Safety is your own responsibility

The 36th Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) on November 2021 supported a transit from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to Saint Lucia, but this Atlantic Ocean crossing was not without incident. Two boats are now floating unattended, one following a fatality from an accidental gybe and another due to steering failure.

Sailing is a sport where anticipation separates the best from the rest, and while unexpected incidents can happen, Jeff Tyrrel suggests what’s needed is a long look in the mirror:

I participated in World Cruising’s inaugural round the world event, Europa ’92. Jimmy Cornell along with his staff which included Andy Bishop and the venerable Tony Marks, went to great lengths to inspect each competing yacht and observed crews demonstrating the rigging of emergency steering systems and the like.

Events like the ARC, Trans-ARC, Caribbean 1500, and Europa ’92 are attractive in that they offer both structure for an ocean crossing, the experience of the organizers, a framework for preparation of one’s yacht and pre-race/voyage inspection. They also offer a sense of shared camaraderie, adventure, and the comfort of ‘just over there is another competitor’.

However, the sense of safety in numbers is a fallacy that gives participants a false feeling that if in peril or distress, help is just a call on the radio away. While at face value this is somewhat true, that there are boats around you, ultimately you are on your own.

The real issue is how this degree of comfort provided by the group environment allows folks to drop their guard. There is an enormous change in mindset from being out there all alone to just a radio call away. That which a skipper and crew might give advance thought to, labor about, and plan for gets put on a backburner.

I am fortunate in that my father was a very good sailor and a better seaman, and he was fortunate in that his father was a really good sailor and seaman. Being raised in such an atmosphere has served me invaluably over the 61 years I have sailed. And even with such an advantage, the lesson only experience could teach is that there is no safety in numbers.

In fact, amongst any given crew, the only person keeping you safe is yourself. It is a hard lesson to learn. You need to get hit in the head by the spinnaker pole numerous times, have the mainsheet dumped while tying in a reef or the helm dropping off a square wave putting green water across the foredeck during a headsail change before it completely sinks in. Your safety is your own and only your own responsibility.