Regarding the Issue of Securing Items Below Deck for Safety
(Edited)

The January 2000 issue of Sail Magazine carried an article by John Rousmaniere that prompted me to share some thoughts with you regarding safety in offshore races. It occurred to me that racing organizations should supplement their list of requirements with some kind of 'safe haven', at least in Category 1 races, where sailors can retreat to a safe, protected location on their vessel to shelter from a storm. Of the 15 people who tragically died in the 1979 Fastnet race, 8 were on deck at the time they were lost - 7 washed overboard and separated from safety harnesses and one who was injured and died of hypothermia.

Mr. Rousmaniere reported that survivors said that they were on deck because loose and broken items in cabins made it too dangerous to go below. Other recent articles, for example, Earl Hinz in a recent Latitudes and Attitudes, criticized the poor job sailors, including himself, do at securing items against a storm.

A requirement to properly secure all loose items and have positive acting latches on cupboards and drawers would prevent items from becoming deadly missiles in rough conditions. It's hard for me to imagine that the offshore racing community would object to such a requirement that would hopefully seep into the psyche of all sailors within a few years.

Sincerely,

John Hodgson