Yet Another Head Injury

Malabar said:
However for those that think that this might be slightly over the top (until your skull is shattered) the bump cap option is convenient to wear, does not look out of place, and is reasonably stylish. I assume most people wear seat belts in cars, and many now routinely wear lifejackets; how about a Safety Bump Cap campaign?
Click to expand...

Your assumption about life jackets is I think wrong as most we see don't wear them routinely, as we don't unless conditions (fog, rough seas etc) dictate. I'm a believer in learning to avoid risk rather than rely on a hard hat. Having a bimini between us and the boom, that isn't much of a risk anyway.
 
Bobc said:
I got knocked-out by the boom while racing many years ago and ended-up in an ambulance to Ryde.

The worst injury I suffered however was my back, where the boom launched me across the cockpit and landed me on the main sheet winch.

Don't think a hat would have helped on that one.
Click to expand...

I know a chap who was swiped across the cockpit of a 50'-ish boat in the Med' by the mainsheet in an accidental gybe - he was pinned against a winch, crushing his pelvis - he was in agony until they got him to a Greek hospital, where I must say it sounds like he got top-notch treatment.
 
As others have said or implied, there is always a personal risk assessment to be done. The consequence of being clouted by the boom is obviously potentially very serious, but what exactly is the probability of it happening? How many times a year does it happen, say in the Solent, out of however many person sailing days? Education, nod common sense and personal awareness, IMO can reduce the risk to the point where the wearing of a clumsy but effective helmet which itself increases the risk of other things going wrong is unnecessary.

The only sure way to avoid being at risk of being hit by a boom is never to go out in a sailing boat.
 
I don't think we should get too blasé about the risk of boom injury, but sort of converting all boats to sprits'l rig, I can't see an obvious solution, other than encouraging a culture of caution among cruisers, and good training among racers. My head doesn't reach the boom if I stand in the cockpit, and on my rare sallies out when sailing I get shouted at if I do anything silly.
 
johnalison said:
I don't think we should get too blasé about the risk of boom injury, but sort of converting all boats to sprits'l rig, I can't see an obvious solution, other than encouraging a culture of caution among cruisers, and good training among racers. My head doesn't reach the boom if I stand in the cockpit, and on my rare sallies out when sailing I get shouted at if I do anything silly.
Click to expand...
Are HR adopting the "Spritty" rig, it would really catch on on the East Coast
 
On the ' Toy' dinghy class - despite the name quite a serious singlehander with a big Una rig, think of a Laser on steroids - helmets are mandatory, you can't race without them.

I'm not saying if that is right or wrong but I hate rules anyway which is why I took my racing dighies off on fast trips round the harbour and avoided being told to go round in circles racing.

One Sunday we were off Portsmouth, coming back from Cowes I think, when the Coastguard put out a call, a woman had been knocked overboard by the boom, last seen unconcious.

We and lots of other boats searched for hours, to no avail, sadly she didn't make it.

She was wearing trendy white waterproofs so virtually impossible to spot in a Force 5 with breaking wave crests; I strongly believe white waterproofs should be illegal.
 
sailorman said:
Are HR adopting the "Spritty" rig, it would really catch on on the East Coast
Click to expand...

Yes. The company has asked Frers to include it as an option so that the class number can be written on one line, now that they are so popular. (Old joke, borrowed from a '50s Yachting World, when the Cadet class exceeded 10,000, which was illustrated with a cartoon of a Cadet with a gaff rig).
 
StormNorm said:
As mentioned above, headwear only becomes useful to protect you from a boom hit when it is to racing driver spec as some quick research on motorcycle helmets shows. The loss of vision with one of those would be more of a risk I feel. I guess the America's Cup crews wear helmets to protect them if they fall during their very energetic leapings and runnings. They don't have a boom as such, and it doesn't look like the wings are free to swing about.

It appears that a hit of more than 200G is considered " bad". I don't have the maths to work out the Gs generated by a 3-metre boom smacking me round the head, but I'm sure someone out there does!
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure you mean 200J (Joules), 200G would be equivalent to 200 times the weight and I'm fairly sure that will squish any part of the human body.
 
The force and mass - clobbering effect - of any boom will vary with individual boats and situations.

Sadly this is, I think, down to the skipper to tell people to keep clear when there's a dodgy situation like sailing by the lee/ possible accidendal gybe - I have known wan***s who thought they were ' hard ' defy warnings, presumably Darwin will catch up with them some day ! :rolleyes:
 
Seajet said:
The force and mass - clobbering effect - of any boom will vary with individual boats and situations.

Sadly this is, I think, down to the skipper to tell people to keep clear when there's a dodgy situation like sailing by the lee/ possible accidendal gybe - I have known wan***s who thought they were ' hard ' defy warnings, presumably Darwin will catch up with them some day ! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
when cruising sit the same side as the boom, slmples init
 
Seajet said:
Okay Smartarse,

please give us an illustration - with diagrams and ideally a a Power Point demonstration - of

' why white waterproofs are a good idea ' ?
Click to expand...
They keep you warm and dry?
Like waterproofs of any other colour.
 
I knocked 3 teeth out last year with help from our spinnaker pole, which I can assure you is a long and expensive process sorting it out so I can continue doing toothpaste adverts....

I've no plans to sail with a full face crash helmet....but will remember to check for slack pole up lines though......!

Other lessons learned were - the same manoeuvre with a bunch of cadets aged under 15 from the yacht club - no dramas and perfectly executed, capable of identifying and releasing the 'blue rope' of which the boat only has one.

Same drop with a few of my mates that think they know what they're doing and can't follow simple instructions or find the 'blue rope'....ouch!

On the plus side I'm not having much trouble getting money out of the customers at the moment....
 
Daydream believer said:
I wear a woollen hat as I really feel the cold in the head. Does a skull cap provide warmth?
Click to expand...

Just after the war my cousin was called up for army service.

One of his fellow squaddies at the camp gave him lifts back and forward to the base from their homes near Londons Elephant and Castle on his motorbike. Their normal headgear was their army caps.

One day he turned up wearing a pudding basin crash helmet he had liberated from a relation who had raced motorbikes in the TT before the war.

"Whats that on your 'ead? " said cousin Ritchie.

" It's a crash 'elmet " replied his mate.

" Wots it for? " said Ritchie.

" It keeps me bloody 'ead warm! " came the answer.................................
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top