Reminder that your days are not guaranteed!

[Midpack]

I have no idea if the difference is sailboats vs. power boats, because no one in my family owned a power boat.

Collisions happen MUCH faster on a power boat. It's harder, but by no means impossible, to get killed in a sailing collision.

I sailed/raced for decades and while we drank a lot after, we never drank on the water. That said, I know tons of people who went boating blasted every weekend. That said, in every marina we kept a boat in, 90% of the boats rarely/never went out. Many owners were too afraid of their boats and incompetent operators***, so they sat on the dock and drank all weekend. Many other boats just sat neglected day after day, gathering bird poop and other debris - I never understood the many people who own boats and don't use them.

***it's amazing how many boat owners know little to nothing about handling a boat properly, and choose to drink on the water as well. I knew boat owners with 6 figure boats who couldn't dock properly and didn't know how to properly secure their boats at the dock - "if you don't know the knot, tie a lot." Every boat owner should know a cleat hitch and a bowline at the very minimum - many don't.

 

[Calico]

With sailing, my 2 observations are many get knocked overboard by a swinging boom.. but mainly the amount of time it takes to come about and get back to the person overboard.

Indeed!

My father was fond of giving the absolute minimum notice when he was going to come about, and I ducked many a boom in my youth! He thought it was a good way to "keep us on our toes."

 

[Beststash]

Wearing a lifejacket story

Living in Houston (Montrose ) in my youth I bought a 16ft. Hobie Cat. To learn to sail I would go Pleasure Island in Port Arthur, Tx. It is about a 20 mile long man-made lake extending to Sabine Pass.

The fun of a Hobie is to "fly one hull". It has what is called a "butt bucket" which is a cable that attaches to the top of the mast and has a harness that to sit in - this allows you to stand on one pontoon, pull the sail which will pull the catamaran up on one pontoon - a lot of fun. In an effort to go faster and faster you can pull up to far and flip (they call it turtling) the cat. In order to get catamaran up you attach "righting lines" that go across the bottom of the boat which has knots tied on it. You stand on one pontoon and if you have enough weight you can pull the mast (about 27ft/350lbs) up out of the water and "right" the boat.

So I got a Tim (friend) to go with me with goal of intentionally flipping the boat multiple times as a learning experience. I told him to put on his lifejacket....nope don't need it....come on man....no way. Ok...so we get going I tell him get ready I'm gonna flip it (sometimes it will throw you pretty far) and so it tossed him about 20 ft. and the boat flipped. I went under water got the righting line but no Tim - I looked around and saw him struggling and yelled "Are you OK, swim over here"....he says "I don't think I can make it"... so I swim over to him and he grabs me and almost pulls me under water. Finally get him to relax and we get back to the upside down boat...I'm able to get it up (wasn't easy because I didn't quite weigh enough) and Tim is scared to death....He is ready to go....hugs the mast in a death grip until we get to the marina.

I learned a lesson that day - never ever allow someone to get on your boat unless they wear a lifejacket - it is just not worth it. Too dangerous. People think they can swim well enough but stuff happens.

Anyway a Hobie Cat is fun - especially at the beach because you always have a good wind and waves.

 

[RobLJ]

While I'm a pagan (satire), my father was a Church of Christ minister, so the OP's post triggered a memory (I had to read 2-5 chapters a day and for the first year was quizzed).

ECC 9:12
For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.


All of your posts remind me that one of my close friends moved to Tulsa in 8th grade, and his father took him on a kayak trip in Eastern Oklahoma; unfortunately there was a rain "event" and the flash flood killed both of them.
No man (or woman) knoweth their time--there is 40 year planning prudence that all of us do here on the blawg so as not to die in a blanket on the street, and then there is the cold hard slap of reality long before that dreaded end.
"Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die," I guess

 

[RobbieB]

I've been paying double slip rent for 3 months to make sure the boat is ready and we are ready.

Start up procedures, safety equipment, engine condition, close in maneuvering, docking, anchoring, VHF radio use, line handling and securing, fenders, the works!

Yeah, the water is no place to be drunk. I do plan to drink on the boat...after it's securely docked in the berth for the day. I used to bring a couple beers with me when I went fishing 30 years ago, but quickly learned that sun and wind and waves make 1 beer feel like 3 beers.

 

[Calico]

I've been paying double slip rent for 3 months to make sure the boat is ready and we are ready.

Start up procedures, safety equipment, engine condition, close in maneuvering, docking, anchoring, VHF radio use, line handling and securing, fenders, the works!

Yeah, the water is no place to be drunk. I do plan to drink on the boat...after it's securely docked in the berth for the day. I used to bring a couple beers with me when I went fishing 30 years ago, but quickly learned that sun and wind and waves make 1 beer feel like 3 beers.

I wish every boater/sailor on the water had your high safety standards. A lot of lives would have been saved.

 

[Out of Steam]

Many years ago DS and I went on a 10-day 110-mile canoe trip in the Canadian bush with a group of youths and a few adults. The first night we pitched our tent and there was a bad thunderstorm. We later heard that a couple islands away from us a tree fell on a couple people as they slept in their tent an killed them. It could have been us.

As forest health is affected by invasive insect/microbe species and climate change, this particular tragedy appears to be getting more common.

Whether you're in a trailer, motor home, or tent, look up for dead trees and branches when you make camp.

 

[skyking1]

I did a stint working on the water, and "zipped and clipped" is just the way it is.
I also went in the sound from about 12' and missed some massive fenders that could have ended my days, life jacket or not.
It takes a while to resurface from a 12' header!!
here is a selfie with that important feature.

 

[RobLJ]

As forest health is affected by invasive insect/microbe species and climate change, this particular tragedy appears to be getting more common.

Whether you're in a trailer, motor home, or tent, look up for dead trees and branches when you make camp.

We hike the Eastern Sierras frequently, particularly the Tahoe Rim trail, and can reinforce that on some hikes it seems like 1/3 or more trees--up to more than 1/2 in some areas--are either dead from drought, the pine beetle, or fire. I haven't hiked South Tahoe since the big fires last year, but I'm sure that area now is ravaged, as well, which is depressing. We're going to Lassen NP next week to celebrate DW's 60th; that area also got creamed by the big fire there last year and 3 out of 5 camp areas are closed due to last year's fire. (Lassen kind of resembles a mini-Yellowstone for those of you out East of Nevada/NoCal, although not very well known. It's close to Mount Shasta.} I guess we should all be raking more.

Be careful out there, as OP cautions. The good thing is that there aren't too many storms in the Eastern Sierras in the summer; it's more late fall, winter, and early spring when you have to really be careful, although there are some pop-up thunderstorms in summer.

 

[RobLJ]

Did read an article in the National Geo yesterday that in one area they are re-opening an old sawmill to try to harvest the burned trees. There is a timeline of about 2 years, at most 3, before insects and moisture will ruin what otherwise would be good wood.

There's always a rainbow, somewhere.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Rob, Frenchman’s was such a beautiful place to camp and much of it is burned. Lassen is really beautiful. Enjoy!

 

[old medic]

Whether you're in a trailer, motor home, or tent, look up for dead trees and branches when you make camp.

Standard procedure for us... Its hard at night, or winter camping.
Several years ago, a discussion at work got a few of us digging into statistics from the FBI and CDC... and even though we were on 2 different sides, we did agree that your 4 times more likely to be killed by falling debris than a random mass shooter....

 

[sergio]

I was an avid boater for 40 years. DUI on the water is FAR worse than it is/ever was on the roads. It's very common, but authorities are vastly outnumbered on the water so they can't really "catch" drunk boaters without an accident or grossly erratic behavior. We kept our distance for other boats at all times, there are raging drunks on the water all the time...small lakes, big lakes, oceans, rivers, etc.

This is why I just can't do boating anymore with my family. We were on a friend's boat during Labor Day some 10 years ago and nearly got hit by group of raging drunks.

And last year we also decided to reduce our savings rate a bit an enjoy more of life now. I ran the numbers under two different scenarios: (1) retiring at 50 and (2) retiring at 52. The improvement in pre-retirement QOL was astonishing under case (2).

We can now eat all the sushi once a week, not fret over buying a $70 polo shirt or a $150 pair of shoes, buy Starbucks coffee a few times a week, pay for extra supplemental private tutoring for our kids etc.

Even if the odds are in your favor, there's always a tiny random element that we can't control.

 

[athena53]

I was an avid boater for 40 years. DUI on the water is FAR worse than it is/ever was on the roads. It's very common, but authorities are vastly outnumbered on the water so they can't really "catch" drunk boaters without an accident or grossly erratic behavior.

Since we're on the subject of marine accidents: Lake of the Ozarks is a popular boating destination in my area and a few years ago the local authorities decided to save money by getting rid of the marine police force and using local police. They arrested a drunken boater (yeah, it's a huge problem there), cuffed him and put him in their boat. They then slipped a life jacket over his head.

The guy jumped out of the boat, the life jacket slipped off and he drowned before they could rescue him.

I suspect the ensuing judgment cost them a whole lot more than they "saved" by getting rid of the marine police.

 

[pacergal]

Thankful and grateful every day that I and my family remain safe and healthy.

 

[Helen]

deleted.

I think my memory is going, I just saw that I had posted this sad tale on another thread...

 

[RobLJ]

deleted.

I think my memory is going, I just saw that I had posted this sad tale on another thread...

Happens to all of us.

 

[RobLJ]

deleted.

I think my memory is going, I just saw that I had posted this sad tale on another thread...

Happens to all of us.....Wait!