I simply mentioned I'd met Mike because it made this story a bit more personal for me, all the more tragic because he is such a nice guy. Friendly, modest, self-effacing, he's no doubt represented America very well in his travels around the world, as far removed from the prototypical Ugly American as a cruiser could possibly be. I have the utmost respect for what he's overcome in his life, and what he's accomplished since. I admire his talents as a photographer, he cruises in a style similar to my own, he likes to keep moving... I may not share his taste in boats, and I think his decision to travel without any paper charts whatsoever is a bit foolish, but his accomplishments as a sailor clearly speak for themselves... Where you get the idea I am blaming him for this incident is completely beyond me...

For the record, a number of my dream boats have sugar scoop transoms - I simply mentioned one of the downsides of this design that I feel many cruisers don't take into account. On the other hand, a boat with a sugar scoop will invariably be boarded from that point, thus making it more likely that some sort of trip wire or pressure pad alarm could be configured in that location...

Funny you should mention Francis Joyon... of all the singlehanded sailors in the world today, that guy is probably my greatest hero. I rate his breaking of Ellen's RTW record a few years ago by 20+ days, in a relatively obsolete boat, as one of the greatest sailing achievements of the modern era, and his style of "Green" racing - without onboard generators, etc. - is very admirable in today's world... Clearly, you don't know what the hell you are talking about, with regards to ascribing whatever opinions I may have re other sailors...

Finally, perhaps you could dredge up a prime example of one of my "Slocum-beating grand accomplishments" from the archives? Gasbag that I am, the archives must be full of them, no? Sounds like there might be a market for that sort of writing, might be helpful to see what sort of embellishment you think works best...