Vendee Globe rescue in the Southern Ocean

[Ilenart]

Sailingdog, that made me laugh.

Bit more info. Looks like he was thrown overboard when he was injuried.

French sailor recovering after 'worst days of his life' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Also a video.

Rescued sailor treated in WA hospital - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Ilenart

[sailingdog]

He's quite lucky in many ways. Often, when the femur is broken, the femoral artery is usually damaged due to its close proximity to the femur, and that can cause a person to die from internal bleeding in a very short time-frame.

[flyingwelshman]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

What fleet would that have been???



This is a reasonable cost of doing business. Posting a bond or getting insurance to cover the cost of a rescue could easily be incorporated into the structure, given the budgets involved.


Last I checked, NASCAR ran on closed tracks, where normal street driving laws do not apply.

I think Ilenart answered the question regarding the fleet.

I didn't say that posting a bond or buying insurance wasn't reasonable. I said that it may sound the death knell for the sport of solo-racing. IMHO this would be a bad thing.

Perhaps NASCAR was a bad example - for two reasons. 1) as you stated: it is conducted on a closed track 2) any negative comment regarding the 'sport' is bound to offend the mouth-breathing enthusiasts of the spectacle.

[sailaway21]

The Welshman's notion that other sports operate outside of the law is interesting but does not stand up to any scrutiny. While what may occur in a hockey game would land one in jail if committed against a non-participant skater it is allowed in hockey by the mutual consent of the participants. It should be noted that there is absolutely nothing preventing recourse to the law if matters on the rink go beyond the sanctioned limits. In fact, I believe that this has happened in some egregious cases. The same for Nascar and other sports. In bicycle racing the road is either closed to vehicular traffic or vehicles are absolved of normal liability. In all cases, what is being done is either not on a public area or the public area has been reclassified for purposes of the event.

No one is proposing reclassifying the southern oceans as a racing course for the purpose of sailing. And it's ludicrous to even think that insurance would not be available for such ventures just as it's ridiculous to think that the bond money, as an alternative, does not exist. Last I looked, those boats weren't exactly competitive cost-wise with your average offshore production boat. Of course the cost of marine insurance goes up based upon perceived risk. If a large number of claims are made, based upon a large number of vessels becoming disabled, then future insurances would command a premium....just like all other marine insurances have through war and turmoil.

Far from banning the single-handed ocean sailor, the liability policy would require that he actually have his vessel and intended voyage examined by the gimlet eye of a marine insurance firm. We can all think of a few ventures that might well not have come a cropper had such an evaluation been done prior to departure.

[TxLnghrn]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

He's quite lucky in many ways. Often, when the femur is broken, the femoral artery is usually damaged due to its close proximity to the femur, and that can cause a person to die from internal bleeding in a very short time-frame.

Lucky yes, but actually death due to exsanguination from an isolated femur fracture is extremely rare. Transection of the femoral artery is a rare event and even if it were to be damaged, the bleeding will usually self-tamponade after about one liter of blood. The resulting compartment syndrome and tissue necrosis, however, is another story.

Michael

[Ilenart]

Not to throw fat on the fire, The Navy came out yesterday in a statement that they estimate the cost of rescuing Elies at AUS$4m (AUS$998,000 per day for the 4 day operation). They again stated that they would not seek to recover any costs, and the majority would of been incurred regardless of whether the rescue was made.

Funny thing is the Royal Flying Doctor Service, who supplied the doctor, have stated they will attempt to recover the cost from the insurers of the Vendee Globe solo yacht race . I think the RFDS is a charity and mainly operates via donations and grants. I understand the yacht organisers have previously said that they are planing on making a donation to the RFDS

Also looks like the sailor, Elies, is making a good recovery in hospital.

Ilenart

$4m to save yachtsman will not be recovered : thewest.com.au

Injured sailor thanks rescuers : thewest.com.au

[flyingwelshman]

Originally Posted by Ilenart

Not to throw fat on the fire, The Navy came out yesterday in a statement that they estimate the cost of rescuing Elies at AUS$4m (AUS$998,000 per day for the 4 day operation). They again stated that they would not seek to recover any costs, and the majority would of been incurred regardless of whether the rescue was made.

Funny thing is the Royal Flying Doctor Service, who supplied the doctor, have stated they will attempt to recover the cost from the insurers of the Vendee Globe solo yacht race . I think the RFDS is a charity and mainly operates via donations and grants. I understand the yacht organisers have previously said that they are planing on making a donation to the RFDS

Also looks like the sailor, Elies, is making a good recovery in hospital.

Ilenart

$4m to save yachtsman will not be recovered : thewest.com.au

Injured sailor thanks rescuers : thewest.com.au

I don't know about Australia - but I'm pretty sure all governments are the same - but there is a history of governments wasting our tax dollars on worthless activities. So much so that there is even a word for it:

boon⋅dog⋅gle
   /ˈbunˌdɒgəl, -ˌdɔgəl/[boon-dog-uhl, -daw-guhl]
noun, verb, -gled, -gling.
–noun
1. a product of simple manual skill, as a plaited leather cord for the neck or a knife sheath, made typically by a camper or a scout.
2. work of little or no value done merely to keep or look busy.
3. a project funded by the federal government out of political favoritism that is of no real value to the community or the nation.

Here in Canada there are so many examples, at the municipal, provincial and federal level, it would make your head spin.

To me, and probably to most of you, $4 million is a lot of money. To a government, I think not so much.

Don't get me wrong, I do not support the irresponsible spending of my tax dollar. (&, if I'm not mistaken, Southern Ontario is one of the most heavily taxed regions of North America) But I think that $4 million for a training exercise that resulted in saving someone's life, would be money well spent.

I wonder what it would cost for the same vessel to do its normal patrol and training exercises. The navy, I am sure, benefited from the experience in terms of practicing their SAR techniques.

I spent a couple of weeks aboard a US destroyer, We were cruising up and down the California coast (cutting circles). The crew was engaged in a variety of training exercises including: GQ drills, MOB drills, repelling boarders, fire simulations, medical emergencies, and (the coolest) sub hunt drills. The scenarios were played out in a very realistic fashion. I bet the navies, coast guards etc. appreciate the opportunity to put their training to the test.

I hope that the RFDS - being a non-profit organization - has full cost recovery (and perhaps a bit extra).

Anyhow, money matters aside, a big BZ to the Australian sailors -and: Go Derek! Go!

[Valiente]

For what it's worth, he really needed the rescue...I understand his thighbone required a pin to hold it together, arguing that it was a bad break indeed, probably just short of a compound fracture.

The idea of dragging myself around an Open 60 in the Southern Ocean with a busted upper leg gives me a funny feeling in the guts.

[sailingdog]

And not a good type of funny feeling....

Originally Posted by Valiente

The idea of dragging myself around an Open 60 in the Southern Ocean with a busted upper leg gives me a funny feeling in the guts.

[Valiente]

Our guy's race is over with broken spreaders after a horrendous knock-down.

Imagine your feelings trying to nurse a crippled boat for 12 days or so to a port where you may not be able to pay for repairs and you can be in his headspace.

News : Broken spreaders on Algimouss Spirit of Canada - Vendée Globe