[tsenator]

Bruce,

I agree it''s amazing how quick things can come up. Who knows what the outcome might have been for Jamie Boeckel. By the way it sounds, he might have been severly and critically injured at the moment the spinaker pole broke. Either way, I''m sure there would have been infinitely better chances if he was still attached to the boat, or at least floating in the water with a life vest. This accident happened right after the start of the race (2 1/2 -3 hours into it) and the waters were relatively calm and still in Long Island Sound. The ominous "black cloud" front was quickly coming from the west, but there was still some light and these were almost as experienced a crew of sailors as you could ever get. BTW, the Around Block Island race does not make it mandatory to wear the life vests and harness''s, but I bet most boats have a rule that after dark they do. When the accident happened there was some light(twilight), but by the time the rescue operation got going it was fairly dark, though there was a full moon that night.

Most prudent sailors wouldn''t even think about flying a spinnaker with a front like that moving in, but these are sailboat racers and they are always pushing the edge, keeping up the spinaker to get those extra few knots. I was in the race and I kept looking back at those clouds and thinking to myself "boy....shouldn''t we take down the spinaker?". I even asked the Cap''t of our boat and he said, he would when he saw the bigger boats (that were "up weather") start to take them down then we would too. I kept feeling very warm air one minute, then very cool the next, I knew we were right on the edge of the front. Then ''boom'', a few minutes later we got hit by a huge gust and our boat rounded straight up , and then spun around and next thing I knew I was standing on the port toe rail about midship with my feet in the water standing vertical hugging something on the coachroof (winch and/or grab rails). The boat was knocked down completely on its side. (I''d say about 50-70 degs) At that moment I saw the cap''t who was on the foredeck go flying into the lifelines. (Thank god he had netting near the bow of the boat). I recall thinking....''Damn, we''re going to have to do a Man Overboard!", but luckily he, and everyone else, stayed on the boat.

At that time, I don''t beleive anyone on our boat had a harness or Lifejacket on (I know, I know.....foolish). But it was the start of the race and it was a beautiful day and we ''pumped'' on the race and trying desperatley to keep in front of the "maxi''s" that were behind us but gaining. Obviuosly after that moment most of us put on our harness/vest. But the Cap''t didn''t?! Well, he''s a big boy, I''m not gonna tell him what to do, plus he had a lot of sailing experience (Bermuda 1-2 etc).

What does this all say?...I''m not sure exactly? Maybe that sailboat racing is truly a sport that pushing people/things to the limit and possibly rivals race car driving in dangerousness (how many people die every year in each sport ?) And that when you first "think" you should do something on a boat that you should do it then and not wait, because by then it''ll be too late.

Tom