helmet, goggles, And Other Safety Gear
That's right, helmet and goggles! You might be saying, "Why on earth would I need a helmet on my sailboat? And who wears goggles anymore?" But I can assure you: if you're caught out in a storm where the wind is blowing the rain so hard it feels like needles are stabbing your eyes, and below decks you're being thrown around like a rag doll amidst all the objects you didn't stow properly that are now being thrown around like bowling balls trying to kill you, you're going to want these essential safety items on board.
This sounds pretty self-explanatory—sure, goggles and a helmet could be helpful. It may sound almost trite. But I want to get across how seriously you should be taking a possible scenario like the one above, and how quickly a situation like that can deteriorate to the point of becoming downright deadly.
I've now been in dozens of hurricanes. None while on a boat—all were on land, albeit in coastal towns—and I've been outside during many of these storms: adventure hiking, working, and helping people caught in dangerous situations. I've experienced rain driven so hard by wind that I couldn't keep my eyes open; it was literally like having needles stabbing me in them. And every sailor I've ever heard talk about sailing in a severe storm has said the exact same thing: they couldn't see. My friend once put on a diving mask when caught in a terrible storm, but could only breathe through his mouth, which also became problematic. Safety glasses can work too, but the saltwater will still run down into your eyes and make it difficult to see.
You might be thinking, "Well, I'll be below, safe and sound in the comfort of my cabin, letting my self-steering windvane or autopilot steer my boat." Well, hopefully that's the case, but more than likely, it won't be. More than likely, your windvane or your autopilot is going to be overpowered by the wind and seas, or something is going to break, or—guaranteed—something is going to happen that is going to require you to go on deck. And when you do, you're going to need to be able to see.
Which brings me to my second point about wearing goggles: if you wear glasses, you can get prescription goggles, and you probably should, depending on how bad your eyesight is. Prescription goggles are a thing—surfers and swimmers often wear them instead of wearing contacts for obvious reasons—and that reasoning will apply in an offshore situation like I'm describing.
OK, on to the helmet! Here's a story. My friend was in a severe storm in the South Pacific. It was blowing 90 knots with sixty-foot seas. He was outside steering because his Aries windvane couldn't handle the conditions, and he'd already been rolled and dismasted. He had been out in the elements for hours—thirty-six hours in all. He was tired, hypothermic, and very hungry. His girlfriend below was opening a can of SpaghettiOs for him. She let go of the can to grab the can opener, and when she did, they were knocked down again and the can of SpaghettiOs was "smashed open" on the coach roof side. Imagine the force behind the velocity of that can to smash open on the side of the boat! Had that hit her on the head, it could have killed her. It easily could have knocked her out, and probably would have given her a serious, bleeding head injury. Also, flying objects can knock out ports, which is another very serious situation, but that's a topic we'll discuss later. So therein lies the reasoning for a helmet. But one could easily fall and hit their head as well. With the pitching and rolling in sixty-foot seas, the movement and forces are tremendous and dangerous—head injuries and broken limbs are real, they happen to people in storms, and they can be life-threatening or debilitating. As well, above decks, dangerous things can be thrown around as well, like you. You could be knocked off your feet and smash your head on a winch. Or you could be dismasted, and part of the mast or boom could hit you in the head. These are real scenarios, and I personally know people these things have happened to. Don't be like the little kid that's embarrassed to wear his bike helmet because the other kids don't wear one. Bring a bike helmet, wear it, and save your life.
Other safety gear to consider, and something I always have on hand: knee pads! For the obvious reasons we want them on board, right? Working in that cramped space in the engine room, with one knee on the raw woven roving and the other on an engine mount, maybe for hours on end. Well, magnify that scenario tenfold, with a huge, dangerous seaway pounding your boat, requiring that much more strength to keep yourself lodged in place. Knee on an engine mount, cutting into your skin; the woven roving abrading holes through your pants and then the skin of your knees. Brutal! Two words: knee pads.
I wouldn't toss out the idea of elbow pads as well, and though I currently don't have any on board, I'm considering them.
But I do always have plenty of rags, towels, oil-absorbent pads, and work blankets and pillows. I consider all of these things to be essential safety gear, if only used to keep you comfortable while you're working on an emergency situation that may have you in a seriously uncomfortable and dangerous space. Blankets, of course, can be used just to keep someone from becoming hypothermic too. My feelings are that for any job, but especially one that's taking place during an emergency situation: get in, get the job done, and get out, and having these "tools" will help expedite this mantra.
