is closer to one in 33 [risk of dying]. And I don't square the risk. I mean, climbing is an irrational act. It makes no sense. It defies logic. It's something I'm compelled to do. I'm not sure why. I'm at a loss to explain it in any way that makes any sense.

I've written two books--Eiger Dreams and Into the Wild--that deal with this question of risk and why people do it. And I'm sure I've failed to explain it in both those books. I've devoted many months, years, in those books to try to explain this question and I haven't succeeded. I don't think I ever will. [Jon Krakauer]

Well who decides what is sufficiently risky to require insurance?
If I go hinking in the woods, that is an inherently risky venture. I'm doing it simply for my own enjoyment, and I'm really not adding anything to the world by doing it. Should I have to post a bond to go hiking through K-Country in case I get lost, or fall down a cliff?

See that's my point. Just about everything anyone does has some risk to it. Who's going to be in charge of deciding what is risky enough that someone should have to post a bond in case they get into trouble, and who's doing things that are covered in the day to day activities of the coast guard, or RCMP, or STARS?

[Temporary_User]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Actually I do. I'm opposed to governments funding the arts. If your artistic ventures aren't profitable then they are hobbies. And nobody offers to pay for me to snowboard, buy cars and generally just hang out, which is what I like to do in my spare time.

All these people found ways to turn their hobbies into something for profit.
Lots of people get paid to snowboard. People collect cars, and then sell them as classics, or they fix em up and sell them. Lots of celebrities get paid to make appearances and hang out at parties.
Sounds like you're just doing it wrong.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

Well who decides what is sufficiently risky to require insurance?
If I go hinking in the woods, that is an inherently risky venture. I'm doing it simply for my own enjoyment, and I'm really not adding anything to the world by doing it. Should I have to post a bond to go hiking through K-Country in case I get lost, or fall down a cliff?

See that's my point. Just about everything anyone does has some risk to it. Who's going to be in charge of deciding what is risky enough that someone should have to post a bond in case they get into trouble, and who's doing things that are covered in the day to day activities of the coast guard, or RCMP, or STARS?

If you look at your map, and see a big red area that says welcome to cougar country, stay out, and you go in, then yeah, that should require insurance.

If you go skiing, and you see it marked on your map that its an avalanche area, then you should need insurance.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

Well who decides what is sufficiently risky to require insurance?
If I go hinking in the woods, that is an inherently risky venture. I'm doing it simply for my own enjoyment, and I'm really not adding anything to the world by doing it. Should I have to post a bond to go hiking through K-Country in case I get lost, or fall down a cliff?

See that's my point. Just about everything anyone does has some risk to it. Who's going to be in charge of deciding what is risky enough that someone should have to post a bond in case they get into trouble, and who's doing things that are covered in the day to day activities of the coast guard, or RCMP, or STARS?

"Some risk" does not equal "extreme risk". Climbing Mount Everest or sailing around Cape Horn are exponentially more dangerous than hiking.

Extreme adventurers should be made to take out insurance, or post a bond. Simple. If insurers won't touch it, that is a pretty strong indication that you are engaging in extremely risky behavior. Get a sponsor to back your risk.

[Dan02]

Just wondering where everyone here would rate hockey in terms of risk taking behaviors. In terms of rec sports it would seem to be pretty high up there.

Should everyone who goes floating down the bow pay a tax as well incase they happen to hit a bridge in their canoe and have to be rescued?

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/loc...ub=CalgaryHome

There's lots of things as a taxpayer I hate paying for, saving someones ass who actually has the balls to go out and do something interesting with their life isn't one of them.

[DropIt]

Originally Posted by Dan02

Just wondering where everyone here would rate hockey in terms of risk taking behaviors. In terms of rec sports it would seem to be pretty high up there.

Should everyone who goes floating down the bow pay a tax as well incase they happen to hit a bridge in their canoe and have to be rescued?

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/loc...ub=CalgaryHome

There's lots of things as a taxpayer I hate paying for, saving someones ass who actually has the balls to go out and do something interesting with their life isn't one of them.

I have yet to see the armed forces take a kid off the ice. I have, however seen peramedics take a kid out on an ambulance, in which he was later billed for.
Also, that kid was not a 14 year old kid trying to play midget hockey. He knew of the age group he had to be in because it is undoubtedly apparent that he was in no way ready to play out of his league.

[Buzzard]

Originally Posted by troutman

"Some risk" does not equal "extreme risk". Climbing Mount Everest or sailing around Cape Horn are exponentially more dangerous than hiking.

Extreme adventurers should be made to take out insurance, or post a bond. Simple. If insurers won't touch it, that is a pretty strong indication that you are engaging in extremely risky behavior. Get a sponsor to back your risk.

Right, and I guess the part that kind of sticks in my craw about these extreme risks is that the rescues aren't exactly a routine ambulance trip to the local arena, or a jet boat up the Bow. Some of these rescues must cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, not too mention the lifes at stake.

[Jetsfan]

Originally Posted by amorak

If she were Canadian, I would be happy to see what amounts to an infinitesimal percentage of my tax dollars going towards rescuing those who chase their dreams. Good for her, good for man kind - I love to see people chasing the things they are passionate about.

I'm glad you said that.

I'm passionate about going into space.

The Russian Space Agency said it will cost 30 million to take me their.

For the good of me, and of mankind, the Canadian govenment must pay the 30 million I need to go!

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by DropIt

I have yet to see the armed forces take a kid off the ice. I have, however seen peramedics take a kid out on an ambulance, in which he was later billed for.

Oh sure he was billed for the ambulance, but what about all the other associated medical care at the ER and any followups?

Originally Posted by DropIt

Also, that kid was not a 14 year old kid trying to play midget hockey. He knew of the age group he had to be in because it is undoubtedly apparent that he was in no way ready to play out of his league.

Sure maybe here in the City, but some small town kids have to play with guys much older if they want to play at all. When I was 10 I was playing with/against some kids who were 14-15, it was the only team in town.

And I just thought I'd add that paying for ambulances is one of those things which has just never made sense to me even if it's covered by private insurance for the vast majority of people. We'll pay 10s of thousands of dollars to fix you up, but you gotta cover transport to get there...

[DropIt]

Originally Posted by Dan02

Oh sure he was billed for the ambulance, but what about all the other associated medical care at the ER and any followups?

I don't think people would be argueing so much about this girl getting healthcare. People have been treated for a lot more idiotic things than what this girl will be treated for. It the fact that taxes go towards a much more expensive procedure like rescuing this girl at sea when it could be argued that she was too young too be out there alone.

Sure maybe here in the City, but some small town kids have to play with guys much older if they want to play at all. When I was 10 I was playing with/against some kids who were 14-15, it was the only team in town.

I'm not sure how old you are, but this is no longer the case. I played hockey in a town of 200 people and they now just move kids tow the closest town that they can play at their own level of sports.

And I just thought I'd add that paying for ambulances is one of those things which has just never made sense to me even if it's covered by private insurance for the vast majority of people. We'll pay 10s of thousands of dollars to fix you up, but you gotta cover transport to get there...

I completely agree, and it's even more mind blowing when you consider that healthcare will cover a sex change operation but will give minimum level coverage to people with diabetes.

[HOZ]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I'm trying to figure out how this thread went from stupid 16 year old sailor to the government funding the arts.

Bureaucracy

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Actually I do. I'm opposed to governments funding the arts. If your artistic ventures aren't profitable then they are hobbies. And nobody offers to pay for me to snowboard, buy cars and generally just hang out, which is what I like to do in my spare time.

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

All these people found ways to turn their hobbies into something for profit.
Lots of people get paid to snowboard. People collect cars, and then sell them as classics, or they fix em up and sell them. Lots of celebrities get paid to make appearances and hang out at parties.
Sounds like you're just doing it wrong.

I could be wrong, TU, but I think we might be saying the same thing. I don't expect my hobbies to be profitable because they are hobbies. If I was going to pursue one of the things I like to do as a career, I wouldn't expect the taxpayers to subsidize it like they to with Traditional_Ale's finger painting () or whatever art it is that he does.

And since the original topic seems to have run its course and we're wildly off topic anyway, here's a question for Traditional_Ale - if you ever do find a way to make your art profitable, would you consider paying back the grant? I personally know somebody who moved here from Poland, and when his job fell through he went on welfare. Once he was back on his feet he paid back every cent to the government plus interest. That's wicked integrity right there.

[Temporary_User]

So Sliver you are against the Olympics?
Even NHL teams get support from tax payers when they get new buildings (seems cgy and edm might be excluded from that right now though)

I bet I can answer Traditional's question for him: No.
Every single person who attends some sort of higher education receives grants to do so. I get them when I sign up for my student loans. So the cheques that I get are around 90% loans, 10% grants that I never have to pay back.
So everyone even those who get "profitable" degrees get grants and never pay any of them back.

I probably missed it, but what did Traditional do to get such a large grant?
Trad, PM me so I can get in that. haha

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

So Sliver you are against the Olympics?
Even NHL teams get support from tax payers when they get new buildings (seems cgy and edm might be excluded from that right now though)

Except that the government usually gets the ability to recover those funds through increased tax dollar generation, both in business or personal taxes.

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

I bet I can answer Traditional's question for him: No.
Every single person who attends some sort of higher education receives grants to do so. I get them when I sign up for my student loans. So the cheques that I get are around 90% loans, 10% grants that I never have to pay back.
So everyone even those who get "profitable" degrees get grants and never pay any of them back.

But your degree gives you increased pay which gives us increased tax dollars. Over your lifetime that Grant money is more then recovered. Plus you either joining an organization or starting your own venture generates more tax dollars.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Except that the government usually gets the ability to recover those funds through increased tax dollar generation, both in business or personal taxes.



But your degree gives you increased pay which gives us increased tax dollars. Over your lifetime that Grant money is more then recovered. Plus you either joining an organization or starting your own venture generates more tax dollars.

Exactly. With student grants, the government is investing in human capital in order to get increased productivity from the person, and potentially collect higher taxes when they earn more in the future. How does trying to be the youngest to sail around the world better humanity? Last I heard, people were able to travel across the world in a much more efficient way. If she wanted to be the youngest to be teleported around the world, that would be a different story.

This whole thing the girl did was nothing more than a rich person's d*ck measuring contest (except um, with girls, so whatever they measure with instead )

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I could be wrong, TU, but I think we might be saying the same thing. I don't expect my hobbies to be profitable because they are hobbies. If I was going to pursue one of the things I like to do as a career, I wouldn't expect the taxpayers to subsidize it like they to with Traditional_Ale's finger painting () or whatever art it is that he does.

Paint tastes good. Yum.

And since the original topic seems to have run its course and we're wildly off topic anyway, here's a question for Traditional_Ale - if you ever do find a way to make your art profitable, would you consider paying back the grant? I personally know somebody who moved here from Poland, and when his job fell through he went on welfare. Once he was back on his feet he paid back every cent to the government plus interest. That's wicked integrity right there.

I donate meager sums to music programs where I can, and often work with young bands for free to get their demo together. Its about all I can do to "give back" right now.

Originally Posted by temporary user

I probably missed it, but what did Traditional do to get such a large grant?
Trad, PM me so I can get in that. haha

I was the worlds biggest band geek in high school and I went into audio engineering and live-sound reinforcement. Nice letters of recommendation and crap like that from some good teachers. And I left Calgary to go to Toronto. Unfortunately like I said earlier, only about a third of my income comes from this and have a "real" job too. Takes time to build up and gear is expensive.

All but a few of the T-Shirts hanging in the ceiling of the Blind Beggar are shows I did there. I haven't worked there in over a year and a half now, but every time I go in its like my own little saddledome with my championship banners flown in the ceiling.