Sad Stuff

[Hillbillyfunk]

I saw an interview with her on TV, very sad indeed, 'cest la vie.

BTW, I wear a harness connected to a jackline every time I am on board, I used to wok as a top rigger in a theater so I am uncomfortable without my harness on, it's nothing fancy, just a chest harness with old seatbelts as a tether. I've gone in the water in the dark recently to clear a crabtrap fouled in the prop and I keep my harness on then too, I unclip fom the jackline and clip onto the stern.

I often forget that it is on and will go below to sleep in my harness It's nice to have a comfy one

[rebel heart]

Crap news, Ben. Sorry.

[GordMay]

US skipper tells of losing best friend on voyage to Bermuda

" ... Captain Dennis White, 64, was sailing his 41ft ketch Emma Goldman with close friend William Thorn, 62, and Mr Thorn's daughter Amanda, 25, when tragedy struck. According to Capt White the boat, which had set sail from Martha's Vineyard, was going "too fast" when it approached a 25 to 30 ft wave and rolled 360 degrees.
"Suddenly it went from chaos, noise, splashing and everything to complete silence," he said.
The boat was submerged underwater for a few moments — and then turned upright, damaging the vessel's mast — at which point his first thought went to Mr Thorn. "When the boat came back I was very concerned about my comrade in the cockpit. He was my best friend and I couldn't see how he would survive rolling over outside so I ran out to the hatch. I got out there to where he was and his daughter was with him.
"She was holding on to him. He was in the water, his face was maybe six inches out of the water [and] all of his body was underwater. He had his hand on the rail and was trying to help her pull him up as she was not strong enough.

"I grabbed on, we both pulled. We couldn't get him free of the wires in the rigging that were left from the mast and he was pinned by the wires.
"I believe the mast either hit him or damaged him in some way [because] he was almost moaning and begging us to please help him."
He said he and Ms Thorn "tried and tried" to free her father — the need became more urgent once they learnt Mr Thorn couldn't breathe properly.
Capt White said Ms Thorn told him to get a knife from the kitchen to cut the safety line. Their hope was that her father could climb out of the ropes.
"I thought about it for a while. I thought if I cut this line I am going to lose him, but his face was [underwater] and the sea was washing over him. I said 'I am going to cut him loose because he is suffering too much. I have to let him have his peace'.
"I cut it and it was a terrible thing I had to do. [Ms Thorn] kept shouting 'Daddy, daddy don't leave me' — and it was too much you know."..."



More ➥ www.royalgazette.com Bermuda News Site

http : //www . royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7dabc3730030001&sectionId=60

[simonmd]

OMG, heartbreaking stuff. Captain White had to make possibly one of the hardest decissions you can imagine, i'm sure it will haunt him forever.

Not having the distress beacon had no real bearing on the loss of Mr Thorn, but they would have been picked up quicker. My thoughts goto Mr Thorn's family and Captain White himself.

[SoonerSailor]

I saw some video on television on this episode, and some of the footage of the boat - I think of before the dismasting - showed what appeared to be a bright orange EPIRB on the boat. Maybe it wasn't an EPIRB, but it was of the same form factor as an 406 mHz EPIRB with the characteristic antenna.

Very sad episode indeed. At least he died doing what he loved, and his daughter shows remarkable strength in wanting to eventually go back to sea.

[High Heels]

Daughter recounts the storm at sea that killed her father - TODAY People - People: Tales of survival - TODAYshow.com

[wolfenzee]

First time I ever used a harness was sailing back from Bermuda, I was coming up the companionway and hadn't got a chance to hook in when a wave broke over the boat and sucked me out of the hatch, the people in the cockpit caught me by my ankles. On my boat there is a pad eye at the top of the companionway steps so I can hook up before I even open the hatch (it doubles as an attachment for the hammock). My fathwer was retired USN so the importance of safety equipment was drilled into me at an early age. I don't carry a life raft, but rather have a hard dingy set up to act as a lifeboat.

[Wand]

Originally Posted by GordMay

The boat was submerged underwater for a few moments — and then turned upright, damaging the vessel's mast — at which point his first thought went to Mr Thorn. "When the boat came back I was very concerned about my comrade in the cockpit. He was my best friend and I couldn't see how he would survive rolling over outside so I ran out to the hatch.

Maybe it's time to find a better way to protect the helmsman in these conditions. I don't know if it's normal practice elsewhere but my experience has been that the helmsman stands at the wheel, tethered but not seriously restrained. Thus in a rollover, he is flung about and almost certainly will have broken ribs or arms and/or suffered concussion on contact with various parts of the boat. That was very likely the fate of the helmsman in this case. The boat was submerged for only a short time; it is unlikely that the real cause of death was drowning.

I suggest that if this helmsman had been restrained with the same equipment as a sportsfisherman, or a pilot, or even a normal car driver, then he would have survived the rollover. He would have had a dunking, that's all. There was a similar case in the 1998 Sydney-Hobart race where a sailor couldn't swim the 20 or so metres back to his righted boat because of the injuries he'd incurred when being flung about. He died by drowning officially, but he would not have died had he been properly restrained in the cockpit.

So my suggestion is that offshore boats have a strongly secured seat at the helm to which the helmsman can be buckled. A tether is simpy not adequate. Then in the event of a serious broach, unintended gybe or rollover, the helmsman is protected from injury. And that means that the rest of the crew below decks are also kept safer. Any cockpit companion to the helmsman should also be similarly restrained.

I guess some of the gung-ho chest beaters who have contributed to this thread may think this a nanny state suggestion but a rollover at sea should not and need not be fatal. Where it is, the primary cause of death, I'd contend, is not drowning but injuries similar to those suffered by victims of a motor vehicle crash. Being restrained in a strong seat would have very likely saved this sailor's life.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by At sea

I guess some of the gung-ho chest beaters who have contributed to this thread may think this a nanny state suggestion but a rollover at sea should not and need not be fatal. Where it is, the primary cause of death, I'd contend, is not drowning but injuries similar to those suffered by victims of a motor vehicle crash. Being restrained in a strong seat would have very likely saved this sailor's life.

Being a 'Gung ho and Chestbeating type' may I make an observation... given the fact that there was a dis-masting in this case and the mast and wires could have gone anywhere depending on how the boat was turned... better to be swept over by trailing wire than sliced by them coz you were strapped in..
Its not that I'm braver or anything... its just I find the thought of having to waste vital seconds trying to unclip yourself before being able to get out of the way... or deal with something.. whatever... totally unacceptable... for me.
Everything is a compromise.. I feel my mobility is the important key to my survival.. my freedom to move quickly in any situation that may arise.. much more than being strapped in a seat or even attached to a harness...
For a lot of us its a personal choice based on our agility and confidence... I personally advise where lifejackets are.. yes I have a couple.. and harnesses... but they are for the less confident or, who are in my opinion have need of them like non-swimmers or those unsteady on their feet at sea. I may think I'm the bee's knees at MOB.. but I prefer not to test that opinion for real
But one things for sure... my way may cause my death... but there's no guarantee your way will save yours..

[Wand]

Originally Posted by boatman61

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Being a 'Gung ho and Chestbeating type' may I make an observation...

Sometimes the salmon just jump onto the hook... (P J Keating)

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by At sea

Sometimes the salmon just jump onto the hook... (P J Keating)

Damn right... I wanna 'Beat ma Chest'....LOL

[mbianka]

Thanks for the Today Show link High Heels. I think she has the right attitude about the incident. No doubt it was more a reflection of her dad feelings as she seemed to not have that much sailing experience. Wish the Today Show would have had the Captain on also. Though the interview raises some questions for me about the wisdom of cutting the tether that kept him attached to the boat. I'm sure that decision will be haunting her and his friend for a long time too! But, in the conditions they faced I'm sure there was not time to think things through completely.

[Wand]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Damn right... I wanna 'Beat ma Chest'....LOL

Silly old buga...LOL

[kenny chaos]

Somebody else died in a boating accident? I don't believe it.
What next on, "As the Seas Turn."

[John A]

It's tragic when someones life is lost, a little scary when they're enjoying the lifestyle that's our choice.

You can tell the hairy chested singlehanders posts within this thread. Another writes about having a chair and seatbelt. What's next? Helmets to protect us from the boom? Nobody can come topside unless in a survival suit?

When you board a sailing craft you're going in harms-way! Through no fault of your own, sh*t happens, and yes, people are harmed. If you can't accept that, you have no busness being offshore on a boat.