Accidents, death and sailing culture

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by Jammer

Perhaps you're right. Here are a few backflips for your enjoyment.

For SCUBA, the best reliable statistics show 40 fatalities a year. <snip>

There are 15 fatalities a year,<snip>

Now, if you look at hours spent in the activity, the analysis becomes more difficult and may very well lead to a different result, because people who scuba dive typically don't spend as much time at it as cruisers spend cruising. But that leads to a discussion of what constitutes risk exposure, and the outcome of that discussion is not clear.

Assuming the fatality numbers are correct neither activity is something to be concerned about.

"Poisoning" has become the #1 accidental death cause (this study appears to include prescription meds & illegal drigs) at something like 50k. Autos are around 33k then it drops to falling, drowning (which part of that might be sailing/boating?) which are quite small causes.

It is not clear to me as we are now "focusing" on the opioid epidemic that we aren't combining prescription drugs & illegal drugs to what might have been only accidentally drinking of rat poison in the past.

Adding sailing or scuba to your activities probably doesn't add much to your total risk of death.

Different studies break things out differently - One list puts alcohol very high on the list. The only explanation I have for that is if one is drunk when one dies while driving, falling, scuba-ing or sailing they attribute the death to alcohol?

It is really hard to kill yourself with pure alcohol poisoning so they must be doing something. One thing for sure drinking probably makes everything more risky.

Interestingly the number one cause of ER visits is still toilet accidents at like 140k ER visits a year - I am gonna stop pooping.

One thing for sure is that stats can definitely be manipulated to sell a story...

[james247]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

As both a Sailing instructor and Diving instructor at advanced levels, the dangers and solutions you teach are quite different and I think that gives you a glimpse at how casualties are analyzed.

Diving Instruction is far more physiological, with limited encouragement for in depth repairs/modifications of breathing equipment. Awareness of Currents and Thermals are basically the only Navigational concerns until you get into cave diving.

So basically Diving is self centered training with a "buddy" mindset.

Sailing is far more diverse in all area of crew management, communication, planning, maintenance, weather, navigation and safe, knowledgeable use of all the various electronic aids.

So there are so many more variables in a Sailing Inquest that a definitive answer is not so easy.

Diving is much simpler than sailing.
With diving there is only one rule.
With sailing there are two
Diving- don't run out of air
Sailing -don't hit anyone and don't let anyone hit you.

I know it's a little more complex. But it's worked for me. I started sailing 64 years ago and diving 56 years ago. I still do both. These three rules have all I've ever really needed.

[james247]

Originally Posted by james247

Diving is much simpler than sailing.
With diving there is only one rule.
With sailing there are two
Diving- don't run out of air
Sailing -don't hit anyone and don't let anyone hit you.

I know it's a little more complex. But it's worked for me. I started sailing 64 years ago and diving 56 years ago. I still do both. These three rules have all I've ever really needed.

O yes there is one more that apples to both
Maintain your equipment well
And if you don't know how
Learn.

[John_Trusty]

I thought that the two rules of sailing were - Keep the people in the boat, and Keep the water out of it.

To the original point, you cannot compare the two activities because the time exposure and risk factors are so different. Diving is technical, very focused, and risky for a short time. "Sailing" is everything from drinking a beer in the cockpit while tied to my club dock, to racing around the world on a high-performance catamaran. I live in an area where they race DN iceboats - look it up on YouTube if you want a thrill - is that sailing?

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by John_Trusty

I thought that the two rules of sailing were - Keep the people in the boat, and Keep the water out of it.

To the original point, you cannot compare the two activities because the time exposure and risk factors are so different. Diving is technical, very focused, and risky for a short time. "Sailing" is everything from drinking a beer in the cockpit while tied to my club dock, to racing around the world on a high-performance catamaran. I live in an area where they race DN iceboats - look it up on YouTube if you want a thrill - is that sailing?

There's one more rule, John, "Keep the pointy thing up!"

Ann

[alexanick]

Sorry billkinny, I totally disagree. I understand the pride in human nature that allows power boaters to tout their advantages over sailboats and mono hull owners to tout theirs over catamarans and the reverse but I have never seen on this forum, or anywhere else, one exclaim after a tragic boating accident, "see, if they had a catamaran that wouldn't have happened". Anywhere I have gone in my boat I have experienced nothing but a great community of people who all love doing the same thing, being out on the water any way they can.