I don’t know about you but I was one of those people who believed that people never got hurt on boats. (I never wore a safety harness until more recently in my life)
Somehow I link this topic with the idea that sailing is not really a sport. So how can one be injured sailing?
Long time friend Dr. Garry Fisher has had a long and abiding interest in injuries on boats and how to treat them and better still avoid them. He has written and spoken over the years on this topic; collecting statistical data on the subject.
Particularly with the evolution of yacht design, the behavior of the hull forms at sea has changed how we manage ourselves onboard. The motion of “newer” shapes is unfortunately conducive to more injuries. The clearest illustration of this are the Volvo 70’s.
Back to the “sailing is not a sport” idea; It was always a sport and like everything today that has only accelerated with time. Look at college sailing, and the ultimate challenge: Volvo 70’s. These are very physically demanding.
ARGUMENT FOR “IS SAILING A SPORT”
When we need information, we tend to use our favorite internet search
engine. And when the information cannot be found, there are websites where
you can ask your question. Here is what somebody asked on Answers.Yahoo.com:
“Okay, so I personally know sailing is a sport, although some a-hole in my
school (excuse my French) is deliberately trying to explain to me that it is
in fact not a sport because all you do is move a tiller around. Obviously
this is not true.
“His argument is based upon that he does not see any ‘professional sailors’
around on TV all the time, and he doesn’t watch Olympic sailing. He also
says he does not see sailing in the sports column on the internet. We argue
on the bus, and so far on the bus they say that sailing is not a sport (they
did a survey with five people), and I did admit it was not a popular sport
in America.
PROVIDENCE, R.I., Jan. 6 (UPI) — Seventy-nine percent of dinghy and keel sailors report at least one injury in the last year, but most of the injuries are minor, U.S. researchers say.
Study leader Dr. Andrew Nathanson of Rhode Island Hospital said 4 percent of the injuries were considered serious enough to require evacuation from the vessel and/or hospitalization.
“It’s important to note that nearly half of the injuries reported were minor and required no treatment,” Nathanson said in a statement.
Nathanson and colleagues surveyed 1,860 sailors who reported 1,715 injuries in the last year on small boats with crews of one or two called dinghies and larger ones with a crew as many as 16 — keel boats — like those used in the America’s Cup races.
The study, published in the journal Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, indicated the most common injuries were contusions, lacerations and sprains. Injuries were mostly caused by trips and falls, collision with an object or a fellow crew member, or being caught in the lines. Seventy-one percent of injuries occurred on keel boats.
“What is most alarming about this survey is the fact that only 30 percent of the sailors who responded reported wearing a life jacket,” Nathanson said.
Another concerning finding was that 16 percent of the sailors reported at least one sunburn, Nathanson said.
