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Sailing death close to home

9K views 61 replies 42 participants last post by  SAILORDUDE01 
#1 ·
A good friend and sailing mentor of mine, Ralph Reitan died last night while sailing his boat, a Tartan 10 named Wabbit during the Wednesday night races MRSA) on the Magothy River last night (22 March).
He was the lead boat at the time and got hit by a gust which knocked him down. His crew threw hime a life ring and managed to get the boat back to him but by then he was in cardiac arrest.

Ralph was a well known and respected local sailor, currently serving as the Rear Commodore and webmaster of our yacht club (www.yccsc.org). He will be sorely missed by all.

Although I choose to celebrate his life and love of sailing rather than be fearful, the water will be a little emptier this year.

Chuck, current Commodore, YCCSC

Man hospitalized after falling off boat -- -- baltimoresun.com

He was pronounced dead after the article went to press.
 
#8 ·
My condolences Chuckles... If there's anything I can do for you or MMR, please let me know.
 
#11 ·
Chuck said:
Although I choose to celebrate his life and love of sailing rather than be fearful, the water will be a little emptier this year.
Well said, my condolences.
 
#13 ·
More news trickles in.

He was on the windward leg of the course in 30 knts apparent (or more) when Wabbit was knocked down by a gust and apparently began taking on water through a open companion way. His crew (from what I hear) was unable to recover the boat and offer assistance.
Other boats lost rigs and were knocked down by the same squall.
Ralph managed to get to a life ring thrown to him by another boat, but apparently was unable to hold on to it and slipped under, then floated face down for a few minutes before that boat (C&C 39, Beagle) was able to recover him aboard.
By that time he had no pulse, was in cardiac arrest and was cyanosed. A MD was the skipper of the recovering boat, so he could not have been in better hands. CPR was provided for 30 minutes while getting him to the nearest dock where EMT's took over.
He was originally listed as in critical condition, then slipped away during the night.
Having sailed with him on Wednesday's as crew I can assure you he was experienced and safety minded as a skipper. It is unsure if the COD was drowning or cardiac arrest. Ralph was contemplating retiring to Florida this fall.

I appreciate the condolences and ask all of you to consider wearing PFD's when conditions are less than perfect. Mary (MMR) and I have already purchased and equipped our boat with auto inflatables just last month to encourage us to wear them more often. Man overboard drills are a necessary part of spring commissioning, but bear in mind the boat you fall from may not be able to affect a quick recovery - ask your self how long you can tread water when it's 50 degrees and choppy as stink out.

In my celebration of his life and passion for sailing there will be caution and reflection on possible lessons learned. I will no longer boast that my boat is safe and secure enough that I have no need for PFD's.
 
#25 ·
I appreciate the condolences and ask all of you to consider wearing PFD's when conditions are less than perfect. Mary (MMR) and I have already purchased and equipped our boat with auto inflatables just last month to encourage us to wear them more often. Man overboard drills are a necessary part of spring commissioning, but bear in mind the boat you fall from may not be able to affect a quick recovery - ask your self how long you can tread water when it's 50 degrees and choppy as stink out.

In my celebration of his life and passion for sailing there will be caution and reflection on possible lessons learned. I will no longer boast that my boat is safe and secure enough that I have no need for PFD's.
The crew of the Kyrie will all be wearing PFDs from now on.

David
 
#15 ·
Good points about the PFDs and water temps... how cold was the water... if it was 50˚ or colder, it may well have caused the cardiac arrest.
 
#22 ·
Chuck... i'm sorry to hear this. My condolances to you and everyone involved.

Very good points about wearing your PFD. I just bought Dad an auto-inflatable because he is getting up in his years and he was very appreciative and assured me that he will always wear it. You just never know when things will go awry and having the PFD on is a good first step in saving your own life. Last summer there was a death right in the channel in Oriental, NC... the wildlife officer who recovered the body said something that i will never forget: "In my 20+ years of service, I've never recovered a drowning victim that was wearing his PFD." which was to say .... that if you've got it on, you've got a good chance of surviving.

Sorry about my "tomorrow is a new day" comment in the other thread... i didn't see this until now and didn't realize the severity of the situation. My thoughts are with you and your community.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Condolences, Chuckles. And sorry to hear about the loss of another Chesapeake sailor.

Water temps in the mid-upper Chesapeake have been hovering in the low 60's (F). I was out today and had to do some mooring pennant work, with hands immersed -- it was chilly but swimmable. So I would expect something more than just cold water at play here.

A pretty serious squall line passed over the mid-upper Bay yesterday evening while many clubs along the western shore were in the middle of the Wednesday Night races. I heard reports of 40+ knot gusts and knockdowns on the West River, just a bit south of Chuck's friend. That's some serious wind to manage, especially in racing mode when you're likely to be pressing on with a lot of canvas. It's easy to see how even a well-skippered boat could lose someone overboard in those conditions.

I invested in an auto-inflate PFD this spring and have been wearing it on my solo trips to the boat. I get funny looks and sometimes some ribbing from the marina staff, but stories like these reinforce the decision.
 
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