The death of Tim Atkinson at
the Laser 4000 National Championships earlier this year has again raised the
question of whether we should be using quick-release trapeze hooks on
high-performance boats. When I first heard of this sad incident, which took
place at the end of July in Abersoch, I got the impression there weren't any
clear findings to emerge.
But now that the RYA has issued
a more detailed report on the incident, it seems a sensible time to reconsider
the matter. The RYA's report confirms that, "the tragedy was the result of the crew
being unable to free himself from the rigging of his Laser 4000 dinghy when the
boat capsized and inverted, despite the efforts of both the helm and the safety
boats on the scene.
"It
was found on subsequent examination of the boat and personal equipment that
there was a 40 degree bend in the crew's trapeze hook and a matching
twist in the port lower shroud, which pointed to being the most likely cause of
the entrapment and the resulting cause of death of drowning."
John
Thorn, RYA National Sailing Coach pointed out some lessons and recommendations
from the report. "Firstly sailors need to be aware that some dinghies can
invert very quickly after an initial capsize. The speed of inversion reduces
the time available to release any crew who might be trapped.
"Our
investigations also found that dinghy trapeze harness hooks have been involved
in several near-miss incidents of entrapment and two previous fatalities. One
of these also involved another Laser 4000. Consequently the RYA will determine
and recommend an ISO standard or set of requirements for harness equipment in
order to assist manufacturers in the design and production of effective and
suitable quick release systems for dinghy trapeze harnesses.
"By
working closely with manufacturers and class associations we need to raise
awareness of the risks and hazards surrounding capsize and inversion and the
use and wearing of harnesses, as well as highlight the issues around
entrapment."
I
wonder what this will do for sales of harnesses with existing quick-release
technology. If you remember, ISAF originally planned to introduce quick-release
hooks as a compulsory measure for all trapeze sailors around the world. This
was born out of an incident on Lake Garda, where a young German 49er sailor
drowned after capsizing and getting his harness hook entangled with the
rigging. Not dissimilar circumstances to what happened to Tim Atkinson, by the
sound of it.
Paul
Henderson, ISAF president at the time, happened to be staying in Lake Garda
when this incident took place, and so moved and shaken was he by the
experience, that he introduced the quick-release rule in haste. Sensibly, ISAF
revised that position before we were all forced to go out and buy equipment
that really hadn't been sufficiently tested.
I
have used one example of the quick-release system, and I wasn't entirely
satisfied that it would stay in place when I wanted it to. It involves pressing
down on a button which releases the hook. The trouble is, my fear is that you
could accidentally press the button and release yourself from the wire
involuntarily. Indeed, I've heard that's exactly what happened to one 470 crew
who pinged himself off the side of the boat and was lucky not to be run over by
his coach boat which was following close behind.
So
this technology needs some serious assessment before it is imposed on sailors,
and I'm pleased to see the RYA's promise that it will work towards an ISO
standard for this equipment. Only then - if at all - should quick-release hooks
be made compulsory.
Of
course, in the meantime, this doesn't keep us any safer while we are continue
to use our standard non-release trapeze harnesses, except that on a related
safety note, it reminds me to replace the diver's knife that I had taped to the
transom bar - after it was stolen or ‘long-term borrowed' off the back of boat.
Every
couple of years or so in Roll Tacks, I return to this snippet of advice about
knives. I still don't see much evidence of them on board many dinghies, so it
is advice that I'll continue to bore you with from time to time. Who knows if a
knife would have saved Tim Atkinson. But it might have done.
Ben! Again!
Ben
Ainslie is proving as unstoppable as ever. As I write, the Sydney International
Regatta has just concluded with Goldenballs notching up six wins from nine
races. Our reigning Olympic Champion has been less than impressed with being
made to go through a selection trials process against Ed Wright before his
ticket to China is secure.
Ben
commented: "I'd hope that with this win and with the results from China this
year and last year that it'll make things quite clear, but that's really up to
the selectors now so I'll just have to wait and see!" That was the version in
the RYA press release. I'm sure there's a stronger version that Ben would be
happy to trot out, if you were to bump into him at the bar.
Once again he
has proved himself a league ahead of a world-class fleet. Runner-up in Sydney
was last year's Finn World Champion Jonas Hoegh-Christensen from Denmark, just
ahead of third-placed Rafael Trujillo, the reigning Finn World Champion. Of
course it must be remembered that both these Gold Cups were won in Ainslie's
absence, while he was on America's Cup duty.
And it is the
America's Cup that is the reason why the RYA selectors are making Ben go
through the trials process. His dual commitment as both skipper of Team Origin
and as Olympic aspirant could have given Ben a busy schedule in the coming
year, and Olympic manager Stephen (Sparky) Park will be keen to get his money's
worth out of Ben - even if he can't afford to pay him the same wage.
In any case,
as it's turned out with the faltering, stumbling progress of the 33rd
America's Cup, it's not as though Ben has missed out on too much vital Origin work
while he's been on his trip downunder.
Aside from
Ben's runaway victory, it was an impressive performance for the rest of
Britain's Finn sailors, with five Skandia Team GBR representatives in the top
10. While Ed Wright will have been disappointed with his 5th
overall, as he gives himself an ever greater mountain to climb in getting
selected ahead of Ben, 20-year-old Giles Scott was delighted to have come 4th.
In fact he finished equal on points with Trujillo, losing out on countback.
This is a phenomenal result for one so young, although as Giles himself points
out, it's a bit early to be talking about him as the next Ben Ainslie, who
after all had won an Olympic silver medal by the time he was 19.
If the Brits
dominated the Finn class in Sydney, it was the Canadians who showed the way in
the Laser fleet. Reigning World Champion Tom Slingsby, who seems the heir
apparent to the Laser class now that Robert Scheidt has moved on, could only
manage the runner-up slot on home waters. The Aussie sailor found himself
sandwiched between two Canadians, Michael Leigh in first place and Bernard
Luttmer, whom Slingsby edged into third place on countback. Also from Canada,
Michael Kalin finished 9th in a strong fleet where other proven
performers such as 2003 World Champion Gustavo Lima (one of the few to have
beaten Scheidt in his hey day) managing just 18th
A fresh set of eyes
It's hard to
remember the last time Canada made much of an impact on the Olympic scene, so
it would be interesting to know what juice this crop of Laser sailors is
drinking. Talking of Laser sailors, I got to meet two of Britain's most
successful athletes recently. Ben Paton, who was profiled in Yachts and
Yachting a few weeks back as the new Laser Radial World Champion, came to buy
my 49er - his next challenge. He turned up with Nick Thompson, Britain's second
best Laser sailor after Paul Goodison. They probably regretted getting in a car
for an hour with a journalist. I do ask a lot of questions, so apologies to Ben
and Nick for bending their ears!
My favourite
question to ask top sailors is to get them to remember a time when they were
sailing at the top of their game, and another time when nothing was going
right. Try it for yourself. Once you've picked out your most favourite and least
favourite moments, now concentrate on how you experience those memories through
your three main senses: seeing, hearing and feeling.
Now, when you
watch the image of yourself sailing in the past, are you looking out of your
own eyes at the picture, ie are you actually in the picture? Or are you
watching yourself in the third person, ie can you see an image of yourself
actually sitting or standing on the boat?
Now, this
might be the weirdest question to ask you (actually, there are weirder
questions, but not now...), because you might be thinking, ‘Well, of course I'm
looking out of my own two eyes. How can I be looking at myself?" That, at
least, was my reaction when I was first asked to think about this. However,
when I've asked some of the best sailors how they see themselves when they're
at the peak of the powers, they do actually watch themselves in a movie. As one
29er sailor said to me, "How else would I know whether or not I'm sailing the
boat flat?" How indeed, unless she chose to watch herself from a coach's
perspective, about three boatlengths back and above the surface of the water?
Crikey, that's clever, isn't it! I must try that myself. And if you struggle to
know whether or not you're sailing the boat flat, maybe you should try it too.
While this
conversation with Ben and Nick started out a bit freaky, it eventually prompted
Nick to recall that when he was coaching some Optimist sailors recently, he
noticed they were having trouble seeing the big picture, struggling to see
their position on the race course relative to the other boats. Nick's advice
was for his young sailors to move their perspective out of the boat and get up
into the sky, to get a bird's eye view over the race course. As soon as they
looked at themselves from this higher perspective, says Nick, it transformed
their tactical awareness. How cool is that? Freaky, but effective. Something
for you to try, perhaps, the next time you're in the middle of the fleet and
can't see the wood for the trees.