Fatalities

[Kaicarno]

I was wondering about how dangerous it really is sailing. What most people that never have been sailing is that it's dangerous. More dangerous than driving down a highway for example. This annoys me because I'm the one talking about sailing and therefore I have to give and find statistics that proves them wrong. This is hard however and I was wondering if any of yous got a good link or knowledge gathered over the years that will help me in judging if sailing is dangerous (more deaths per person) compared to driving, flying, skateboarding etc. =)

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: Fatalities

Well... if it counts for anything I grew up sailing and I don't remember a fatality ever due to sailing around where we sailed. I remember a couple from explosions on board petrol engined motorboats, quite a few from stupid people trying to swim in fast moving currents and one or two unsupervised children drowning though.<br /><br />However, I've lost quite a few mates to road accidents.<br /><br />It's the same as anything- driving, riding,flying,even cooking or having a bath. It's dangerous if you don't behave sensibly and take all reasonable precautions.

 

[ED21]

Re: Fatalities

The Boat US website may have statistics.<br />I think lack of understanding of sailing gives people a fear of it.<br />I've never known anyone to die sailing either.<br />Read plenty of stories of fatalities that usually involve the open ocean or racing.<br />That being said the most scared I've ever been while boating has involved sailboats & squalls.<br />By the way the boom really does hurt if you get in the way while jibing. I lost a tooth to that once.<br />And the beer consumed while sailing on hot summer days has certainly not done my liver any favors.<br />Maybe it really is dangerous.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Fatalities

There appears to be precious little info on the subject, but one site I found did a simple study on the number of deaths over a one year period in 2001. The list was the top ten most dangerous sports.<br /><br />Solo yacht racing was number 8, just slightly more dangerous than street luging and not quite as dangerous as supercross.<br /><br />Base jumping topped the list. No surprise there I guess.<br /><br />I would guess that recreational sailing is among the safest things there is to do. Although, sailors tend to be a bit more bold than you're average boater, and I've seen skippers overestimate their abilities dramatically. Fortunately, sailboats are quite forgiving in all but the worst circumstances. Interesting topic.

 

[tommays]

Re: Fatalities

well its as safe as the boat owner makes it i have done a lot of long races with a guy from norway <br /><br />the first thing he does before we go on a race is have the crew bring the life raft on deck and then put it back below just so everybody on board has a least an idea should something really bad happen<br /><br />he always has an very good navagator on board and his main crew function is to no were we are at all times<br /><br />and he runs the whole boat that way safe or not at all<br /><br /><br />i have raced on other boats ONCE were it was and accident waiting to happen and you just have to walk away from things like that<br /><br /><br />tommays

 

[zdmaster2k]

Re: Fatalities

Provided you know, and sail to your ability, and follow all rules/regs, dinghy sailing (my speciality) is very safe indeed. I'm an RYA (Royal Yachting Association) dinghy instructor, not once have I had a student injured, let alone die. If you have fears about the safety of the sport, the RYA will do a good job to allay them, www.rya.org.uk<br /><br />Of course there are risks involved, but minimised, and with (in my branch of the sport) effective rescue cover, no one should come to any harm. Our accident book hasn't had an entry for a long time

 

[beniam]

Re: Fatalities

Read somewhere a major cause of drowning was p...<br />("kissa") after imbibing excessively, and falling overboard. Might only apply to powerboaters? Batavier

 

[zdmaster2k]

Re: Fatalities

You'd have a job sailing a boat if you were ratted, you can't just engage ahead and off you go! The biggest risk in a dinghy is an entrapement following a capsize, or concussion.

 

[dgriglack]

Re: Fatalities

You can look at the Coast Guard's accident statistics here: http://www.uscgboating.org/statistics/accident_stats.htm <br /><br />Just a quick look at 2003 (latest stats available) shows 19 fatalities reported for sailboats and 684 for all other. That doesn't look real good for power boats, but there are a lot more of them. Dividing by the number of each type of registered boats (285,084 sailboats and 12,509,532 power, not the best measure, but we don't know hours of use) and normallizing gives 6.66 fatalities per 100,000 sailboats and 5.47 fatalities per 100,000 power boats.<br /><br /><br />This now suggests that sailing is slightly more dangerous, about 20 percent. Take that for what its worth, but that's one way to analyze the numbers. As a long time sailor I do think that sailing is safer, at least after one gets past the initial learning curve when you are more likely to capsize and not know what to do, or put yourself in a untenable spot.<br /><br />Hope this helps.<br /><br />Don<br />US Coast Guard Auxiliary<br />Flotilla 08-43

 

[txswinner]

Re: Fatalities

I would guess the type of sailing is critical in this discussion, lake sailing vs ocean. I can not imagine anything safer than lake sailing with highest exposure being liver disease from consumption or skin cancer from sunbathing.

 

[LBJ]

Re: Fatalities

I am surprised at the sailing death numbers. I wonder how many of those sailors died because they were run over by motorboats.<br /><br />On my little lake, motorboat drivers are the biggest danger to sailors and to themselves. The closest I have had to being run over was from a jetski. He saw me but was being a smartass and slid in much closer than he had planned. He then collided with the smartass that approached me from the other side. Luckily, neither was injured too bad but I bet they felt the soreness for many days.<br /><br />Almost all the sailors I have met are thorough and careful people. Consistent hassle free sailing requires attention to detail and that attracts a certain kind of people. Others are generally frustrated pretty quick. That is why there is usually a lot of good used boats for sale.