Cruising World - November - December 2016

HANDS-ON SAILOR

94

to handle anything the sea

might hand us, I thought.

But we weren’t prepared.

And from everything I’ve

gathered, neither are most

extended cruises.

A sailboat is a hazardous

platform in a hostile environ-

ment. People on sailboats

SAFETY AT SEA

W

hen I decided to sail

across the Atlantic

cruisingworld.com

BY JIM CARRIER

2

STEPHEN FRINK

MEDICAL TIP

Don’t wait until the last

HANDS-ON SAILOR

94

to handle anything the sea

might hand us, I thought.

But we weren’t prepared.

And from everything I’ve

gathered, neither are most

sailors who set out on

extended cruises.

A sailboat is a hazardous

platform in a hostile environ-

ment. People on sailboats

get cut, conked, bruised and

burned, and can become nau-

seated, crushed, dehydrated,

cold and sprained — and

those are just the common

problems. Sailors also bring

SAFETY AT SEA

W

hen I decided to sail

across the Atlantic

aboard Ranger, my 30-year-old

Allied Seabreeze yawl, I

spent a year refi tting her.

I slept with and dreamed

about marine catalogs, and

spent thousands of dollars

on things to keep the boat

moving and the crew aboard

(see “Ranger’s Refi t — and the

Real Rewards,” June 2003).

A month before departure,

my fi rst mate, a trusted,

levelheaded sailor and nurse,

called with bad news. He had

just been diagnosed as HIV

positive.

Suddenly, my nightmares

of a man overboard or a hole

in the hull became visions of

bleeding cuts, gloves, barriers,

sanitation, and dealing in close

quarters with a sick man still

juggling his new medical cock-

tail. It was the fi rst time I’d

thought about the health of

my crew.

Ultimately, he elected

not to go, as did my third

crewman. The nurse packed

a fi rst-aid kit, and I threw it

under the sink and took of

with two strangers, prepared

november/december 2016

cruisingworld.com

There are several companies and organizations that of er comprehensive fi rst-aid kits, such as this one from the Divers

Alert Network. Another service that DAN provides is called DanBoater, an af ordable medical-emergency system with

paramedics on call 24/7 on a dedicated hotline.

For many cruising sailors, first-aid training and preparation are

afterthoughts, but they should be at the top of the to-do list before

heading offshore. BY JIM CARRIER

2 WHEN YOU ARE THE

FIRST RESPONDER

STEPHEN FRINK

MEDICAL TIP

Don’t wait until the last

minute to think about a

first-aid kit or medical

training. There are many

steps you can take before

shoving off to ensure

that you’re prepared for

emergencies.