By Thomas White
I almost quit sailing for good last weekend. Even though sailing is something I love and something I always wanted to do, I only started about 10 years ago when I was past 50. My wife and I took a learn to sail course with Offshore Sailing School, bought a used 23-foot boat and then took a bareboat cruising course. I've since taken several other sailing courses and probably sailed as much on courses as I have in my own boat, so I'm well trained but not a real experienced sailor.
Last weekend I fell in the lake. You might think that isn't such a big deal, but let me add that I am non-swimmer and I wasn't wearing a PFD. Like all accidents, a long chain of events led to this one. Fortunately, there were other events that led to an embarrassing but happy ending.
This chain started a couple of months ago when we decided to invited our niece's daughter to go sailing for her 15th birthday. She had sailed with us for her 13th birthday and thoroughly enjoyed it and was looking forward to sailing again. First link in the chain, a commitment that if broken was bound to disappoint.
Second link: That morning I tried to start the outboard. It would start but not run. Clogged line or carburetor? Old gasoline? Water in the fuel? Who knows. However, it was a beautiful October day with a nice breeze. If we could get out of the slip, we could sail out on to the lake.
By the time we had lunch and finally boarded the boat, the water was glassy and the wind had gone completely. Third link, no wind along with no engine.
My brother and his wife, the birthday girl's grandparents, watched from the dock as we paddled and pushed away from the slip and into the cove. We raised the main but what faint breeze there was, was dead on the nose. We couldn't get enough way on for steerage and the boat drifted toward a boat dock on the other side of the cove. I hadn't bothered to put on my PFD and forgot to put out the throwable PFD cushions. Throw ropes and other safety devices were in the locker that the girls were sitting on. Fourth link.
As I pushed away from the dock I tried to get a push for more speed and fell in. In the lake I didn't panic, but I was concerned. I realized that I was holding my breath and that I'd better try to get one. As I thrashed around, trying to get a breath, I felt a rope. My wife had thrown the tail of the main halyard at me. With that I was able to get my head above water and pull over to the boat. While I held on to the boat trying to regain my composure and figure out how to get back aboard, the boat drifted up to the dock, which had a swim ladder right there. Within two or three minutes of falling in, I was back on board, wet, but unhurt.
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I was lucky. The day was warm and so was the water. The boat was barely moving so I was close by. Most importantly, my wife had the presence of mind to throw the halyard. (She said later that it was the thought of filling out all those insurance forms that inspired her.) It took a while to realize how lucky I was. I came very close to dying. If I had hit my head as I fell or failed to grab the rope, I wouldn't have been merely injured, but dead.
This incident could have been a tragedy
—all on a calm day, 40 feet from shore and 100 yards from the slip. It illustrates that sometimes the most benign conditions can be the most dangerous since they make us more complacent. Had it been cold and windy, I wouldn't have been so cavalier. If it hadn't been near the end of the season and if we hadn't been so reluctant to disappoint our grandniece, we would have said "no engine, no wind, no sail" and gone home.
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I will now make myself a check list so I'll remember all the things that need to be done before leaving the slip. Make sure the engine runs, put those throwable PFD cushions in the cockpit, put on my PFD and clip on a tether at night or when single handed, make sure there is a rope (or that new Lifesling on sale) ready to throw and that there is a way to get back on board (swim ladder?). We've practiced the COB procedures to retrieve hats in the past, but now we'll take them a little more seriously. We have a strict rule for our toddler grand daughter that she wears a PFD as soon as she starts toward the dock and that she is tethered when on the boat. Wearing a PFD ourselves was treated less seriously.
The old argument for not wearing seat belts in cars was "I want to be thrown clear in case of an accident" or "I wear them on the highway when I drive fast, but not around town." Statistics showed that reasoning was false. Those sailors who say "I can swim (or as I did, "Ill hang on) I don't need a life jacket" are using equally false reasoning. We all wear our seat belts any time we get in the car and almost never have an accident. We are far more likely to fall in the water and need a PFD while sailing, yet we have not applied the same rigor to their use as we have seat belts. Maybe we should.
Before a Daysail - Stow the loose items in the cabin
- Make a general once-over looking for rig problems
- Uncover the sails and tiller and stow the covers
- Check the fuel and oil, then start the engine to be sure it runs
- For a night sail, check the navigation lights and rig jacklines
- Untie all the sheets so they are ready to use
- If it's windy, reef the sail at the dock
- Put the paddle and boathook within reach
- Put the snacks, drinks, hats, and sunscreen within reach
- Put the throwable PFDs/cushions in the cockpit
- Put out the Lifesling®, throw ropes, and other safety gear
- Assign everyone a PFD and make sure it fits
- Review safety procedures with your guests
- One last trip to the shore-side toilet
- Close the lifeline gate
- Stow the fenders after leaving the dock or slip
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Tom and Robin White live in Kansas City and sail their Ranger 23 on Grand Lake 'O the Cherokees in northeast Oklahoma where they plan to retire and sail more often wearing their PFDs!
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