Have you fallen off a MacGregor?

[mtc]

The Too Old thread included some great correspondence of safety on board, which went on to falling off the boat while on the trailer.

Additionally, another POLL of How old are we? illustrated that most of us are not 18. Impact trauma at our age could be more complicated and wed have to make boat payments while being laid-up, though we could still look at the boat from our bedroom window.

Theres no better way of learning safety then hearing about how injuries occur.

If youve fallen off your boat, or someone elses boat while underway or on the trailer, lets hear from you.

Michael

[mtc]

I'll start here.

Walking across Bellaroo, drill in one hand, parts in the other, caught my left foot on the baby stays (had the mast raising rig on) tripped, fell onto my knees in shorts, hit the edge of the hatch rail, saw stars the pain was so intense. Drill hit the driveway, screws and washers went everywhere (still some are missing) and my knee was swollen for weeks.

Still hurts every now and again, especially when I climb up the trailer ladder.

Never fallen overboard (knock on wood). Seen others, though.

Michael

[NiceAft]

No one has yet to fall off of NiceAft in any form, but last year, without any notice, somebody actually jumped off while I was sailing. That really pi$$ me off!

This fool just decided that he wanted to see if he could swim as fast as I was sailing, and just picked himself up, and jump overboard in the middle of Lake George. I tossed him a horseshoe buoy, started the engine, picked him up and went straight back to the dock to drop him off. He will never again be aboard anything I master!

We leave in one hour for this years vacation. The hard part is not being able to peruse this board for two weeks

Ray

[Catigale]

The Admiral fell off while we docked a couple years ago... to her credit she went right up and out the next day and did POB drills..

We ALWAYS wear PFDs underway....no 'good weather' or 'its hot: or : just in the cockpit" exceptions

[RandyMoon]

We always wear life jackets. Next season I would like to have an inflatable to stay cooler.

Though I like an occassional beer, I never drink before or during sailing.

Also, I used to wear tennis shoes with laces. I found that laces can get caught on deck hardware and trip you, so now I wear deck shoes w/o laces.

[mtc]

Though I like an occassional beer, I never drink before or during sailing.

Also, I used to wear tennis shoes with laces. I found that laces can get caught on deck hardware and trip you, so now I wear deck shoes w/o laces.

Two excellent points. Too much to do while sailing to do beer. At anchor, different story?

No laces make good sense - hadn't experienced that yet. Next pair of Sperry's will be no laces.

[Tiny Tim]

I was planning to go into shallow water to moor so I retracted the centerboard and dropped the sails. The main stuck about half way so I went ondeck to help it down. The waves were running about 3-4 feet and the boat turned beam to the waves. With me on deck and the board retracted, the waves caused a wild rocking motion. Each successive wave caused the mast to swing in a larger arc. I tried just holding on but the swings were so violent that I could no longer hold on and fell on my side hitting the deck and bouncing into the water. My lfe jacket absorbed much of the hit but I was black and blue for a month over a large part of my left side. My wife was aboard and helped me up the ladder. If I had fallen on my back, the story could have a far sadder ending.

I learned a few important lessons that day.
1. Keep the centerboard down if going forward on deck
2. If going forward on deck, face the waves for stability rather than lying abeam
3. Always wear a life jacket if going forward. Actually I always wear it.
4. Use a downhaul line on the mainsail if the headboard isn't heavy enough to cause the main to drop without assistance.
5. If on deck and a pendulum motion starts, drop your center of gravity FAST

If this confession saves one person from the same dumb mistake, it's worth the embarrassment.

[RandyMoon]

Thanks Tim, that is great advice that I would probably not have thought about until it was too late. I guess the centerboard would be key in keeping the rocking to a minimum.

I for one usually only sail in happy conditions but a good sailor is one who has prepared for the worst conditions and understands the factors that could affect themselves and others. Unfortunately many of us wait until you have to learn from experience and that is not the best method.

This is a good thread.

[Bill Warnock]

So far... my "fall" experiences with the Mac have had to do with
my single handed docking operations... and at 67 years old not be-
ing very physically agile in my particular case. :-(

Upon coming up right beside the dock... I wouldn't wait for every
thing to come to a *complete* halt... but would get in a panic mode
and grab the bow and stern lines in one hand and jump on to the dock...
hoping to bring everything to a standstill and start securing the boat.

Wrong...!!!!! For one thing the freeboard height versus my slips
surface height is probably around 3 1/2 feet... and with some
boat movement and my lack of physical agility... I took a couple of
bad spills... not to mention... looking rather foolish in so doing. :-)

Needless to say... I now have that little operation down pat... and
am damn lucky that I didn't seriously hurt myself during the learning
curve.

Though a little OT but for the record... like a couple of other posters
have stated... I'm a believer in the policy "no booze prior to or during a
sail..." until such time the Mac has returned and is safely secured for the
duration. And yeh... I love my Budweiser... but it will just have to wait
until everything is done. (smile)

Best regards to all...

Bill

[RandyMoon]

And yeh... I love my Budweiser... but it will just have to wait until everything is done.

Bill, real sailors drink Captain Morgan's rum straight with a dash of Old Spice aftershave, shaken, not stirred.

[They Theirs]

[Night Sailor]

I deduce from TheyTheirs picture that having a cold one while sailing can induce forgetfullness...... or do two 8" fenders dragging in the water help balance the boat?

[They Theirs]

A not so good sailor drinks and marks his coarse by dragging fenders and ....ah, . Poll needs "other" catagory

[Night Sailor]

No, let's not go there. Marking "coarse" seems appropriate enough...

[RandyMoon]

This photo is appripo for a thread titled "Have you fallen off a MacGregor?"

Better yet..... would you sail with this individual?