The waters between California and the Channel Islands can be as treacherous as any body of water in the world. Unlike a license to operate a motor vehicle, anybody can get behind the helm of a vessel. Several years ago a young woman was rescued in the harbor. She purchased a 'boat', outfitted the running lights with colored candles in mason jars, enough hardcover classic books to ballast a galleon and a macrobiotic diet of rice. She fully intended to circumnavigate the globe! No radio, no knowledge of navigation and an engine that caught fire. Reading of an individual's tenacity and ingenuity should be tempered with the mistakes that got them in the situation to begin with. Saint Elmo was watching over this guy ;O)