That reminds me: I have an uncle who hit a tree after running over some sand on his motorcycle. The helmet cracked, but he walked away.

People still fight like mad to not have mandatory helmet laws (taking away their "freedom"). Don't know if this has changed, but for the longest time in RI, helmets are required for motorcycle passengers (of any age), but not for the pilots.

Lots of similarities to some points made above.

Mike

I wear a helmet 99% of the time while riding a motorcycle. I don't believe in helmet laws. Its your life, do as you choose. Minors, that's a different story, but if you don't mind your kid being a vegetable, then by all means, let em' skip the helmet. It doesn't need to be legislated.

Same with seatbelt laws. Its my life, I can do with it as I please. I do have a friend that would've been almost certainly killed had he not been thrown out of the car. But to be fair, that is a freak thing

There are those who would make a good case that if your kid becomes a vegetable through your negligence, it's unfair for the rest of the population to have to care for your child the rest of its life (through insurance premiums and taxes), but that's for a different thread.

But, thanks for helping me make the point that mandatory safety rules are extremely unpopular...

Mike

Thinking about it - these days when we do go in (f18 and I presume f16 would be similar), usually both of us are thrown clear of the mast and wind up in the water. By far the biggest danger is the back of the daggers if you catch one on the way thru which is nearly a body impact and can hurt no end. You'd need body armour a-la motorcross to protect you from that one.

Foiling boats?? Hmmm - really depends how much faster they are going I suppose. If they are getting 30+ knots then yeah - may need to rethink this helmet thing.

Here's a hockey helmet with a removable cage, but your crew may want to keep the cage on!

Only $89!

http://www.sportsauthority.com/prod...igkw=Hockey+HElmet&parentPage=search

I remember when Florida went from mandatory motorcycle helmets to optional. The motorcycle accident death rate went from about 45/yr. average up to over 500/yr.

Many years ago I owned a BMW R100S road bike, one day a drunk in a Cadilac T-Boned us (wife on back, 2mo. pregnant) and we flew over his caddy and bounced down US1. As I was bouncing down the road, I watched my wife's head bouncing up and down like a basketball, I was thinking, "Glad I wore my helmet, or this would be very ugly!"

Motorcycles aren't that dangerous if you know how to ride, it's the idiots in the cars that will kill you! But I always wore my helmet.

We're going with this model for our junior sailing kids.



http://www.amazon.com/Shred-Ready-Sesh-Water-Helmet/dp/B006NJETFE

I wear a leg knive already for years and the only problem I have had is that it once got stuck in my open net tramp.
While I was hanging half overboard!

I don't wear a helmet, but I once broke my nose by the swinging boom in a break.
But its obvious that a helmet doesn't protect you for a broken nose (except if you use a iron mask protection too)

More than one person has lost or broken teeth in a bad capsize, and there was one close call at the H16s in October this year; so the masks may not be such a bad idea.

And for those of you calculating the risk/reward scenarios; remember, none of this equipment is necessary when things are going along as planned. By definition, this stuff is needed only when everything goes haywire.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Mike

The safest thing would be to not get on a sailboat.

Safest thing is to stay on the sailboat

Have there been instances of sailors struck and injured by a competitors centreboards after going overboard in a pitchpole? Some boards seem to be razor thin and hitting anyone at 20 knots would do real damage.

I coach high school sailing in Boston and the helmet issue has been a major point of discussion at the last couple league meetings. Many schools are making helmets mandatory for their sailors because they have been losing one or two players to concussions every season. I think with the current attention TBIs are getting in football, hockey, etc. we are going to see a strong movement towards helmets in Jr. Sailing.

At MIT, Fran (sailing master) is also very concerned about the head injuries and has bought helmets for his sailors. They are optional to wear, and Fran is also trying to solve the problem by switching to carbon booms on the FJs and raising the gooseneck. We've also gone to Gnav vangs to eliminate extra purchases flying across the ****.

In general, I have found kids are more likely to get hit in light air when they aren't paying attention, than in heavy breeze when they gybe with a hand on the vang, etc.

I am glad to see helmets at the High School level being pressed. That will make it easier for us as time goes on for the younger sailors to adapt helmets as a necessary item, like the harness of life jacket.

Most kids today grow up wearing helmets on bikes, most of us did not. I think the kids will be the easy sell.

Mike

I tested Karl's old N20 daggarboard with my face once. The board is pretty strong.

and we're talking about helmets and knives, right?

What about a Helmet WITH knives?

and frickin' laser beams.

Sounds ripe for "here, hold my beer" moments

We just ordered 30 Shred Ready SESH helmets for our junior team and sailing classes. Retail is about $47. We got them for $26.50.