Stuck in Paradise, near Fatal at the Hobie Worlds

Attached is the first hand report by Laura Sullivan of her accident at the Hobie 16 Words at New Caledonia. Laura is the Chairperson of North American Hobie Cat Association, Division 4, North Western USA.

Had it not been for the assistance of her Skipper, Doug Skidmore (President of Hobie Cats America) she could have easily suffered the same fatal experience as the Tornado sailor in Spain.

The rest of the story is that Laura did get "back on the horse" and raced with Doug in the next five races in the seven race Masters event. They finished 12th out of 47 in the final race. Their over all place was 34th, and were the second place USA team in the event.

Laura then crewed for Grant Snowden of Australia in the Open Series. In the first Open round, they placed 34th, out of 83 boats, and beat all the USA competitors. In the Semi Finals they were 71st out of 112 boats, with only two USA teams having better positions. The nine day event was marked by high winds and heavy seas. Each day, they capsized, pitchpoled, or were thrown off the boat by the waves. In her last race Laura was knocked off the boat as they approached the windward mark in 8th place.

We can all learn from her experience.

Caleb Tarleton

Stuck in Paradise

We’ve all had one of those days when things just aren’t going right. It was one of those days in paradise – New Caledonia – the site of the Hobie 16 Worlds Competition. It culminated in a tack that took a turn for the worst.

We were headed to A mark in the 2nd race of the Masters Division on the first day of competition. There was a 15-20 knot gusty breeze. My skipper, Doug Skidmore, called for a tack, so I started coming in from the wire. The next thing I knew, the boat wasn’t coming about and I was being thrown into the shroud.

The boat reared up and was flipping over on top of us. I tried to swim free and found I couldn’t move an inch or even a quarter of an inch. My trapeze harness was stuck on the shroud. I desperately struggled in every direction to free myself and nothing worked. I knew I was in serious trouble.

I yelled to my skipper “I’m stuck! I’m stuck!” We had only seconds before the boat was turtled on top of me. I was now under water without having taking a breath. I could see Doug swimming towards me in the clear blue water. He tried, in vain to free me. It was a physical effort and Doug soon ran out of air and had to surface.

I was now under water by myself. I remember looking up at the dark blue trampoline and then looking at the light blue water below. It was a lonely feeling.

At that moment, I felt my life was ending. I remember thinking “So this is how my life will end....”

At the end of that thought, I started to move through the water for the first time. The blue water was getting lighter and lighter. I was disoriented but kept moving in the same direction, not knowing if it was right or wrong. My latest fear was that I would stop just inches below the surface. When my face emerged above water, I took a huge gasp of air and kept on gasping, trying to refresh my lungs and body.

My head was barely above water with the waves splashing in my face. Doug appeared from under the boat and I knew everything would be alright now.

I was still stuck. Doug set about to try to free me. Every time he tried to move me, a line was digging into my neck. So I took up a new chant “There’s a line around my neck!”.

He removed the jib sheet from my neck and tried again. My head and neck still weren’t moving. There was another line around my neck. Each time Doug tried to move me or the boat rocked with the waves, the rope burns were getting worse.

He couldn’t see that I had 2 lines around my neck. So he and I set about trying to pull the jib traveler line over my head. The only way out was straight down under the water. So we both pulled the jib traveler line out as far as we could in order for my head to clear. Under the water I went and my head and neck were freed.

I was still stuck to the shroud – trapped by my harness. Nothing worked. Here we had two capable people, Doug and myself, under no pressure now and we weren’t able to free it. So my only thought was to get out of my harness. I unbuckled every buckle, loosened the leg straps, and swam out of it.

I stopped and floated on my back, motionless, to regroup.

The chase boat arrived.

Tomorrow I know I must get back on the boat – get back on the horse.

The same thing could happen tomorrow, and I’m very unsettled not knowing what to do differently. So I’m spending the early morning hours writing and thinking about it.

So I ask myself “What would I do differently?”

I decided that as soon as I know I’m stuck to the shroud, I will take off my harness immediately. To do this quickly, the harness must be on top of the life jacket. I already do this so that I can hook up more quickly without having to dig beneath my life jacket.

I also decided that I’m going to wear my harness looser so there is a bit more play in it – making it more maneuverable for any needed rescues.

I’m ashamed to admit this….I had a sailing knife on me. It’s not instinctive to use it – so I have to train myself. If all else fails - Go for the knife!

I would hope with the most recent event in Palma Spain ending in the traffic death of the Tornado sailor that new safety standards be established, such as

- All competitors and rescue personnel would carry a knife

- All competitors would have quick release harnesses

I would also wish that more research and development be done on trapeze harnesses and hooks to minimize or eliminate the problems. I would wish that more articles be published on safety tips – such as “wear a rash guard shirt over your harness and life jacket to prevent the tiller from going into the arms of the life jacket” – simple suggestions.

The shroud on our boat was wrapped in a full circle around the trapeze hook from the boat having gone turtled – spinning me around. The rubber was gone, the wires exposed. My trapeze harness hook, 3/8 inch stainless steel, is bent.

From the depths of my heart and soul, I would like to thank my skipper, Doug Skidmore, President of Hobie Cats USA for saving my life, for thinking through what needed to be done and for helping me work through the emotions afterwards.

Laura Sullivan

Division 4 Chair

Seattle, WA USA