I'm not a sailor, but did they not basically run it aground? Personally probably wouldn't set out for a life at sea unless I knew a whole lot more about sailing and boats.....
Makes you wonder if they even knew how to read ocean charts or navigate without a GPS!
They appear not to have known the draft of their boat - is that what the depth of the boat and hull etc is called?? Kind of like those professional truckies that manage to drive into bridges.... that always strikes me as a bit weird.
My impression, as a non sailor, is that the whole ocean navigation thing is a big deal, and the whole boat experience is rather complicated and requires a lot of knowledge and resourcefulness. I mean, I've seen "All is Lost"! Not quite the same as driving a P class around the harbour on a sunny day.
It's possible they knew the draft (although I'm skeptical). They clearly didn't know where they were though, and it doesn't make a difference how much you know the draft if you think you're in a different location which is deeper. It apparently didn't occur to them that it was very bad that the markers appeared "wrong" and they should figure it out before proceeding.
Reminds me of a story: A "sailor" calls up the Coast Guard and says he's lost. They ask his last known position. The guy responds "I'm by the U". The CG, thinks initially that this must be a local name for feature. They ask a few more questions to figure it out. "The U in Gulf ". Now they're wondering if they have a call crossed from a different area, the Gulf of Mexico, which happens every so often. Eventually it comes out that he was by the U in "Gulf Oil" on a gas station map. No chart, telling him depths, buoy, navigation hazards, etc. No, a rinky dinky map providing nothing useful in the way of information.
The only saving grace to the Go Fund Me is that it's actually to remove the boat, which is a hazard to navigation. You can think they are dumbasses (because they are) and still might want to fund the boat removal for the sake of the environment/other boaters, etc. Sadly they are up to $11k now, so they have $1k to fund a new boat.
Don't get me started on the move All is Lost. First sign of issues with that movie - in the first few minutes, this reportedly experienced sailor tacks his boat to port so the starboard side hole is leaning into the water (rather than keeping it on the high side). Watching it with a friend and we both gave each other the dumbfounded "what?" look as we realized we may have made a bad movie choice. Like this duo, he was ill prepared. Here's some sailors listing the issues:
http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php?/topic/152338-all-is-lost-spoilers-mistake-list/