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Sudden wind gusts dumps sailors into the Charles
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Comments
First responders?
My guess is that many of them were able to handle things by themselves. It's likely mostly small boats out there from the college sailing teams.
Maybe so, but ...
The Mass. Ave. Bridge was loaded with firetrucks.
Can't fit it all in 140
Can't fit it all in 140 characters. There was a large emergency response, because someone called it in, even as the motor boats from the sailing program (BU's I believe in this case) were getting everyone out of the water. Once it was determined that everyone was out safe and unhurt, the responders left.
In my own experiences, capsizing is part of sailing small boats, it happens, it's like day two of sailing lessons, and if you are wearing a life jacket, there's only so much that can go wrong when you capsize that will endanger your safety.
If the water temp is in the
If the water temp is in the mid 30s, quite a lot can go wrong whether you're wearing a PFD or not. Hypothermia is not to be f'ed with.
Vessel types
Depends on the type of boat. A small craft like a Laser you can easily right yourself- I've often tipped those just for fun (although not on the Charles). The more tub-like things like the older Tech dinghies need to be bailed after they capsize so they're hard to get back to the dock without some assistance.
This is why
you wear a lifejacket every time you are in a boat!
Why first responders?
I would love to know why sailing teams / clubs operate without the ability to either rescue themselves, or I often see them out there with their own little motor-boats that can assist.
Not being snarky, stuff happens. I'm just really curious if anyone with experience sailing on the Charles can explain the specific situation or conditions would require them to be rescued.
Because someone called 911.
Because someone called 911.
Boats that can capsize on the
Boats that can capsize on the Charles in March are sailed by collegiate sailors who around these parts are usually highly experienced and talented. Capsizing is very much a part of collegiate sailing. Achieving maximum acceleration after a tack requires the sailors roll the boat and almost capsize. Sometimes the line is crossed and they end up in the drink. But they all wear life jackets, and wet or dry suits. They know how to right the boat and have their coaches and teammates there to assist if for some crazy reason they spend more than 15 seconds in the water.
It is frustrating when emergency responders show up in situations like this but they rightfully have to. So blame the overeager and anxious see something say something crowd. Maybe we should start a sailing public awareness campaign?
The Gales of March
The winds can be extremely screwy in March, and these incidents can sometimes involve more people than a single launch can assist. Time is of the essence, since the water can be extremely cold even if the air is warm.
That's why the emergency response - that water is f'ing cold right now, and not everyone can be hauled out at once! They may need assistance getting out of the water before they get too cold, or some of them may need rewarming.
My frosh eight (and one other) swamped about 50 meters off the dock of the MIT boathouse on one of these kinds of March days - air temp was in the low 70s, water temp in the high 30s. The wind suddenly whipped up and shifted, sending large waves into the boats before we could turn into the wind.
They could get no more than two of nine women in the launch at a time, and the Harvard and BU launches weren't close by, so most of us just swam for it. Being both strong swimmer and a Water Safety Instructor, I hauled along a woman who I knew was a marginal swimmer, but I got to the dock and saw that the coxswain in her heavy cotton sweatsuit was not doing well and I went back for her. By the time I got her to the dock I was barely coherent and the varsity crew dragged me and the coxswain out of the water and threw us in a warm shower, and then into the whirlpool tub until our body temps rose.
No emergency response then - but, maybe there should have been. It would certainly have been a much nastier situation had we been further out into the river or further from the boathouse.