Originally Posted by Tornado
Tami,

I agree the article doesn't say explicitly the hook was caught, but it does say:

"PJ was wearing a currently legal harness with no "Quick Release" buckle. In 2006 ISAF tried to make Quick-Release buckles mandatory, but was repealed. Ryan dove many times to untie half hitches to free PJ."

The implication is it was an issue...why bring up harnesses in such detail if this was not an issue?

Please hop aboard the safety parade.



Originally Posted by tami
Sorry to rain on your safety parade,

but nowhere in the SA article does it specifically state that the guy's buckle was fouled.

All it says is that he was wearing a harness without a quick-release buckle.



From the HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN Thurs Nov 13 2008
http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20081112_..._team_hard.html

"When the boat Peter McGonigle Wenner was sailing in capsized Saturday afternoon, the 19-year-old became entangled in its canopy, trapping him underwater for about five minutes, authorities said...."



What's next? Do we outlaw CANOPIES? rigging? Arms and legs do get fouled in rigging, you know...


How about we learn to sail SAFER and TRAIN ourselves for these sorts of accidents rather than imposing regulation...?



Huge issue financially for those selling safety hooks which would all need to be replaced at high cost strait away so there is a while lot of reasons to ramp up the commentary.

Safety is a problem for us all as we are all too safe. Every time one person dies for any reason authorities want to over react. Only sensible place for the mitigation of the loss of human life is not to sail.
I was watching some old Indianapolis footage and people died and the boys just kept racing. We are all soft now and getting softer.
What is the step too far?
People make safety hooks, if you want one buy one, if you don't be prepared to die if you are the one unlucky dude this last year out of all of the sailors on the planet who might have died because he was hooked up.
I looked into the ball style and too many people wrote into this forum and said they just dropped off the side of the boat...I sail all alone out past the Islands here with no boats in sight. What do I do if I fall off the side of my boat when it is going 15 knots in a big sea?
Where is the balance for me of how many times I can get back to my boat and how many times I am going to hook up and be drowned?
It is awful that someone died but he died with the freedom to have the ball style harness.
Are there any stories out there about the hook Saving a life? One such story a year would balance the deaths.
I had an experience where my leg was caught up in my mainsheet. Do I 86 the mainsheet?