Just trying to get your attention, sort of like the National Enquirer headlines. Here's the situation. Carl Roberts says he is thinking about having a female crew again in the 2003 Worrell 1000. Here is part of what I wrote back to him about it by e-mail:

I guess I should clarify my feelings about women racing in events like that. I think it would be fine for two well-qualified women to race together on the same boat. But, in many cases, I do not think it is safe for a man and woman to race together. My reasoning is that this makes an already dangerous race even more dangerous for the man on the boat -- not necessarily for the woman. I think it is important for each of the people on the boat to have the strength to rescue the other person. When you have people of disparate weight and strength capabilities, it is more dangerous for the heavier and stronger of the two. I, for instance, would have a hard time hauling Rick back aboard the boat if he were injured or unconscious. Two women racing together would probably have more equal abilities to rescue each other, just as two men do.

I just wanted you to know that my opinion is not sexist -- just based upon common sense and safety concerns for the men. My opinion might be the same about you (Carl) sailing with a smaller, weaker male -- but a man usually has considerably more muscle and strength per body size than a woman does.

You men always seem to think in terms of being the rescuer and you don't think about having to be the rescuee.

I may take some heat for this but this reminds me of a situation a friend of mine is in. He skippers his boat at the local club races on Wednesday nights. He has two women for crew and it always seems that ...."He's always wrong"

Personally I don't have any gender preferences of who I crew for.

Robert

Mary, your just trying to stir things up aren't you?! I know some women who are more than capable of rescuing me, in fact it has happened in 15-20 mph winds when a trapeze wire broke. Remember it's not a class of people that should be banned, it is the qualification of each. I know quite a few men that I wouldn't sail that race with because I don't feel they would be qualified to save me if something happened.

Hi Mary

just joking as most always ,-people take things way too seriously on web sites ,

-Sailed the 2000 Worrell with an excellent female co-skipper ,-she broke her leg the following year with a different skipper along with another racer the same leg ,-leg of the race that is ,--,-different leg and place broken . --confusing but, Tom is an experienced professional excellent sailor which shows it can happen to anyone of any gender size strength .

Agree with both other posts ,some you would not want to attempt this type of race with due to inexperience and conditioning, you need some distance racing miles logged , and the experience that goes with it and good physical conditioning to attempt this type of racing ,--
[being a little crazy helps too }
Any potential crew mate needs to be able to rely on the other , some days you may be dehydrated ,-exhausted ,-you may have flipped numerous times swallowed sea water . You may have bruises cuts that easily get infected being on the ocean for 12 hour days sometimes -nights . So you have to take really good care of yourself each day and make sure your crewmate does the same and you watch out for each other realizing the accumulation of these aspects of this race take their toll.

If a smaller crew needs to get a larger one back aboard just as with big boats mechanical advantage is there to use .
On big boats a winch is sometimes used to retrieve a man overboard clipping a snap shackle on to their harness or life jacket rings then winching them up the high sides of a typical monohull. We are much lower in the water ,-particularly this year on the Jav , Any could easily use mainsheet blocks with a snap shackle with an 8 to one power purchase to pull any back up on a hull.
I generally go out ,practise the day before the race ,and go through the worst case scenarios , learn to hit a GPS cordinate if needed , and flip and right the boat .You spend two days tuning checking and testing gear before also .
I,m not good at every aspect and do really rely on the other with me ,-Many other more dedicated skippers are better at different aspects.

I,ll always remember David and I in 01 the first leg, We had never sailed together and did not get any time to go out the day before the race begane that year. -Of course it was blowing 20 to 25 on the nose that day .
To make a long story short , Dave was great on the boat ,we just dodged the P Yacht Gals at the start who were out of controll and we popped out near the front of the pack . One by one boats around us flipped or fell way back and we found ourselves leading much of that first day being nipped out at the line by 12 seconds by Brian and Jamie ,---reached a little too much and got closer to shore . --What a great day of racing for Dave and I , I'll always remember it ,and have a great areal photo of us leading that day as the screen saver , so see it each day . So many fantasic people and adventures over the years .

If I could wish a Holiday gift for each catsailor ,-whether a beginer or one of the very best in the sport , at any level . It would be to find the wondefull people ,great joy and adventure in sailing this sport can bring .

Happy Holidays
Carl

Has anybody ever actually done that -- winching somebody back aboard a cat using mainsheet blocks? I am trying to picture the scenario in big seas and wind, one person on the boat trying to hold onto the person in the water and at the same time trying to keep the boat headed into the wind and at the same time rigging this makeshift hoist and then getting the boat turned so that the boom is on the same side as the overboard person, and figuring out how to attach the hoist line to the person, while trying not to capsize, etc., etc.

And, of course, when one person falls off the boat, often this results in the boat capsizing right away, which creates a whole new set of problems.

Maybe some of the experienced Worrell sailors should start a whole thread devoted to worst-case scenarios and suggestions for dealing with them. Might save a life.

Mary,

Is there a primary assumption in these "what ifs" that the injured sailor is tethered?

It is my understanding that some Worrell sailors use tethers and some don't. A lot of people used to be afraid to use them. I don't know what the current trend is. I wasn't trying to give information, just trying to get more information from Carl about the winching idea.

You, Kevin, in fact, are the one who got me to thinking about relative weight and strength factors when attempting a rescue -- it was your story about your cold-water rescue of a guy with your kayak. How many women do you think could have accomplished that?

I realize it is not politically correct to say that women can't do everything men can do, and I know that men hesitate to talk about this. But being a woman myself, it doesn't bother me a bit to say women can't do everything. I have a lot of friends out there racing in the Worrell 1000, and they are all men, and I feel a lot better about their safety if both people on the boat have similar strength and endurance and skill. Women can easily have the same sailing skills as men, but you will never convince me that they have the same strength. (Obviously, there are exceptions, but very few.)

Hey Mary-

Easy for you to say!!!

thom

I brought up tethers mainly because I'm curious how many cat sailors actually use them. I've contemplated adding tethers but have resisted adding any more complication to the tramp of my N6.0. I'd be really interested to hear opinions on their use.

As for the strength differences between men and women, it is a simple reality that must be faced when considering the risk at hand. (When I was in the Air Force, there was an ongoing debate about women in combat situations. Many of the same issues.)

Among the things I do to earn a living is to teach sea kayaking. In addition to the basics, I teach reentry and rescue techniques. One of the key points that I try to emphasize is that each paddler must be well aware of his/her limitations. Part of developing that awareness is practicing the skills in the conditions you plan to paddle in. I encourage folks to pick a day when the water is warm and the wind is strong, but blowing onshore. Go out, turn the boat over and test your skills. We simulate injuries. (Shoulder dislocations are a common injury for paddlers in rough conditions.) We practice putting an incapacitated paddler back in their boat and getting them to help, etc, etc.

When Hurricane Floyd came up the coast a few years ago, it created a pretty good blow on Lake Champlain - sustained winds in excess of 50 knots and the highest waves ever recorded on the lake. My wife, myself, and some of my more experienced guides took the opportunity for practice and headed for the broad lake. We were on the water for a mere 45 minutes, but learned a lot. In particular, we learned that the rescue techniques that we practice do, in fact, work in survival situations.

As for cat sailors, I'm not sure what the level of rescue practice is in "combat" situations, but the bottom line is that we all need to be aware of our skills and physical limitations, then plan our sailing accordingly.

I would imagine that the traditional method of winching somebody aboard using the boom might not be practical on a beach cat.

However, if the person is incapacitated, the best way might be to "winch" him in directly over the side of the boat - a block and tackle hooked to the other side of the boat (opposite hiking strap or the such) with the length of the tackle NOT so long it that it extends over the rescue side, a tether from the end of the tackle over the side to a sling under the victims arms so he is facing away from the boat, then use the tackle to pull him up - the system would need enough mechanical advantage/purchase to compensate for the strength of the weakest crew member. You'll likely put a rope burn or two in the gel coat, but that's a small cost in a dire situation. A cleat on the block and tackle would be helpful or even necessary to hold the system in place while the crew prepares for the next pull.

If a person is not incapacitated, but can't easily get back on the boat, maybe something similar to the netting deployed in the side of ships could be used - add hand-hold loops to it maybe so you can get a hold where it is up against the hull. Made with the right line/construction, something like that could be stored easily onboard, deployed by one person, and give the victim valuable grips for hanging on to the boat (which would make it easier for the person on board to help) or getting back on.

Just some ideas...

Good input Keith and Kevin ,

All of us , any on the water in on any type of craft are at risk ,-if you don't understand this you should not go offshore on any body of water. Know your limitations as Kevin notes with kayak experiences . There is no way to be safe in every imaginable scenario. If any are hit by a sudden storm with 50 -60 mph winds or up you are surviving. Make it to the beach if possible ,-if not you're capsized so just let the boat go turtle , mast down ,stay with the boat--now very easy to get on being level with the water and hang on and ride it out . You should have a cell phone or radio ,-if not an emergency flare or 3 to set off for help . Most of us have been there in some way to some extent . Others experiences and how they survived sudden storms or difficult conditions and situations is very valuable for others to read .

Bill Wallace and Dave who will be gr crew again this year in the Worrell and are both past sailors in it have experience as part of rescue teams responding to EPIRB signals .
--People like this have the most interesting information and insights to share ,-fasinating to hear their stories. It's always the people on the front lines that really know and understand the different aspects of the sport.

A good thing to have handy is a four-foot loop of webbing. It can be quickly slipped around a shroud with the loop extending down into the water. The sailor in the water slips his/her foot in it like a stirrup, taking the burden off the upper body and using the legs to get back on the boat.

Kevin,
In years past I remember experimenting with a loop and also with a rope ladder. In both cases, the devices actually made it more difficult -- if not impossible -- to get back onto the boat because, being flexible materials, as soon as you put your foot into the loop or onto the rope ladder rung, the whole thing curved under the hull, which radically changed your leverage.

It is very difficult to talk about all these things in mere words. Wouldn't it be great to have seminars to deal with subjects like this and have a marker board and be able to make diagrams and to experiment with things in the water on various types of boats; and to demonstrate various types of tethering techniques, how to attach restrainer foot loops; and to maybe take an old hull and experiment with flotation; and to take a mast and submerge it and show how to detect and seal leaks -- and also to experiment with different types of masthead flotation.

There are endless "what-if" scenarios that could be covered in a seminar like that. It would be fascinating! And it would be nice to find out what works and what doesn't.

Mary,

I've found that the webbing loop works best on boats with boards. By attaching to the shroud and putting a foot in at the boards, the board limits the inward rotation. The loop acts sort of like having a step on the side of the board.

[color:"green"]> Wouldn't it be great to have seminars to deal with subjects
> like this and have a marker board and be able to make
> diagrams and to experiment with things in the water on
> various types of boats; [/color]

Sounds like a great idea for a seminar. Seems like the demand for such a session will only grow as the popularity of distance races keeps increasing.

Kevin,
I knew you were going to say that about the boards. Tried that. I thought the same way you did. Still didn't work. The board is still back under the curve. I can tell that you are going to try this stuff yourself as soon as the water gets warm again.

Mary,

Hmmm. It worked when I tried it. The loop extends the minimal length necessary to get a foot in (as close to the surface as possible). You raise a good point, though. There is no universal answer. It's up to each of us to sort out what works best for our particular situation (boat type, body type, etc.). I've found in my kayak classes that reentry techniques that are impossible for some can be easy for others, and vice versa. I try to teach a variety of options and ask the students to find the one(s) that works best for them.

You're right, too, about the fact that once the ice and snow disappear in the spring, I'll be out there experimenting.

As for tethers, do you have a sense for how many cat sailors actually use one? I've seen the requirement for them in distance race NOR's, but, for instance, the NE100 requires only that, "this line should be utilized when underway in heavy seas or darkness".

Rick is home again, and I just asked him about tethers in the Worrell 1000. He says most of the sailors use them now except for a few "good old boys." I don't know what that means. Maybe the people who have visions of the boat cartwheeling across the water as they are being keelhauled.

Here's another follow-up question. How often do cat sailors practice MOB drills?

When you ask "how often," that assumes that catamaran sailors do practice man-overboard drills. Most catamaran sailors don't like to "practice" anything. And I don't know where any would even be taught how to do a man-overboard drill unless they had taken some sort of certification learn-to-sail course. Some fleets have fun events that simulate man-overboard retrieval, but it is not retrieval of anything similar to a human being. Some of the boat-handling drills in Rick's seminars would help with man-overboard retrieval. But no complete drills that include learning the various techniques. I have read about them in various magazines, but never actually seen them applied in real life except when I have fallen off the boat (trapeze breakage) going to weather, and Rick circled around, came up to me to leeward, grabbed me by the butt of my trapeze harness, threw me on the tramp and yelled, "Sheet in the jib."

The extent of my personal retrieval experience as skipper is recovering a grandchild's hat. Oh, yeah, and the other day my dog fell off over the main beam and I grabbed him as he was coming out the back and hauled him onto the boat over the rear beam.

As I said, somebody needs to organize a seminar to cover all kinds of safety stuff like that.

I raced the last 2 years in the worrell and we both wore teathers a good % of the time. They offer a great comfort level when offshore, nightime,and when the weather starts to get nasty like the kill devil hills to V.B. leg last year. The crew only need to remember to go in and out on the same side of the shrouds. A few months ago I had the harness hook break and I fell in with the teather on. The boat just comes to a stop fast. Depending on you point of sail determins what the boat does. In my case we had the kite up and went into a jibe and the boat stopped and flipped towards us.
As for womens strengths. If something that drastic happened we all get that blind adrenaline rush in desperate time which may take over limited physical ability. So I think it all breaks down to skill level and feeling comfortable that the people you sail with can perform any task at hand.
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