Certainly, Tania lacked many skills (navigation, in particular - she might never have found Bermuda were it not for the powerful RDF beacon on Gibbs Hill, for instance), but to repeat the popular misconception that she had "no experience" prior to her trip on VARUNA is simply wrong. At the age of 16, she sailed across the Atlantic with her father on a Rival 38, so I imagine she probably learned something about sailing, and what passagemaking can be like, on that trip... (grin)

Charlotte simply strikes me as someone not particularly well-suited to be making 3000 mile passages on a small sailing yacht - at least with her current level of experience, her debilitating problems with seasickness, and when charged with having to care for a toddler and a 3 year old... There's certainly no shame in that, I'd guess that puts her in company with a substantial majority of people on the planet. Even among experienced sailors, many will not find offshore voyaging enjoyable, you've admitted yourself the preferred way to cross oceans is aboard a commercial airliner... Not everyone is cut out for extended cruising, living aboard a small boat, or especially passagemaking - and the failure of many to accept, or plan around that simple fact never ceases to amaze...

Sure, we all make mistakes, I've certainly bumbled my way through much of my life... But if you're trying to argue that the crew aboard REBEL HEART was reasonably well-suited or prepared for a passage of such length that was to be their first ever together, or that the timing was right and the boat suitably equipped, well... then we'll just have to agree to disagree... (grin)