A sad day

[Richard O'Brien]

A sad day for these sailors, and especially the family. http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/stor ... 8f&k=88535 It's so hard to understand why these things occur with experienced crew? It seems to be one of the given risks of sailing.

[AWKIII]

You have to wonder if the outcome would be different if...........

“Safety is drilled into absolutely everyone onboard that ship. I know for a fact she was not careless. She would not have been doing something silly when the accident happened.”

He stressed that it wasn’t unusual for the crew to not wear life-jackets during storms, mainly because heaving seas are so common on the open ocean and the Picton Castle is considered a very stable vessel, even in rough weather.

As well, he confirmed that crew members would not use tethers to clip themselves to the ship, a practice that is more common on smaller vessels.

[KayakDan]

I boarded the Picton Castle in 1976 when it was in Boston,and it's a big steel hull vessel with a well protected deck. There must have been one hull of a wave to go over the deck and take her off the boat.
In hindsight,it would have been great to have the watch crew wearing PFD's,but on a boat that size,with a history of heavy weather sailing and an outstanding safety record,it wouldn't seem neccessary.
A sad day indeed.

[kmclemore]

Yeah, I read that too. I guess I'm not surprised, though. On a really large boat that is often the case... the boat is so large that folks think it can't get swamped by a freak wave - until, of course, it does, as in this sad case. I note that she was on the way back from a lot of troubles in her life... at least she passed doing what she loved. The terrible sadness is for her Dad, who also lost his wife (her mother) to cancer several years ago.

[Catigale]

The take home lesson here is boating and the wearing of PFDS should be synonymous. Given that you can get a personal inflatable that costs $200 or less, on the open ocean there is no excuse for everyone not to be wearing one.

You can be darn sure when my kids are of age to go on some of these cruises they will have their own safety kit.

My heart goes out to the family...I also think a vessel that is training people to respect the sea should follow better safety practices though.

[kmclemore]

And it is an equally sad day here, too.

There was a shooting today at Springfield High School in suburban Philadelphia in which a student killed himself (he did not try to harm anyone else, thankfully). The student was Shane Halligan, son of John Halligan, the Assitant Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop #1 in Oreland, Pennsylvania. Shane was an Eagle Scout, the Junior Assistant Scoutmaster for his Troop, he has been working on his second Bronze Palm (i.e. additional merit badges) and was a member of our local Boy Scout Council's OA Unami Lodge. He was a good student and well-liked and respected by his peers.

And now he is gone.

There is no reason in this, there is no sense. There is just a hole in a lot of folks hearts tonight.

God bless you, Shane. I hope you have found peace.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?secti ... id=4844659

[AWKIII]

I learned my lesson at a young age.

Raced 420's as a teenager. These are very fast and tender boats. Especially if it is blowing. They aren't forgiving and most times a mistake ends up in a capsize.

I was crewing one evening and was hiking out with a harness. We got hit with a good blast and over we went. Somehow I got tangled real good and ended up under the water with the sail above. The more I fidgeted around the worse it seemed to get.

Finally, the skipper figured out I wasn't gonna pop out of the water anytime soon and got me untangled. Scared the crap out of me.

From that day on I wore a vest and still do. I take some ribbing every once in awhile but I could care less. This is a no-brainer in my book. Besides, there are some very "Gucci" looking vests out there today!

[Catigale]

I know nothing about windsurfing, so I cant comment on that.

Justifying not wearing a lifejacket while sailing because of fear of being trapped is akin to justifying not wearing a seat belt in a car for fear of being trapped - both arguments hold little water imho.

I ask anyone who doesnt want to wear a PFD on my boat to pass my swim test - you stand up on the gunnel, I whack you with the boom, and we see how well you swim. Most everyone gets it after that.

[AWKIII]

Yup. Kind of damned if you do and damned if you don't.

I would have been in much better shape if I had the vest.

Of course, the one thing no one ever teaches you is NOT TO PANIC. Hard to do, especially as a kid. But if you keep calm, you'll have a much better chance of getting out of the mess.

I am too fat and out of shape to do the go-fast small boat stuff anymore. Just too much work. But there really isn't anything like it in the world.

Biggest thrill I get nowadays is not trying to broach one with a spinnaker. Still gets the juices going!

[aya16]

Has many here ever been in the water with a jacket on. If
you water ski or jet ski you have but I would guess not to many.
The point is a jacket is so comfortable and you use no energy at all to float. if there is a good chance that your going to end up in the water
it sure makes life a lot better wearing one. Especially if you have to right a capsized boat or do any work in the water.

I have stated before that I rarely wear a vest on the Mac. Not moving around much on the Mac there isnt a good chance of ending up in the drink. Sure there is a chance but everything is a risk someway.
Like wearing a seatbelt all the time. I dont and its just a decision made at the time and not something I just do or just dont.

single sailing finds me wearing one all the time with a handheld radio strapped to it. But most of the time no. Logic is to me that I know Im not wearing any floatation so dont do anything that would put me in the drink.
But im aware of the risk I take too.

Kc you having a couple boys and being a Scout leader yourself It had to be hard hearing about the poor kid. Everyone starts to blame themselves
thinking that if they only did something or gave the kid a little more attention it would never happen. It makes you wonder what could trouble a young man so much he wants to take his life. On the surface the kid had an active father, a social life, seems almost everything most kids dont get. Yet he took his life. Its a shame. I know how you feel.

[eric3a]

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[Catigale]

Has many here ever been in the water with a jacket on.

Actually, at the beginning of every season, we do a real, live POB drill where everyone goes overboard and is recovered.

Not to diminish Mike' s point, that you should know what it feels like to be overboard in a PFD and learn how to paddle, etc..

[aya16]

Cat do they do it in normal sailing wear. Its one thing to go in the drink with your swim trunks on its another in tux.
In the Navy they made us jump into a pool in work garb then pull our pants off tie the legs with a knot on each one and inflate with air by flipping them from our back to our front over our head. Then we had a life preserver. For the knott heads that cant ever keep their zipper closed
they would sink.

[Frank C]

Safe flotation of unconcious persons is another ball game.
I find type I PFDs unbearable in normal conditions and unworkable to be honest so I'd only wear these in real emergencies.

I always wear a vest when my boat is on the Bay, but not always on lakes. I use either a Type 3 or my SOS inflatable. I figure the Bay waters are just too cold (60F) to take the risk. Besides, I don't find a type 3 the least bit uncomfortable ... it's a natural back cushion in that hard fiberglass cockpit, and helps keep me warm.

But spinning Eric's lead just a bit ... I recently had to prepare for two toddlers to come along. Be aware that once a child weighs over 30 lbs. vests are "typed" for various conditions. The "Type One" PFD that Eric referred to WILL turn and hold a victim face-up. The more common Type 3 WILL NOT, rather requiring victim's conscious action to do so. Please shop carefully, buy accordingly for the toddlers on your boat.

[eric3a]

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