Today we had a very sobering experience. We had a wonderful passage of 25 nm, the winds were up to 30 knots and the waves/swells got a little boisterous, but we sailed with only the two headsails and Nokomis handled the waves fine. We left Glandore Harbor, passed Galley Head (see picture above) and Seven Heads. Rounding into Courtmacsherry Bay, we saw another sailboat across the bay heading for Old Head of Kinsale. As we made our way into the bay, the other sailboat (out-of-sight at that point) made a distress call, one of the crew was hit in the head by the boom. One of the worst things that can happen on a sailboat. There was nothing we could do, they were too far away. The RNLI Lifeboats from Kinsale and Courtmacsherry both raced out and a helicopter was on the way. But the poor guy died, not from his head injury but from a heart attack. He was 74.

Events like this really make us think about our safety and we tried to learn some lessons from it. There are three things we learned: 1) It is always so appealing to go close to the headlands, that is where the lighthouses are and the interesting rock formations and caves. Plus, who wants to sail further out and out of way than they have to? What we have learned is when the wind and waves are up, when there is a big swell from the ocean and when there is a current from the tides, the water becomes chaotic at the head. I have watched an ocean swell rear up and tumble over itself. You would swear it had hit a rock, but nothing was there. The swell just hit a bunch of water at a lower level that was moving in the opposite direction. More chaos in the water means more chaos on the boat and that means accidents can happen more easily. We try to stay at least 3 nautical miles out from the headlands. 2) Just this year we have started occasionally sailing without the main, just the headsails. When we are going downwind and the wind is up the mains'l is just not as necessary. And gybing the headsails is so much easier than having to gybe the main sail in heavy wind. We thought we were being lazy sailors. But after hearing their experience, and knowing they were sailing in the same conditions, we have decided we are not being 'lazy sailors' but that we are being 'prudent sailors'. Having the boom accidently gybe is dangerous. We also have lines that are always on the boom that will prevent the boom from violently swinging across. 3) The poor crew that was on the radio was almost incoherent at first and didn't really know how to report the condition of the victim. My heart went out for him, he was so distressed. Paul and I have both taken an intensive and well-taught, 3-day workshop on Offshore Emergency Medicine. It is taught by Jeffrey Isaac, the physician assistant (and sailor) that wrote the Outward Bound wilderness first-aid handbook. He covers how to assess situations and report important details when you call in on the radio. I can't recommend it highly enough. We have a well-stocked and handy-to-reach first aid kit. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst is our motto.

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