I am a strong supporter of the idea of a rescue deposit put up by anyone who ventures to sea in an unsuitable boat and/or without all the proper safety equipment and/or sufficient experience to undertake the voyage. I do not include passagemaking in well built small sailing or power yachts in my list of potential subscribers to the scheme and experience need not be previous trans ocean passages. You have to start somewhere and the only difference between extended shakedown coastwise voyages and cross ocean trips is that you are out of sight of land longer. You will most likely encounter bad weather but your boat was built to take that and watchkeeping is a breeze compared to a trip along the ICW. Those attempting Northwest passages or challenging the North Atlantic in a rowing boat or a converted bathtub should be classed in the lunatic fringe, not hailed as adventurers. The old explorers didn't have the scientific or geographical knowledge that we have today, so they blindly sailed forth and more perished than achieved. Weather conditions have not changed. In the cases at hand, with the information available, the Canadian Coast Guard provided "assistance" rather than full blown rescues, and yes they were up there doing the annual Northern resupply. It probably put a bit of excitement into an otherwise boring day for the icebreaker crew. However, many other incidents have necessitated the use of choppers, twin Otters, Hercy Birds and RIB's at great risk to the rescuers and a tidy sum of money to the taxpayer. You would be surprised how fast a "white out" can occur in the Arctic and loss of life has often been the result. No vessel with less than a Class 3 Icebreaker hull should try to navigate the NW passage nor be operated up there without years of ice navigation experience. Neither of which applies to the subject vessels or crews. Getting back below the "tree line", if you want a Customs outward clearance from Canada or the U.S. to an overseas destination, one should be required to produce a satisfactory vessel survey and evidence of crew experience or expect to put up a substantial deposit for potential rescue services. I know, I'm suggesting taking away one of the last freedoms, but you can't fly a recreational aircraft without an airworthiness certificate and a pilots licence either. Both the Canadian or U.S. Coastguard are staffed by highly efficient and at times courageous personnel who's lives should not be put into danger for the whim of some fool trying to get a mention in the press. My 2 Cents Bob Upshon (After five seasons in the Arctic, I never swim North of Nassau) Keltic Marine Group www.kelticstar.com No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.11.4/109 - Release Date: 09/21/2005