Robert , that was brillant , thank you , I will be changing some things
in how I dress and will gets multiple knives etc....I am still looking
for a girl friend to drive a chase boat...until then .....
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Harper [mailto:rharper@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 5:13 PM
To: swiftsolo.catzooks.com
Subject: Safety Thoughts
Paul has asked me to sum up some of the safety discussion that took
place
on Sailing Anarchy in the Dinghy forum after the recent death of Peter
McGonigle Wenner, training with Shark on Pegasus.
Aparently Peter had his hook catch in the webbing of one of the racks
and
could not get free. Unfortunately they could not get him free in time
and
was on life support for a while in the hospital and the family had to
make
the tragic choice to remove the life supports and he shortly passed
away.
Following that event, there have been two long threads in DA over what
could/should have been done to avoid this in the future.
Sailing in general and maybe especially skiffs is a dangerous sport
though
the numbers don't show it. I know in my area, they did a little research
when the legislature was thinking of requiring all boaters to pass
something like a auto driving course in order to operate any water
craft.
In the ten years they looked at, there was one sailing related accident
that was reported to the state. 60% were due to PWC's, and the bulk of
the
rest were pleasure boaters not paying attention.
That being said, it would be a very bad thing for me to lose any of my
sailing friends. So I'll try to summarize what was covered in the Dinghy
Anarchy threads.
First is to make sure you are fit, aware of the conditions, and not
alone.
As much as possible, sail with buddies or a chase boat. If you don't
have
either as I often don't, cary a waterproof hand held VHF radio with you
so
if you get in trouble, you can call for help. Almost every body of water
has someone with a radio. It is almost a required toy these days for
people who like toys to go with their toys. ALWAYS let someone know
where
you are going, how far you intend to go out, and when you plan to
return.
Check your boat very closely while rigging and make sure that there are
no
sharp objects that need to be covered with chafe tape and make sure the
rigging is not worn. I prefer using shackles to hooks. Shackles are
closed
and don't easily open and aren't usually prone to catching things. I've
heard of one Swiftie having a hook catch on the back of his PFD and
trapped him under the boat for a bit. Make sure that what you use for
rigging cannot catch onto anything. This will not only save your life
but
often lenghten the life of you kite. Take the attitude that if it is at
all possible to hook onto something, it will and find a better part.
It was recommended to tape a knife to the tiller, gantry, or for us the
cross bar. This is in addition to carying a knife on your person. There
are knives that are specially made that make it very hard to stab
yourself
but very easy to hook a line or webbing and cut yourself free. I often
cary a knife in my wetsuit at my chest with a lanyard that will allow me
to get the knife out to arm's length. I know Ron takes a knife with him
at
all times, I've sharpenned it several times and seen where it ends up
when
I'm done. Some harnesses come with a knife and sheeth built in.
Now for the gear you wear. It was recommened to always wear a wetsuit or
something similar to protect against the inevitable cut. When it is hot,
I've started to wear a very thick pair of running tights but usually
wear
a wetsuit. I remember being chastized by some friends while having a
beer
break and was handed a great oportunity to say see that's why when a
woman
came off a Hobie with a six inch gash in her thigh. I also have some war
wounds and ugly scars from times I've gone out without a wetsuit myself.
Stitches and a trip to the ER are much more costly than a good wetsuit.
Gloves are a very good thing to have and I've gotten so I prefer those
$3
work gloves that are cottong coated with the blue or red rubber. They
last
longer than the regular sailing gloves and at $3, you can go through a
lot
of them for the price of a good pair from Ronstan though I do love their
gloves. I've had the work gloves last a season before. Just dry them
well
at the end of the day. Cut the tip off the index finger and the thumb
and
there you are.
It was also recommended that people wear a rash guard top over
everything,
EXCEPT the harness. The reason for not wearing it over the harness is
that
it makes it very hard to get out of your harness with a rash guard over
it. With the harness on the outside, all you have to do is cut some of
the
straps around the hook to get free of the harness. Make sure your
harness
fits well and doesn't have any hanging loops that can catch on the
rigging
or other gear on the boat.
To me, the quick releasing harnesses are a red herring as there is a
small
handful of people that would need one and though the loss of any life is
tragic, I don't think legislating them is the answer. I feel that with
proper planning and training, we can avoid almost all of the conditions
where they would be needed. For me, this is a personal choice and if you
find one that works well for you and you like, I'll be the last to
harass
you for it.
Bram has built a lot of safety into the Swift because he feels it is
important in a single handed boat for that boat to be safe first. Often
people have said a Swift would be faster if.... but then it wouldn't be
a
safe boat either. Another thing that Bram has always preached is that
you
should stay within your limits. Start in lighter winds probably between
6
and 8 knots. Unless you are Mark, you won't be trapping but you also
won't
get into too much trouble either. Then work your way up the wind range
as
you become comfortable with the boat. Get to the point that you can
easily
tack, set the kite, gybe, and dowse at will and without capsizing before
moving up to the next range. Unless you have a good support crew ready
and
waiting to help you, it is better to play it safe and live to sail
another
day. It will be far easier on you and the boat if you do. If you want to
push yourself, do so at the clinic but let the chase boat know so that
they can shadow you closely. We'll have experienced sailors there to
help.
Ask questions of fellow Swifties/Musto sailors. There are no stupid
questions. Many of us have had the same ideas and wondered the same
thing.
I haven't seen any of us that look down on new sailors. Quite the
oposite,
we are very glad to see more people joining in the fun and one thing
you'll find, is that we love to talk about our boats and sailing. The
hard
part is to get us to shut up once you get us started.
I'm sure there's more but I'm already up to almost a book for e-mail so
before I lose too many, I'll end here. I feel this pretty much
summarizes
the topics covered on Sailing Anarchy. Some of you will have differing
points and preferences and that is fine with me. Feel free to share them
with the rest of us. More information is better than none and I'll be
happy to learn more.
Sail safe, sail fast, love your sailing, and keep the stick in the air.
I
hope to see you all very soon!