When was the last time your boat and crew did a man overboard drill? When was the last time you tried lifting an inert body into your boat? What sort of life jackets do you have and do you use them and under what conditions? Does your boat have safety lines if not, why not?

Prior to sailing in Canadian waters I sailed and raced on boats that had to comply to ORC offshore regs 1 or 2, so if one did go over the side at night the equipment was there to hand to enable a rescue to take place. All the above questions were asked once a year and you as skipper signed a safety declaration. Here there seems to be more emphasis on not drinking on board, a problem that only is considered a problem or a crime in Canada.

What brought on these questions, well I feel I can ask them, as a survivor of an overboard situation in the worst recorded yachting disaster, the 1979 Fastnet storm.

In June in the Irish Sea on a delivery trip from France to Scotland, on a dark night in a southerly force 6 wind (38-48 Kph)running with two reefs in the main, Eric Tarbaly, France’s premier single handed sailor ordered the sail to be struck and replaced by a smaller sail. Pen Duick his restored 1890's 44' black cutter has a gaff rig and when lowering the upper yard, the boat rolled and the yard hit Eric on the chest knocking him overboard. The crew immediately threw a horseshoe buoy, it had no light attached, started the engine and turned back. But the engine was no match for the conditions and they searched for several hours, the radio on board was unable to contact the coastguard. Eric died that night from a simple accident in slightly unfavourable circumstances.

Eric Tarbaly had more experience than all of our yacht club put together, he was one of the world’s greatest yachtsmen of all time, but perished possibly through the lack of a $50 light, or $20 reflective tape. In 1995 off San Francisco in a race the American yachtsman Larry Klien fell overboard and could not be recovered. Two years ago the rear commodore Duncan Mungo-Kerr of the Royal Ocean Racing Club fell overboard in poor, but not bad conditions whilst racing. His boat had all the latest safety gear, however he was recovered drowned. One of Ireland’s top offshore yachtsmen Jim Poole was swept out of the cockpit of his racing yacht in Bardsey Sound off the Welsh coast in broad daylight, he was never recovered. And Rob James the round the world yachtsman, was relieving himself whilst at anchor one dawn in Salcombe Harbour when he slipped and was recovered dead.

All these incidents occurred in less than ideal conditions, but not conditions that were considered dangerous. Its almost as if the old tales are true, the mermaids are just waiting for their chance to drag unsuspecting sailors to Davy Jones locker. We can learn from others mistakes and misfortunes. Even Hamilton Harbour on a summers day took the life of a sailing instructor.

The moral of the story is if you leave the dock YOU MUST BE PREPARED FOR THE WORST. If you sail at night you must have lights and flash lights.( I recently ran aground which cost in excess of US$700 all for the lack of $15 of batteries). The cap you wear at night should have reflective tape on it, as the shoulders of your shirt or jacket. The life ring or buoy should have reflective tape and a light attached to it. And if you move out of the cockpit you should be tied on with a harness.

If I am sailing single handed I tie the main sheet to my harness even if I am only going to Carrol’s Point. If I am sailing with some one who is inexperienced I WEAR A LIFE JACKET. It goes without saying that if you are in a vessel that can capsize you must wear a life jacket at all times., without exceptions.

A thunderstorm on the lake can give you weather of the intensity of a violent storm (Force 11 103-120 Kph) it only lasts ten minutes not hours, but that is enough to do serious damage. In sailing it really is better to look, listen and learn because when it happens its to late So when one of us is caught out, we all should reappraise our own safety procedures..

Pintal
Pintal’s offshore sailing is some 20,000 miles of which 10,000 were at night, he currently sails in the Shark fleet who don’t know what a life lines are.

August 1999, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada