Safety is everyone’s business

Introduction

There have been a few accidents this past year resulting in personal injury while sailing. We have also had a very recent tragedy where a young sailor drown in a trapeze hook entanglement. While we express our condolences to those affected, we also hear the call to improve safety and try and prevent these incidents from happening. The fundamental rules of sailing speak about safety, helping those in danger and remind us that participation is our responsibility but we can and should do more.

Personal safety for you and your crew is your responsibility

In most cases your safety and that of your crew is up to you. The immediate response to a dangerous situation will also be up to you and your crew. The first few seconds of an incident are often critical and typically it will just be the people actually onboard determining the initial outcome. That is right, it can be seconds that determine how the events will turn out. It maybe as fast as 60 seconds before a person starts to inhale water if trapped under water. So it is critical to be able to free a person quickly. Clear thinking and some advance planning can make a big difference.

Your equipment can make a big difference. Chose carefully when considering your personal equipment and the safety equipment you carry. Trapeze harnesses are an integral part of our sport but those trapeze hooks are a safety hazard. If a trapeze hook gets inadvertently hooked onto something it can be very difficult to get yourself free and there have been some tragic accidents as a result. Fortunately there are many solutions. Several manufactures make hookless trapeze systems and some offer trapeze harnesses with releasable hooks. I have personally used releasable hook systems from Magic Marine and can tell you they work. The hook does not release accidentally but it can quickly ejected under load in an emergency.

Knives are another important safety item you may wish to carry. In an entanglement incident having a knife accessible can make the difference in avoiding tragedy. There are many inexpensive safety knives on the market. Though you need to consider on the type of knife being used. A bladed knife can be a dangerous device and must be used with caution. Knives with blunt tips are safer than those with sharp tips. Another options would be the ‘S’ blade safety knife which doesn’t have a point.

It is strongly recommended sailors use trapeze harnesses with either releasable hooks or hookless systems. It is recommend that you carry a safety knife on your boat. Below are some examples of products that you maybe able purchase locally or from the internet.

Releasable hook systems

Fleet	Location	website	contact	phone/email
Fleet 24	Ocean City, NJ		Wally Myers	609-390-8182 trimyers@aol.com
Fleet 54	Baltimore, MD		Dan Flanigan	410-821-6761 dpf135@msn.com
Fleet 65	Shore Acres Yacht Club, Brick NJ	SAYC website	Garrett Hogan	732-267-6342 ViceCommodoresayc@outlook.com
Fleet 106	Rehoboth Bay Sailing Association, Dewey Beach, DE	RBSA website	Bill Colgan	302-373-1312 hobie106@verizon.net
Fleet 250	Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club, Atlantic Highlands, NJ	SHBCC website	Vic Simon	973-419-1695 rotcivnomi@aol.com
Fleet 267	Spray Beach Yacht Club, Long Beach Island, NJ	Spray Beach YC website	Andy Keller	203-297-8412 Andyandrobinkeller@gmail.com
Fleet 416	Eastern Pennsylvania host regatta at Trixies landing in Bayville, NJ		Kent Smith	484-401-0910 jsconsult@verizon.net
Fleet 443	North Cape May, NJ		Ron LaPorta	484-437-9234 ronlaporta@gmail.com
Fleet 944	Spring Lake, NJ	Instagram	Kyle Shackleton	908-963-8318 kyle.shackleton@gmail.com

Hookless Systems

Dates	Division / Host Fleet	Event	Venue	Registration Link	Notice of Race	Results	Pictures Link
Jan 13-15		Bluster on the Bay	St Petersburg, FL		NOR	Results
Feb 2-5		Charlotte Harbor	Charlotte Harbor, Fl	Online Registration	NOR	H 16 Results	Charlotte Harbor Pictures
March 2-5	Div 8	Hobie Midwinters East/South, FL	Davis Island Yacht Club, Tampa FL		NOR	Hwave and H16 Results
April 7-9	Div 15	Mid-Winters East/North	Ocean Springs YC, Ocean Springs MS	Register Online at Regatta Network	MWE NOR	H16, HWave, Results
April 6-9	Div 15/US Sailing MHC	US Sailing Multihull Championships	Ocean Springs YC, Ocean Springs MS	Online Registration at Regatta Network	NOR	Results
May 6/7	Div 11/Fleet 54	Gunpowder, Hobie 18 Division Championships	Gunpowder Falls State Park		NOR	Results
May 20/21	Div 16/Fleet 204	MadCatter	Oneida Lake, Syracuse NY	Register	NOR	Results
June 3/4	Div 11/Fleet 267	Spray Beach, Hobie Wave Division Championship	Spray Beach YC, Long Beach Island, NJ	regatta network	NOR	Results
June 17/18		Rock Hall, Hobie 14 Division Championship	Rock Hall YC	Register here	NOR	Results
June 19 to 23		Hobie 16/20 North Americans	Yankton, South Dakota	Register Online at Regatta Network	NOR	Results	RMB photography
July 2	Div 11/Fleet 250	Statue of Liberty Race	Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club, Atlantic Highlands, NJ	Regatta network	NOR
July 15/16	Div 11/Fleet 416	Barnegat Breezer, Hobie 16 Division Championship	Trixies Landing, Bayville, NJ	Register Online at Regatta Network	NOR	Results
July 29/30		Special Olympics Regatta	St Mary's College MD
August 5/6	SHBCC/AHYC	Bluewater Regatta Open multihull/keelboat	Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club/Atlantic Highlands YC, Atlantic Highlands, NJ
Aug 2-11	NAHCA/Division 11	Hobie Mini-Mega, Hobie Youth, Women, Wave, 14, 17 and 18 North American Championship	Atlantic Highlands NJ, Hobie Fleet 250	Hobie 17/18 Hobie 14/Hobie 16 Women Hobie 16 Youth and Wave	Revised NOR	Results
August 26/27	Div 11/Fleet250/SHBCC	Sandy Hook	SHBCC/Fleet250	Register Online at Regatta Network	NOR	Results
Sept 9/10	Div 16	CMOR	Canadaigua YC, NY
Sept 16/17	Div 12	Roton Point	Rowayton Pt, CT
Sept 23/24	Div 11/Fleet 65	Shore Acres	Shore Acres YC, Brick NJ		NOR
Oct 7/8	Div 11/Fleet 106	Rehoboth-Fall Classic	Rehoboth Bay Sailing Assn., Dewey Beach DE	Register Online at Regatta Network	NOR	Results

Safety knife