About sailboat accidents, and how to avoid them. There are many, and most minor accidents go unreported and the causes and actual injuries may surprise you. Safety should be your number one priority when out sailing. An accident at sea often escalates into a life-threatening emergency.
Disclaimer: The information on this website is readily available from many sources including online resources. I accept no responsibility for any of the information, advice or opinions expressed here. Always consult your health care professional or get advice as to your local requirements for the use of safety equipment or for carrying these on board. I will say this frequently, ENROLL IN A FIRST AID COURSE!
What are the most common injuries experienced by sailors? Much research and some surveys have been done and they make really interesting if not disturbing reading. Other pages show some of the reported accident statistics. The greatest risk for sailors is acute sailing related injuries and environmental factor injuries. The most common injuries are as follows and not in any particular ranking or order, contusions (bruising); lacerations and I must admit I have had way too many, primarily to the upper and lower extremities; lower back and spinal injuries; crush injuries; fractures of limbs, hands and collar bone injuries; ankle and knee injuries including patellofemoral pain syndrome, rotator cuff impingement, and a surgeon friend told me once that this was very common amongst sailors; head injuries and concussion and in some cases traumatic brain injuries. There are many more that could go on this list.
Many sailboat accidents and injuries are fall related impacts and I can willingly attest to this. Injuries or loss of fingers and toes when they get caught up in various equipment, windlasses are also a common cause. If it turns then best advice is to keep your fingers clear. Have you or one of the crew have sustained a nasty bang on the head from the boom, or suffered a fall on deck? Research has shown that the most common accident and injury mechanisms were trips and falls, or being struck by an object and caught in lines. The most common objects causing injuries were swinging booms, sail clews, spinnaker poles and crew crashing into each other. Unsurprisingly gybing and tacking caused about 30% of reported injuries. Many injuries were sustained when sailors were transiting from one side of the boat to the other during tacks and jibes. Other injury periods were associated with sail changes, winch operation and steering. It may come as a surprise but 63% of injuries occur within the confines of the cockpit, and about 25% up on the foredeck. Equipment failure features heavy in the data, and failures include winches, standing rigging, cleats and blocks, usually in periods of rough weather.
Many sailboat accidents are coincidental with heavy weather. Fatigue related injuries were usually associated with bad weather, and I like many who have experienced long and protracted bad weather, with lack of sleep, sustained physical activity, cold, wet and lack of food know how fatigue can set in. First let’s consider environmental risks, which include over exposure to the sun, hypothermia, immersion injuries and our old favorite, motion sickness or as the French call it, Mal de Mer or malady of the sea.
Acute injuries are very common and I am proof of that, it is so easy to have accidents especially when fatigued and hungry. Falls are really common, and often trip related, you know that old adage about “one hand for the ship and one hand for yourself”? It is a truism that is worth adhering to closely. Direct impacts from equipment, such as booms, mainsheet travelers and so on are common and have resulted in fatalities on a regular basis. The next risk area is halyards, sheets and lines under tension. Winch grinding has its own risks with repetition injuries, and muscle strain. At the top of the list of causal factors was heavy weather and high wind events that included planned and unplanned gybes and where someone was struck by the boom, mainsheet or a spinnaker pole. Catastrophic rig failures were also a source of injury within the racing space. Another cause was the falling through open companionways and I did that once as well as hatches and resultant head lacerations and fractures.
The challenges are significant. If you are a day sailor then medical help is not far away. I recall once I was asked to help fix a problem on a friend’s yacht, and an exposed stainless hose clamp tail on a water line to the engine sliced me open on the thigh better than any surgeon could. We quickly returned to our slip and I drove to the nearest emergency room and was stitched up within the hour. However, venture offshore and everything changes and everything becomes more challenging. No emergency assistance available, days or week away from help. We have limited medical skills, usually something happens in rough conditions, severe motion, cramped conditions and so it goes on. Simple injuries very quickly turn into life threatening ones. The major proportion of reported injuries were considered minor first aid issues and did not require professional treatment.
Several years ago, I was single handing offshore France in the Bay of Biscay, it was really tough going alone in a very big beam sea. A big wave got me and I was knocked over on to my beam ends. Fortunately, I was tethered in the cockpit but the force of the roll flung me across the cockpit. I landed against a winch and cracked some ribs. No time to stop and get help as conditions demanded progress to safety and a lee shore. For the next 5 hours I edged slowly working every wave into the lee of Ile de Groix off Lorient. Every movement was agonizing and excruciating. On arrival a doctor on a yacht said there was nothing that could be done, so we shared a great single malt. Had I been well offshore on an ocean passage the next few days would have been very challenging. The fact is that the majority of serious injuries occur in rough weather, and factors such as fatigue, motion sickness all contribute to risk.
Injuries are rather varied and more than 50% were sunburn related, even on the cloudy days. I would have thought most sailors were aware of the risk and yet here we are. I used to be somewhat careless about being covered up, avoiding the wearing of hats and sunscreens, but not anymore. Sea sickness brings with it weakness, impaired cognitive function, and general despondency. Not a great place to be when sailing short or single handed. There have been some horrific tales of people getting so debilitated they take to their bunk and die. Myself, I am one for being up in the fresh air, having the horizon to focus on. So many remedies, from consuming ginger to acupressure bands and so on. One remedy is putting an ear plug in the ear opposite your dominant hand. Seems to work. Dehydration is a real problem and often associated with sea sickness. So make sailboat accidents number one on your list to avoid.