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A few years ago, my mate Phil and I were aboard a Sigma 33OOD,
which shall remain nameless, about to start an offshore race. We were doing a
last-minute sail change, the genoa had gone by the board and was draped
over the safety lines and Phil went forward to haul it back in. In the
course of his efforts, Phil slipped under the safety lines and was crushed
between our hull and that of the boat next to us. By the time everybody had got out of the
way, it was too late, he
had suffered massive chest injuries and internal bleeding. He didn't
survive. The decision not to
publicize Phil's accident, at the time, was taken by the people who were
involved,
as well as his family, but not because of any fears that the sport might
be affected. The authorities wanted to make the details public but we made them do a
u-turn. Since then, an extra mark has
been placed in the channel for him, it's normally used as a windward mark,
and, if we're not first to it, it's like he's telling us to get a shift on and
stop being so SLOW! Today
he is probably looking down upon us and 'tut'-ing at our silly antics, what with us having an
11' skiff and a totally 'kamikaze' attitude when it comes to racing, i.e.
We've got to beat that boat, over there, so we make the boat over-canvassed for the
prevailing conditions, a situation that is possibly detrimental to
everybody's health. We go ahead, despite that possibility, because there a general understanding between
us that the risks are worth taking. The
little skiff will do 40+mph across the water, and I've been asked to slow
down by the river police, before now! How am I supposed to know how fast
I'm going? We don't carry electronic equipment because that adds weight
and, when the boat only weighs 38 kilos, including the rigging, you can't
afford to add any more. The total crew weight is only 127 kilos with my
own weight accounting for 57 kilos out of that total. You think that safety
isn't a high priority when racing? I'll tell you this: we swap lifejackets for buoyancy aids with numbers
on them - 1 to11 for a Sigma 33. My number's 1, when sailing the Sigma,
because I'm the bowman for it. We wear a harness at all times. It doesn't have to be clipped
on, there are situations in which it just isn't possible to do what needs
doing with the harness clipped on, either there isn't anywhere sensible to
clip it onto or it would make the task in hand impossible to perform, by
getting in the way. We do continual counts to check whether anybody has gone
missing. If there is an injury, it gets dealt with there and then, even if it means
retiring from the race. Cuts and bruises
don't count, they are just an occupational hazard. It should be borne in
mind that most races aren't held in wind conditions worse than a Force 5
or 6, anyway, because it's deemed to dangerous to organise the start in
stronger winds when mixing it in a large fleet. All boats carry a horseshoe
lifebuoy, throw line, offshore first aid kit, offshore flare pack, and plenty of other
items, besides, otherwise the boat won't get a CE Category mark. My boat is Category B,
(offshore), and Category 2 for safety kit. Basically, I carry more safety kit than some round the world cruisers do.
Sometimes, we do let ourselves down, because of lack of training with the
kit, and sometimes
personal safety can be left up to the individual, in terms of clipping on,
for example.
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