[kasitmp]

I really like that the author helped them and it sounded odd to me to read "The prevailing wisdom for this seafaring situation is “Don’t Stop.”", before I realised that in different countries there are different threats. Sailing mainly in the Baltics, there is the opposing rule of having the duty to help people in distress at sea.

I'm not sure I fully understand the "learning" part, isn't this a bit of survivor bias, especially the boldness part? Risking all your money in a society with a safety net is different to me than risking your own life on high sea, mainly w/o knowing in what situation you bring yourself. There is a huge group who's story can't be told anymore. However, maybe I'm already too lazy and unwilling to take risks.

[throwaway642012]

Most successful entrepreneurs have a safety margin and take calculated risks while starting new ventures. Seldom do the "Hail Mary" ventures end up in success, because the odds are stacked against them (yes, there are outliers).

What the author is alluding to that, while entrepreneurs like her think they are risking everything while starting a venture, their struggles are lesser compared to the people in the boat and similar others.

[afiori]

"prevailing wisdom" and legal rules can be quite different.

[bjarneh]

> there is the opposing rule of having the duty to help people in distress at sea.

That's all I've ever heard as well. Perhaps the amount of pirates/refugees/drug-runners in those waters around Belize has turned that on its head?

[merely-unlikely]

This is a dichotomy that appears across sailing cultures and territories, certainly not unique to Belize or the modern era. The law/rule is made because a) it is often extremely risky to stop and help a stranded vessel for the same reason b) the stranded vessel has little recourse if no one stops to help. If no one helps, the vessel may be doomed. But if you help and the vessel turns out to be pirates (or just so desperate the sailors turn into pirates to save themselves), then you become the stranded one. The solution some governing organizations take is to remove the choice and mandate sailors subject to its jurisdiction stop and help. This is beneficial on a community scale even if potentially fatal in any individual instance. Of course the challenge remains of if we are all alone at sea, how will anyone know back home we didn't stop?