Fall was approaching, and boats in New England were starting to work their way south. Our vessel, Liberdade, was anchored in Block Island, waiting for sunrise to make an overnight run to Cape May, N.J., when the VHF radio crackled to life. The person politely asked if there were any 7- to 8-knot boats interested in the company of a buddy boat heading south.
This sounded like an innocent request—many boaters making an ocean voyage, especially for the first time, seek the company of another boat. After all, there seems to be safety in numbers. But if we explore the possible scenarios of how two boats traveling together would assist each other, that feeling of safety may turn out to be an illusion.
For as long as ships have been at sea, there has been a moral
