I was asked to represent my local A-Cat fleet this evening at a club race planning meeting, to help bring us into the fold with the other approved one-design classes. It was a surprise to find most of the questions about the A-Cat, and multi-hull racing in general, related to safety concerns.

I had to explain the various risk factors and the safety measures I thought were appropriate for a high-performance ultra-light racing platform. This would have been easier if others sailed the same or even similar type boats, but you might say the difference between an A-Cat and a typical club racer is akin to the difference between a Mosler MT900s and a Toyota Camry. We’ve been sailing enough in local events, fortunately, that the issues were discussed with some real-world examples and in the end the fleet was approved.

People on sailing forums sometimes ask about A-Cat security and here are my thoughts in a nutshell:

I say a good radio, whistle, strobe, water and spare set of goggles/glasses (prescription) are most critical…a wetsuit is also typical gear for us where thicker ones give a fair amount of buoyancy. The way I look at it these basic items significantly reduce personal risk and you could still need them even if you manage to stay with the boat after a spill (torn sail, dismast, etc.). It’s bulky but to keep it nice an tidy (and reduce windage) I always wear a giant rashguard over everything.

And that just takes me back to an old Outside article on how to calculate risks during recreation:

NO WONDER, THEN, that the optimal adventure experience for many enthusiasts is one in which the perceived risk is high but the actual risk is acceptably low. Running rapids is a good example. “People look at big whitewater, and their perception is that it’s very dangerous,” says Pamela Dillon, executive director of the American Canoe Association. “But the stats tell a different tale. In sheer numbers—including canoeists, kayakers, and rafters—the most common way someone dies boating is in a canoe, on flatwater, with no PFD [personal flotation device], drinking alcohol.

“Fifty percent of people who die in canoes and kayaks are out fishing,” Dillon continues. “They’re not tuned in to the skills and information they need to participate safely.”

If there’s just one thing you could say about A-Cat sailors, I think “tuned in” might be it. Here’s Glenn doing a nice fly-by for the race committee (note the flat water):

Here’s some news from the Ultimate 20 newsgroup:

A San Francisco Based 40 foot custom boat “Mureadritta’s XL” that did
the Pacific Cup SF to Hawaii race was on its way home yesterday when they were hit by a whale 500nm north of Hawaii.

The crew was in contact with the owner via Sat phone. They tried stuffing the hole with sails and wrapping the outside of the boat with a jib to stem the flow but were not having any luck.

They eventually decided to abandon the boat on Tuesday morning. They were picked up last night around 8pm by a ship then transfered to a fishing trawler and are expected back at Honolulu on Friday.

All sailors are safe and un injured. They had all the proper safety gear EPIRB etc. Very lucky crew.

Lucky? I think proper planning was probably more relevant in this story since hitting a whale and sinking 500 miles from shore seems like bad luck to me.

Interesting that innovation has made sailboats lighter and stronger, and personal rescue equipment more reliable and comfortable, but there really is no open water hull-patch kit available yet. Stuffing the hole with sails sound like a scene from a sci-fi movie where people patch the hole in a space station with their pillows. Didn’t Heinlein write about that too? I wonder if there could be a better way, like pushing an umbrella-like device through the hole that could expand and then seal against the hull to stop the leak at least to the point where a sump could keep up with the flow. Probably too expensive to make it worthwhile to develop and test since the threat (being hit by a whale) is low and the asset value (of a sailboat) is only marginally high. I had my share of dangerous experiences sailing across the Pacific, but fortunately the only whales I saw kept their distance.

Outdoor magazine has a long but amusing story about risk and recreation:

In sheer numbers—including canoeists, kayakers, and rafters—the most common way someone dies boating is in a canoe, on flatwater, with no PFD [personal flotation device], drinking alcohol.

“Fifty percent of people who die in canoes and kayaks are out fishing,” Dillon continues. “They’re not tuned in to the skills and information they need to participate safely.”

Charlie Walbridge, longtime board member of the American Whitewater Safety Committee, has been tracking whitewater accidents for three decades. Like Dillon, he believes a failure to take sensible precautions is responsible for most deaths.

I always wear a lifejacket, but the issue I’ve run into is that the US Coast Guard does not consider 60 newtons sufficient for a recreational lifejacket yet the rest of the world does. It’s actually only a problem if you want to buy one of the new European lifejackets. One afternoon when I crashed an A-Class catamaran at speed, and was left swimming in the ocean swell a couple miles from shore, I have to admit I started to wonder whether the Coast Guard was right and I would have been taking a bigger risk with 5 fewer newtons…rough calculations are one thing, but eventually someone has to draw a line in the sand and we get to test it for accuracy.