They should be severly punished if ever caught for putting others at risk. Also it may Make the coast guard a little more sceptical on future calls for assistance. My own question is why would a twenty nine footer be that far offshore as there is no place to go out there for a local trip. A twenty nine footer of more modern design is not an ideal size either for offshore sailing. Even a random really good line squall could get it into trouble if the owner did not have some previous experience with them.