E- You should take the Darwin reference as a compliment. A friend of mine got killed looking for someone who should have stayed home in bad weather (helo crash on Oahu), so my sympathies are somewhat divided about SAR. You and that boat of yours made a heck of a trip. Not too many people can say they've done anything like that.

Granted, SAR folks know the risk they are taking and should know when to say no. Sometimes they take risks, I assume, because finding someone is what they want to do. Still, often it is the stupidity of someone else that has started a chain of events with bad consequences. Most people don't go out intending to get hurt or lost, but they do.

Sometimes taking a different route, taking an entirely different trip or even staying home makes a lot of sense. Knowing when is just as important as knowing how.