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Getting trapped underwater... #6233
04/11/02 11:15 AM
04/11/02 11:15 AM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 196
San Diego, CA
whitecaps Offline OP
member
whitecaps  Offline OP
member

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 196
San Diego, CA
From todays Scuttlebutt:

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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 1047 - April 11, 2002



Powered by www.boats.com, Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.





COMMENTARY

The death of an Austrian Tornado sailor last week in Palma has raised some issues that the sport needs to address. It often takes a tragedy to prompt changes that, with a little foresight, were obvious before the event, but perhaps now we can consider what sort of changes should be made before such a calamity occurs again.



In this instance, it was the trapeze hook becoming caught in the wrong part of some specialist trapeze gear, used only on the Tornado or other high-performance catamarans. It is the trapeze hook that is often the culprit in these incidents. The death of a German sailor when out in his 49er on Lake Garda a few years ago was also the result of his trapeze hook becoming entangled in the cap shrouds after he capsized.



18-foot skiff sailor and now Aussie 49er Olympic campaigner Carter Jackson says he is paranoid about his hook getting entangled during a capsize or a pitchpole. "As soon as I know we're going down, I put my hands over my hook as I'm jumping, to stop it getting caught on anything".



It just so happens that the designer of the 49er and numerous other skiff classes, Julian Bethwaite, is working on a revolutionary trapeze harness design that could wipe out this potential danger overnight. It works on a ball and keyhole principle. Instead of a trapeze ring at the bottom of the trapeze wire, there is a ball-shaped device which slots into a keyhole on the trapeze harness, in place of the hook that usually occupies the front of the harness. The advantage of this is that the harness now presents a flat, unobtrusive surface, which means that it won't scratch the centreboard after you climb back onto the board after a capsize but, far more importantly, you are also far less likely to snag the harness on anything - eliminating the chief danger of the trapeze hook.



But the harness is just one part of the problem. The buoyancy aid is potentially as life-threatening as it is life saving. Soon after winning a bronze medal in the Europe class in the 1996 Olympic Games, Courtenay Becker-Dey started sailing a 49er with her husband. Becker-Dey was out sailing one day off the coast near Seattle, doing some practice. They were both trapezing upwind when Becker-Dey called for a tack. She pushed the tiller away, unclipped and ran across the boat but found herself getting stuck halfway. The boat capsized and she realised she had threaded the seven-foot tiller extension through the arm hole in her buoyancy aid and she was pinned to the tiller as the boat began to turtle. Fortunately, she got herself free in time but it was, she says, "the closest I have come to death".



She is now firmly against the use of buoyancy aids in skiff-type classes. So too, is Rob Dulson, the chairman of the UK 18-foot skiff fleet, who refuses to compete in events unless he can compete without a buoyancy aid. The need to swim down and away from trouble should you find yourself pinned under a rig or upturned hull is often greater than the need for extra buoyancy support when floating in the water.



49er sailor Paul Brotherton believes the importance of carrying a knife far outweighs the importance of wearing buoyancy. "The chances of both crew being knocked unconscious at the same time are tiny, but if you get your trapeze hook caught in a piece of rigging or something, then how are you going to get free unless you've got a knife?" - Andy Rice



NOTE: The preceding excerpt was reprinted with the generous permission of the Madforsailing website. There's much more to this story: http://www.madforsailing.com/SAIL/Articles.nsf/LookUp/5E15E221C57FD3BF80256B90007F329E?OpenDocument





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-- Have You Seen This? --
Re: Getting trapped underwater... [Re: whitecaps] #6234
04/11/02 01:13 PM
04/11/02 01:13 PM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 180
Chelmsford, MA
Barry Offline
member
Barry  Offline
member

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 180
Chelmsford, MA
The ball and socket hook is already out there. My crew uses them as to not put a hole in the boat when she is forward on the boat in light air.

Re: Getting trapped underwater... [Re: Barry] #6235
04/11/02 01:53 PM
04/11/02 01:53 PM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 12,310
South Carolina
Jake Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Jake  Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 12,310
South Carolina
Where can you find these?



Jake Kohl
Re: Getting trapped underwater... [Re: Jake] #6236
04/11/02 09:59 PM
04/11/02 09:59 PM
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 26
MN
Miracle804 Offline
newbie
Miracle804  Offline
newbie

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 26
MN
The old SailSafe trap buckle and handle is what I use. It is no longer made. (Sailing Systems, Inc. - Hugh Greenwald no longer in business.) I've been able to get a few used relics via posting requests on another catamaran discussion board. Photo attached to this message.

Attached Files
6112-Trap Buckle.JPG (24 downloads)
Last edited by Miracle804; 04/11/02 10:01 PM.

Moderated by  Damon Linkous 

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