Editorial- Another Keel Gone, another Lost Life
by Nancy Knudsen, Cruising Editor on 4 Sep 2008
Yachting tragedy. Time To Burn capsized 11 nautical miles off the coast of New Zealand when the keel fell off early Sunday morning. One crew member died the other was rescued. SW
So another yachtsman has lost his life because the keel fell off his boat. His traumatised and grieving crewmate–and fellow owner–said they hit a 'discarded spinnaker from another yacht'....and this collision was enough to remove the keel? I don't think so.
However, the ultimate killer appears to have been the fact that the life jacket worn by the drowned seaman was too large, and obviously lacked a crutch strap. I hope this is the last time anyone will hear complaints about crutch straps on life jackets.
The inevitable enquiry by Maritime New Zealand will be held. However, cruising sailors, who often venture too far from land for an early rescue, will, at their peril, ignore the need for a robust keel design.
Finally the Coalition Task Force, already present in the Gulf of Aden for the 'War on Terror', has included safeguarding of shipping as part of their brief. That's the good news, but it wasn't in time to save the two kidnapped French crew of a yacht hijacked by Somali pirates yesterday.
In happier news, there's an amusing story (if you're not involved) about so many sea lions sleeping on Californian decks that they're sinking the boats; The round world Blue Water Rally is heading for Darwin in the far north of Australia, while the World ARC has just left that port heading for Bali.
On a practical note, my 'Product of the Week' is the 'One-Touch' winch handle – no more thumb fiddling to get the wretched thing to dislodge – and there's some valuable hints on how to make sure your yacht is as fire-proof as possible.
Read on, enjoy, and.....
Sail Safe!
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