Participating in the Gizmo rescue brought home a few things. Some I already knew. Others I came at from a new perspective. After thinking about them for a couple months, I would like to share some of them. I come to some different conclusions than many.

I already knew that the weather can turn quickly. I also knew that the southern Sound is one of the safer places to sail because we have lots of places to hide when it does. This time it was Boston Harbor, but it could be Zittles or Longbranch. Or one can simply anchor behind the nearest point and wait it out.

I already knew that the most important safety gear is the boat herself. Nothing will keep you safer than keeping the deck point at the sky and the water out. But even a boat as well prepared as Gizmo can get into trouble.

I also knew we were on our own. Calling for help is not a viable plan. You might get lucky, but you need to be able to help yourself. This is to take nothing away from the rescue teams. In fact they got there faster than I expected. But it is a big world.

Lots of people saw Gizmo flip and called 911. We called right after the boat turtled and were not the first. The number of calls confused the operator. They did not figure out what happened until the next day. But they got rescued boats out on the water fast, which is what counts most. There is some reassurance in knowing we are being watched.

The response was fast. A rescue boat was all ready out, called for Dragonfly though not needed. The Coast Guard sent a helicopter as they generally do not have a boat south of the Narrows. The response was all we can reasonably hope for, maybe even a little faster than we have a right to expect.

Yet they could not get there in time for Jay. While we do appreciate the rescue boats, we need to realize their limits. Chase boats can be a big help when you are racing in a confined area they can cover quickly. When we race all over the south Sound, or are cruising, the area is just too large. We can not count on them to save the day. It will take time for a rescue boat to get there.

What I had forgotten is that when racing there is often help available, the other racers. If you are in serious trouble and need help now, it is most likely to come from those you race against. The people close enough to help when time is important are those sailing near you. If there is to be a rescue, we are it..

This brought home the point that, unless you count standing by a capsized dinghy or towing someone who is out of gas, I had never thought of rescuing another boat. Should someone go over the side on my boat I have a good idea of what needs doing. I have done man overboard drills, both on the water and in my head. But when you are assisting another boat it is different.

When it is your crew you know some important things, like how many are in the water; who can swim; who has floatation. You have a better idea whether they got hurt going in the water. You have a better idea whether they got hurt going in the water. Helping another boat, you do not know if there is something in the water that might be dangerous to your boat, like pieces of that boat.

I had never planned for being part of a rescue. I have never talked with other racers about coordinating a rescue. So we had no plan, no way, to communicate and coordinate. I saw a boat go to where Jay was, but we were too busy with John to see who they were, let alone if they got him. And no way to find out. Flying Circus did not have clue about any of this until they picked up Peter. By the time they arrived Gizmo had sunk. All they saw were some guys in the water. They did not know Sugar Magnolia was even there.

These two realizations lead me to different conclusions than most of those I have talked with. As I see it, the best way to improve the safety of our racers is by giving some time and thought to how we would help in a similar situation. Maybe making plans as to how we form an impromptu search and rescue team. I would think this would be of interest to those who cruise in company too, though their planning is easier as they know who they will be working with.

A lot of people had a different reaction. Their reaction was to buy more stuff and/or to ask others to buy more stuff. In a culture that worships consumption, I guess that is a natural place to look for safety. However the problem was not the absence of gear. Every thing needed was there. Where there were problems it was using it.

For example, judging from a show of hands at the after race meeting, most of the racers had VHF radios. Yet the VHF was not a useful tool. Almost no racers heard the RC call. None of the rescuing sail boats heard it. We were there because of what we saw. There were people who did hear, including the Coasties. But most of what was said over the air was misinformation: more half truths to wild rumors, than anything..

The new discrete radios offer solutions to both these problems. I am told there is an alarm in them to alert the fleet. That we can talk to one, or to several, boats without broadcasting to everyone and so not open to interruption. I am also told that this involves set up and coordination. To be useful we need to get ourselvesl coordinated. If we all buy our niffty new radio only to stow it in the boat ...well I guess you still have that panic button that sends your position. That would have helped find Gizmo a lot sooner.

I have heard people say Jay died because he was not wearing a PFD; which is of course nonsense. PFDs never killed anyone, either by their presence or absence. I think what they really mean to say is it would have saved him. Maybe. Maybe not. It depends on the type of PFD he was not wearing.

We believe he drowned, when he lost conciseness and could not keep his head above water. Many of the PFDs worn by sailors are not designed to keep your head up when you can not. Some others will float you face up, but can be equally stable face down. John also did not have a PFD. We recovered him in fine shape about the same time Flying Circus got to Jay. There is no magic piece of gear that will keep you safe what ever happens.

I was surprised at how fast Gizmo sank. I have always been told to stay with the boat. She is suppose to float upside-down, at least for a time. But Gizmo went down in the time it took us to turn on the outboard and tack. One advantage to multihuuls I guess.

By far the most useful piece of gear was the LifeSling, though it required some improvising. These were not the conditions one practices for. To begin with you could not stop the boat as you are suppose to. The reason Pegasus could not recover anyone was he was single-handing and as soon as he let go the helm to recover Peter, the boat went out of control. Not only were the waves tossing one about, it was windy. Flying Circus was going too fast under bare poles to make a recovery, first pass. Eventually they found the Goldilocks speed: not too slow to loose control, nor too fast to drag him under.

It was a good thing that both the crew and the victim were practiced with the LifeSling. Dave had taken the class. Peter was an experienced victim. He has been tossed off of boats many times by LifeSling classes. To date they have always recovered him. So he had confidence. And enough experience not to get in to the sling until he was sure they were not going to tow him under. He had to let go once. When he was in the sling alongside the boat a nervous skipper looked down. It was Peter who assured the skipper, it was going to be all right now.

I want to end this with the most important point. Maybe it is what I should have begun with. Sailing is a generally safe sport. This is the Club’s first fatality in our history, 45 years. Sailing is not suddenly more dangerous. We need to keep risk in perspective. If you own a boat longer than 20 feet you have a better chance of dying in a boat fire than of drowning sailing. Be careful, but enjoy your time on the water.

Steve Worcester, crew on Sugar Magnolia