Linn-

Those are the critical questions. They may explain why Captain Walbridge felt he had to set sail late Thursday afternoon and make it to St. Petersburg in time to meet the new donors who might bail out the Bounty. Or not! We just don't know why he made such an incomprehensible decision. "Safer at sea in a storm" just doesn't cut it, given the rotted frames of the Bounty and the competence of the crew as a whole; the engineer was a critical new hire and was not a licensed engineer; at the Coast Guard Inquiry he was unable to explain how the basic systems of the ship were supposed to work!

My song "Never Turn a Blind Eye to the Storm" is posted above.

Charley Noble