George Mallory said he was attempting to climb Mount Everest “”because it is there”. That was in the 1930s. More recently, Three separate teams have been attempting to go around the world non-stop in a balloon. On of which is expected to take off from Alice Springs this morning (Dec 29). Every year yacht crews set out from Sydney to race to Hobart attempting to beat all others in the race, to beat the race record or be best in their class. Also, yacht crews are competing in the Around Alone race which often sends them to the Southern Ocean, notorious for its furious weather.
The events have several things in common. They are a quest to be first. They are a test of human endurance in the face of possible death or injury. They push inventiveness and technology to the limits. And when they fail, they invariably require some form of rescue.
At least two people have died in the Sydney to Hobart race. The balloon manned by Richard Branson, American millionaire Steve Fossett and Swedish balloonist Per Lindstrand ran into bad weather last week and they had to ditch off the coast of Hawaii required rescue. French yachtswoman Isabelle Autissier who had to be rescued four years ago from the Southern Ocean was in trouble again this summer. A rescue was almost required, but she managed to limp her yacht to safety.
Many would ask, why are they allowed to do it? Why do authorities spend the time and effort to engage in rescue work for people who deliberately set out to endanger themselves? Shouldn’t they be forced to stew in their own juice?
The answer is that it is not possible to stop humans pushing the limits. And that is a good thing. If humans were not inspired to discover, invent and compete, we would have hardly got beyond primitive agriculture. The human condition has been improved certainly materially by the spirit of discovery and the desire to do things better. It has probably been improved spiritually, too. The feats of adventurers have been an inspiration to others.
It is one thing, though, for governments to acknowledge that they cannot stop adventurers and racers, but it is another to throw the resources of the state into rescue when the adventurers and racers come unstuck.
There are several reasons for going to the rescue of the foolhardy.
First, human life is precious, no matter what folly humans get up to. It may not be illegal, but it is certainly immoral for individuals to ignore a plea for rescue. Rescue is also part of a civil society. We all contribute to rescue services, either directly through voluntary labour or indirectly through taxes. We do this as part of making society cohesive and recognising the value of each human in it, no matter how they imperil themselves. We also do it for the purely selfish reason that we ourselves might need the rescue services one day. The same principle applies to many elements of society: roads, schools, research laboratories and so on.
Secondly, as a society we recognise some of the value generated by the adventurers and racers, even if as individuals we might think them foolhardy. It is the price we pay for those who look for new ways of doing things and new materials with which to do it. These go into the great humans store of knowledge that can be use for all humans. Today’s smart new clip or lightweight material on a boat in the Sydney-to-Hobart becomes tomorrow’s everyday improvement to baby’s prams or walking rucksacks. The material used in the latest around-the-world balloon attempts finds later medical used. Communications technology is pushed by the racers and adventurers and finds commercial application later. The push to make materials lighter, stronger and more durable for the adventurer and racers ultimately sounds in better, cheaper more environmentally friendly materials to improve the lot of humans worldwide.
There is a question of costs of rescue and the risk of injury and death of rescuers. They are present, but they are often over-stated. The rescue infrastructure has to be there anyway for ordinary civilian rescue. To the extent the military are used, the infrastructure is there anyway and the wages have to be pad anyway. Sometime overtime is involved, but ultimately that money just gets recycled into the community. There is also merit in the military having practice in life-and-death situations. As to the risk of death and injury, rescuers are usually well-trained in assessing that risk. Too frequently, it is the courageous, untrained rescuer who happens to be on the scene who gets killed or injured.
That does not mean, however, that adventurers and racers should not face up to the risks they put themselves and others to. The Melbourne-to-Hobart yacht race was sensibly postponed. In the case of the Sydney-to-Hobart race, that might have been a more sensibly option. The weather forecast was well-known. Race organisers should weigh up the risks better. And so should individual competitors. The trouble for the individual competitors, is that if the race is scheduled to go ahead, because the better-able boats want a crack at the record, there is pressure upon them to compete when they would otherwise not go out in such conditions.
The Around Alone organisers have at least put a stop to the folly of yachts going into the far southern latitudes to pick up the furious westerly winds.
As for individual balloon attempts, nothing will stop them. They and other adventurers will take the risk because it is there. We just have to hope that their skill also runs to making an intelligent assessment of the risks and their courage also runs to having the courage not to carry on when the risks get too high.