News Around the World
I think we’re still in the Caribbean, bubb, but it’s definitely different from how I remember… The catalyst for the creation of the RORC Caribbean 600 was the idea of running the first offshore race among the islands; the new event with its creative and ‘busy’ course met all of the goals and is now without doubt one of the world’s classic 600-milers – and this year it was definitely an offshore race
of shock at the time – in the cold water you’re inevitably thinking ‘have I still got my foot?’ I was also in the harbour’s shark breeding ground and there was a fair bit of blood going on so I was pretty relieved to be safely out of the water… SH: How did you return to shore? AS: Aside from the blood it didn’t seem too bad at the time so the AST guys dropped me back on the Nacra, but as we were coming in my left leg pretty much began to stop working. Obviously we didn’t know the extent of the damage until I tried to lean on the leg a bit but I pretty soon knew there was a problem. That said I was already thinking how grateful I was it was only ankle or foot damage and not a head or neck issue... SH: What immediate aid was there ashore? AS: Sally Darmanin (Lisa’s mum) was there with an ice pack and support. I wear Zhik ZKG boots, which are a type of hybrid shoe, so I managed to untie that. I was in too much pain to worry about getting my wetsuit off, especially as my leg and foot began to swell really fast. Initially keeping it cold with the ice pack was OK so I decided to drive myself home, but it became pretty clear that with the amount of blood involved I was off to the hospital. On arrival, they cut off my wetsuit and confirmed there were
lacerations and a puncture of the FHL tendon which operates my big toe. It’s a difficult area to stitch so they decided to glue it together. Weirdly while sitting in hospital feeling sorry for myself I got an invite to race in the Hobart the following month, I guess I’m probably the first person to head to Hobart in a moon boot. SH: As a first thought on hearing this, how practical would it be just to remove the outboard section of the rudder T-foil on the Nacra? AS: I think you could look at the bigger overall balance and design issues of the platform before you started to get into the detail. If you could foil more consistently or it was a more balanced boat, which could provide more dynamic stability, you could probably get away with it. But again, why did we take a crazy boat and make it mental? I
don’t think the struggle is exclusive to those who are fresh to the class either – you see these types of crashes across the
24 SEAHORSE
entire fleet, regardless of skillset and experience. I hear a lot of conversation across sailing at the moment on why are we putting ourselves in the position of trying to make things look appealing or sexy – with such a high risk of sailors getting hurt. These are not always going to be small injuries, they have the potential to be significant, if not catastrophic. SH: Moving forward, is there any type of clothing you now wear or impact gear you would particularly recommend? AS: Absolutely. It is starting to become more common now with ankle and leg injuries occurring in many of the really high-speed classes. I had a strike injury on the 49erFX and after that I trialled some Forward WIP kit; I still don’t think even that protected me enough and if I’d had it on in the Nacra that day I doubt if it would have saved my ankle. With modern technology the boats are so much faster, it’s
possible that we will need some sort of worldwide reform to enforce what we should now be wearing when we go out sailing. You see other extreme sports with high-impact clothing, like motocross riders with their long fibreglass-reinforced boots – they may not be ideal but they’d save some leg injuries. Looking around, the Cup guys were carrying oxygen and wearing
a lot of safety kit. Also the 18ft guys, although they don’t wear life- jackets because of the risk of getting pinned under the boats, they now also carry portable air tanks and knives in easy to reach spots in case of emergency. It may seem excessive to some people, but things are only getting
faster out there on the water; it’s time we had a serious stocktake with a proper forum for investigation. With the right discussions, testing and guidance, clothing manufacturers can explore what is possible and also practical. It’s certainly interesting to see the way the sailing scene is changing – I don’t know how the on-water technology can be so far advanced yet the safety of the sailors seems to be relatively overlooked. Let’s hope we’re not in one of those situations where until there
is a really bad accident nothing happens… and then suddenly the whole world rushes into action. SH: How common were leg and ankle injuries on the 49erFX?
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TIM WRIGHT
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