Oh, and Jon, ANOTHER plus one for me on the SDR argument:
In the winter, at least, you won't have some squirrely tropical system doing something entirely unexpected (like Mitch in 1998).
There is an argument to be made that experienced sailors taking a boat south in winter are behaving more responsibly than inexperienced sailors who try to go south in the fall without professional help.
I'm so right.
You know, such an argument
MIGHT have some merit, if you or Charlie could show any significant
CORRELATION between the difficulties encountered by the boats abandoned or forced to withdraw from the SDR, and the experience - or supposed lack thereof - of their crews...
Unfortunately for you, there's not much of a correlation:
ZULU - The Alden 54 that suffered the loss of her rudder... Her owner is a member of the New York, Bristol, and Great Harbor Yacht Clubs. She had previously completed the brutal 2011 NARC rally, with no issues... Verdict: "Inexperience" not likely to be a significant issue...
JAMMIN' - the Catalina 42 that also lost her rudder... These folks have been full-time cruisers since 2007, starting from the West Coast... They had made the trip back and forth to the Islands a couple of times before...
Verdict: "Lack of experience" not bloody likely to have been an issue...
LIKE DOLPHINS - a Catana 47 that was dismasted... Her owners are from freakin'
BELGIUM, so they have at least one Transatlantic crossing under their belts...
Verdict: I doubt their dismasting was due to a lack of experience...
NYAPA - the Hans Christian 38 also dismasted... This year was to be their 3rd time out cruising for an extended period, their first time out was 25 years ago after they were first married... 2nd cruise was a 5 year affair with their 3 daughters, starting on the West coast, thru the Canal and most of the Caribbean, and ending at home in New England, where they worked to replenish the cruising kitty, and refit for another extended cruise...
Verdict: "Lack of experience"??? Seriously???
WINGS - the C-38 abandoned after being 'disabled'... Another full-time cruising couple, their home port was Duluth, MN - you know, on that puny bathtub called
Lake freakin' SUPERIOR ? They had already made it down to the Bahamas, spent at least a year without ever coming alongside a dock, then had returned to the Chesapeake, where they planned to sail with the SDR...
Verdict: Information on this couple is the hardest to obtain, but I it certainly does not appear they would fit anyone's reasonable definition of "Inexperienced"...
BRAVEHEART - the Tartan 4600 that diverted to Beaufort after a crewmember suffered a broken arm...Her owners were veterans of previous Caribbean 1500s, as long ago as 2006...
Verdict: "Inexperienced"? Yeah, OK, if you say so...
So, keep beating that drum of yours that the problems in this year's SDR fleet were due to "Inexperience", the SDR's "Low Bar to Entry", or the lack of an ISAF Safety Inspection - 'cause I doubt I'm the only one here who finds your persistent bleating on this issue highly amusing...