NYTimes...A Speck At Sea...the John Aldridge story

[BillD]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/05/magazine/a-speck-in-the-sea.html?hp&_r=0

 

[Keelboater]

Thanks Bill. I thought it was just an article at first rather than 14 pages. Nice!

 

[Old Mud]

Good read Bill !! John Aldridge is a very lucky fisherman. It not often turns out that way.

 

[MouseTrap]

Went to Jr High and High School with John and Ski. They were inseparable back then. Great story!

 

[Bill]

That is an awesome story.thanks for Posting

 

[Madchark]

Nice to read an article with a save at the end.

Makes a good read for a movie setting, would love to have a movie crew in Liars at 2am with a camera. Might not get the camera out in one piece.

 

[djmarchand]

I am a recreational boater, not a commercial fisherman. But I think every guy who goes out on a boat, commercially or recreationally should read this article/editorial and think hard about what it means to them: Trying Very Hard To Die: The Preventable Disease in Commercial Fishing | gCaptain

What the article says is that John Aldridge did everything wrong (except saving himself). He worked 22 hours straight when he didn't have to, he worked alone in the middle of the night miles from shore, he didn't wear a pfd and he didn't have a personal EPIRB.

Commercial fishing is probably one of the last industries in America that gets away with this kind of behavior. The construction industry learned a long time ago that safe practices and safety equipment save lives. No one in the construction industry that I worked for would last a day doing what Mr. Aldridge did.

The commercial fishing industry needs to wake up and take responsibility for protecting themselves from needless risks.

David

 

[Keelboater]

Yes David. Hence the name "Lucky Bastad". I could not help but think those exact thoughts as I read the NY Times story. He should get out there and use his "claim to fame" as a means to educate people on personal deck safety. We all HATE to hear about bad endings that might have been prevented.

 

[Toolate]

The Screamer Autotether Alarm System

easy enough

 

[cb34]

story

Thanks for posting Bill. For those of us who do not fish for our survival it is erroneous to question commercial fisherman's behavior. Awesome story, good on ya John.

 

[JimRP31]

I thought there was a similar system that would kill the engine. Yes/No?

 

[Toolate]

I thought there was a similar system that would kill the engine. Yes/No?

These are really designed for outboards but can apparently be cut into inboards wiring in some way to work that way.

It makes a horrible racket though and would wake up whoever is on board- that was my point.