Dinghi Dramas!
17 October 2012 | Batemans Bay
Sue Watt
It was a stunning 27 degrees here yesterday and prompted by the warmth and the lack of wind, the children decided to drop the kayaks into the water and go for a bit of a paddle.
Its fantastic that they can do that. I watched as they pulled the kayaks up on to a nearby beach and went exploring.
Meantime Peter popped the dinghy we bought recently into the water too and went for a bit of a row.
It was peaceful and I settled in for a bit of a quiet read. I had a cup of tea and then went for a short walk.
I returned to the boat to a curious sight.
Peter was lying in the dinghy, looking a little the worse for wear.
'Are you ok?' I called out, perplexed and a little concerned.
'No,' he replied, 'I might have broken my leg and I'm soaked.'
I was alarmed then - though he likes to mention broken limbs whenever he hurts himself so I didn't jump to any conclusions!
What on earth had happened?
He explained.
He had been trying to climb back onto the boat, using the ledge he always climbed up on but slipped. He'd caught his leg awkwardly then and overbalanced, resulting in him slipping further and of course then he landed beside the boat in the water. As if that wasn't problem enough, he then couldn't get a grip anywhere on the boat to be able to try to climb back out.
He had tried to swim to the other side of the boat where we have a ladder for climbing in and out of the water when we are swimming - but the children hadn't put the ladder in when they were getting into the kayaks - they had no need of it and so that option wasn't available to him. He swam back to the dinghy knowing that the best he could do was to try to hurl himself in.
It tipped but righted itself and that's how I found him, having just got back in. Flat on his back, soaked and in pain.
I was able to help him a little then to get back on board, and we assessed the damage. No the leg wasn't broken - he did have a sizable gash and a lot of swelling - which would later reveal itself as bruising to the lower leg - but other than that he appeared intact.
It was an interesting exercise for me in what to do should he ever, God forbid, ever go overboard while we are at sea.
It has long been our practice to always be harnessed on and tethered to our life lines - but despite our every precaution, we know that accidents can happen - a moment's inattention could lead to - well to something terrible. I have told Peter before that if he goes over he should just wave goodbye. I'm joking of course - my intention is to impress on him the need for him to take every precaution every time - but the truth is, if he did go over I really might not be able to get him back on - especially if he was really injured.
Yesterday, unexpectedly, we had the opportunity to see how we could get him to safety if the worst should ever happen.
We could use our new dinghy - which we chose for its toughness as it will not tear if in proximity to oyster shells or coral and for its stability - turns out it is the perfect kind of dinghy to roll into if suddenly you find yourself in the water with no way to climb out!
Thank goodness for its stability.
There is no way, Peter said afterwards, that he would have been able to roll himself into the old inflatable dinghy. He would have remained in the water until I returned to the boat to help him. However the new dinghy tilted enough for him to get in easily. It has, in my mind, already paid for itself! Being able to get in and then rest his damaged leg was a godsend.
But my excitement increased enormously when I realised its potential in the event of a man-overboard scenario at sea. If I could get back to him I could lower the dinghy (leaving it attached to the yacht) and he could get into it. I know this wouldn't resolve all difficulties - if we were in big seas he would still have to get back into the yacht eventually etc - but I suppose it just gave me one more strategy to add to the things I had already considered I could try.
Of course it is our plan, and we are very clear about this, that no one goes over. It's essential. We wear harnesses all the time. We are always locked on. It has been that way since we began. This is just a back-up plan.
It took a bit of guts to get back on board yesterday. Despite the dinghy making it a little easier, there was no other way that no climb on the rail and up. But he did it. He got out of his sopping wet gear and then it was time for some first aid. Luckily I don't mind a little injury to look after - it looked like it could maybe use a stitch but after I cleaned it, steri-stripped it, applied anti-biotic cream we decided to not worry. Today it looks good. I gave him some panadol for the pain and a nice cup of tea (sorry, I'm English!), and then, not to diminish any of the yukkiness of it, we had a little laugh.
So far only the boys have managed to fall in. Despite my sometimes wearing heels, and despite Erina's frequent but apparently well-placed wild leaps, neither of us has suffered the ignominy of a splash! Liam slipped in after we'd been at the boat for only a week or two and for quite a while gave me cause for anxiety. Happily he has never repeated that mistake. Now Peter has slipped in. We think that makes it boys - 2, girls - 0! And we are definitely winning!