Posted by SLANG on September 16, 2002 at 19:25:17:
In Reply to: To Go, or Not to go? That is the question. posted by Captain Tim on September 13, 2002 at 17:54:33:
Tim -
I was on your boat on the trip that didn't make it to Santa Barbara on 9/8, and I can tell you I for one, was very happy when we turned away from SBI -- so I could finally get some decent sleep! When I got up and saw the tell-tale structures on San Clemente, I was extremely happy. Who in their right mind would rather be at SBI with those conditions, than in the lee of San Clemente?
The fact that you all went the extra mile(s) -- literally -- when I fully expected to wake up at Catalina, was great. Brett, or whoever actually made the call, made the right one. We had good conditions on a weekend that was supposed to be pretty lousy. As usual, your boat and crew did you proud.
In addition, I just want to say, I've been on numerous trips that were cancelled for "weather", on your boat as well as others. I've had "Open" boats cancel because there weren't enough bodies signed up. How can someone hold the captain or owner responsible for either? No one can accurately predict the weather more than, at best, 3-4 days away, and the captain certainly can't control the weather. And even if I've been scheduled on the boat for months, I don't feel it's fair to expect you to operate your boat at a loss if not enough divers sign up. (Frankly, that's the less frustrating of the two, at least then I know in advance and don't wake up to find we're still in the marina after spending the night on the boat.)
While this doesn't necessarily apply to all the captains / owners I've seen over the years, you and the Great Escape have never given anybody I know any reason to question your decisions about going, or not going, or where we actually end up. Coincidentally, I too was recently discussing some issues involved in planning dive trips with "a prominent store-owner", and I think the decision we arrived at really applies here as well: In the end, no matter what you decide, you're not going to please everyone all the time.
Keep up the good work.
SLANG