Sailing very dangerous--for the elderly!

[roland stockham]

Should read sailing is very good for the elderly. If he wasn't an active sailor, at his age, that fall would probably have put him in a nursing home. Activity is the secret to a long and happy life

[Dougtiff]

Well, just hitting 78 this Sept. and working full time as a Shipwright and Rigger, I never jump down any where any time, as I know if I do break anything it's going to be a bitch to heal up and I don't have time to waste on that.

[goat]

Originally Posted by buzzstar

Butler's post reminded me of two things:

1. I do not typically think of myself as elderly, but at 73 I admit I am approaching middle age.

2. I may not be as good as I once was; but once I am as good as I ever was.

Going to live past 146 years old? I like your attitude!
It appears the only real villian here is gravity.
Stupid gravity.

goat

[dw5055]

Dangerous for the elderly....lol....what a joke! Give that guy some credit. Let's see....more elderly people die and are injured from bathroom slips than from sailing. I'd rather take my chance at sailing when I'm in my 70's than sitting home watching TV. Let people do what they want...you only live once!

[zedpassway]

Originally Posted by dw5055

Dangerous for the elderly....lol....what a joke! Give that guy some credit. Let's see....more elderly people die and are injured from bathroom slips than from sailing. I'd rather take my chance at sailing when I'm in my 70's than sitting home watching TV. Let people do what they want...you only live once!

He wasn't sailing. He was out on a slippery dock in near gale force winds by himself. He could have been blown into the water, which would have been fun to get out of. And then without his cell phone he jumped 4 feet on to a slippery dock from somewhere, maybe his boat.

I'm sure if he'd been sailing it would have been fine. If things hadn't gone just right for him, he could have died out there on that dock. That would have ended his sailing days, I suspect.

Age is supposed to bring wisdom. That kind of thing is what I expect from a 16 year old.

And.... you may actually live a lot more than once BTW.

[Waterrat10]

This thread just goes to show, don't mess with the elderly they are tougher, smarter and more resilient then some might believe. How the heck do you think they made it that long.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by sailingfarmer

The problem with getting older is.... at times you feel 18 years old when you get up in the morning and then 200 years old at night. It's when you feel 18....that is when you get hurt.

Hey, I resemble that remark!

+1

[erewhonman]

thats right, crap happens all the time, attaching causal significance to his age seems precipitious - lots of candidates for blame, storm, wet, surge all sound a little unusual.

[Sandero]

I certainly can say that I am not the same person physically that I was 10, 20 or 30 years ago Like many I have a herniated lumbar disc which cause all manner of complications from the waist down. The good thing is it comes and goes... the bad is it always returns!

I take things slower... for sure never jump from my deck to a floating dock... and don't life heavy things any more. My vision is not as good, my hearing stinks... but my sense of PRUDENCE is increasing. I don't have anything to prove to myself and so I am more a fair weather sailor.. not because I can't deal with heavier stuff... but I don't get any satisfaction from it as I once did. I take more time and observe more caution thinking I don't have the strength to get myself out of a pickle as I once did.

I'm curious to see what age will take from me in the coming years.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by zedpassway

Jack was run over by a car(and killed) at age 95 while he was out for a run in prep for a marathon. Of course he didn't have the V chest figure that he had in the TV exercise videos of the 1950's. Like all of us, he didn't look good naked anymore.

I recognized Stan Boreson in a half second when I saw the freezeframe of the youtube vid.
I watched him every day when I was a kid. He was a Seattle icon.

[Hudson Force]

Well, I've listened to much advice here and I've come to one conclusion.
It looks like I'm going to hurt myself some time in the future while doing sometime that I enjoy!

The alternative will be to hurt myself while I'm not having fun.

[Jim Cate]

I'm reminded of the saying of a friends elderly father (he was in his early eighties at the time, and was still an active cattleman... on horseback). He would say " I hope to die on my 104th birthday, falling from a whore house window where I was enjoying my birthday present".

Sadly, he didn't make it... and expired in a nursing home, which he hated.

Jim

[k. michael marquardt]

It's only dangerous when your senses do fade out.

Some years ago in Hilo HI there came in an Australian gent of 87 by a nice cutter who was completely deaf.
This I call dangerous for a seaman.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by k. michael marquardt

It's only dangerous when your senses do fade out.

Some years ago in Hilo HI there came in an Australian gent of 87 by a nice cutter who was completely deaf.
This I call dangerous for a seaman.

Yeah, he might miss some audible clue and die young...

Jim

[Tbonem17]

Originally Posted by Waterrat10

This thread just goes to show, don't mess with the elderly they are tougher, smarter and more resilient then some might believe. How the heck do you think they made it that long.

Old age and treachery beats youth and enthusiasm every time.