Non-slip boots
- Thread starter alahol2
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AntarcticPilot
Well-known member
When I started watching I thought "Do they realize how big a risk they're taking?" At the end I thought, well, now they do!
Seriously what they were doing was utterly crazy. Icebergs can and often do overturn without warning, and there's at least ten times as much ice below the water as above. That one was obviously melting fast, judging by the rotten state of the surface. If that iceberg had turned turtle 5 minutes earlier, the whole lot of them could have been lost.
Tanqueray
Well-known member
What make be those hand anchors? Do they self-stow?
prv
Well-known member
I hope the guy standing on his crampons on deck was the owner.
Nice sturdy bow cleats ?
I didn’t know it was going to roll over, but as soon as the yacht started to pull away I was thinking “would be worth having the tender in the water in case they fall in...”
Pete
Nice sturdy bow cleats ?
I didn’t know it was going to roll over, but as soon as the yacht started to pull away I was thinking “would be worth having the tender in the water in case they fall in...”
Pete
Neeves
Well-known member
I assumed it was to roll over - otherwise the vid had little point. Good to see good Scots type designed axes being used. Yes those bow cleats were pretty massive.
Personally we prefer UGGs as deck boots, but they are a bit slippery (for a monohull) and would be useless climbing icebergs.
Jonathan
Personally we prefer UGGs as deck boots, but they are a bit slippery (for a monohull) and would be useless climbing icebergs.
Jonathan
Stemar
Well-known member
I'm unlikely to ever have a teak deck, but if I ever did, anyone who walked on it those boots would get them inserted - one each end ?
Neeves
Well-known member
I watched the video twice.
Pilot said the least of it.
Someone should have known what they were doing - you don't go sailing with crampons and axes unless you know what you are doing and when they got onto the berg they appeared to know what the axes were for and how they are used.
I'm surprised they survived. The berg appeared to roll on top of them, the sea temperature must have been zero degrees, or thereabouts, they are wearing boots and crampons, what look to be down jackets and I could see no LJs
Jonathan
Pilot said the least of it.
Someone should have known what they were doing - you don't go sailing with crampons and axes unless you know what you are doing and when they got onto the berg they appeared to know what the axes were for and how they are used.
I'm surprised they survived. The berg appeared to roll on top of them, the sea temperature must have been zero degrees, or thereabouts, they are wearing boots and crampons, what look to be down jackets and I could see no LJs
Jonathan
dunedin
Well-known member
Yes I was thinking, their enforced swim was fair punishment for their treatment of the teak decks. If I was skipper I would be getting them to remove and drop the crampons before approaching to rescue them
PS. I am assuming they survived this escapade, so we can use a touch of humour - otherwise would be a Darwin Awards front runner
AntarcticPilot
Well-known member
Yes, I wondered about the survivability of the incident. I presume that they got away with it, but it must have been a toss-up either way. Sudden immersion in water that must have been at or just below freezing is not a recipe for long life, and they would have started to lose strength very quickly; after a minute or two they wouldn't have been able to swim. Of course, cold shock can trigger heart attacks, too. Further, when rescuing the guys from the iceberg, they would have also put the rest of the crew in danger - it would be quite likely for largish blocks of ice to detach from the newly submerged part of the berg, which could easily come up under the yacht.
There was a very sad accident at Rothera Point, quite a few years ago (ASN Aircraft accident de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 C-GKBD Rothera Research Station). As the link says, they took off in an overloaded state; crew fatigue may have also played a part. The aircraft failed to gain height fast enough and crashed into an iceberg. What the link doesn't say is that the risk of attempting a rescue was deemed by the Base Commander to be too high, given that the accident was evidently not survivable. The Base Commander's decision was held to be the right one in the light of the risk of approaching and climbing on an iceberg. I should note that there are no helicopters at Rothera, and none within flying range.
Topcat47
Well-known member
I can't imagine EVER being that desperate for ice in my G&T.
Stemar
Well-known member
I'd guess they were pretty fit - the presence of proper ice climbing kit suggests it isn't their first time climbing in cold conditions, so that makes their survival of the initial cold shock more likely than if I were to fall in Portsmouth Harbour at the wrong time of year, and I reckon a proper down mountain jacket would be a pretty effective buoyancy aid, at least for several minutes, by which time, even for the fittest, the ability to float would be irrelevant.
