On Sat, 17 Dec 2005 07:30:33 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

wrote:
How would you rate the followings in terms of the number of
incidents involving loss of lives along the major cruising routes
each year ?

Unpredictable storms (during long crossings)
Rogue waves
Shipping containers
Whales
Pirates
Icebergs
Submarines

Others ?


Sudden onset mechanical failures.
Hull failures
Rigging failures.
Illness
Accidents on board unrelated to causes you listed

========================================

Accidental injuries are very common, sometimes serious, almost always
debilitating. Prevention awareness and good first aid
training/supplies are very important. I've been on two different
boats where people have broken ribs from being tossed across the cabin
below decks. I have personally experienced broken teeth, a partially
dislocated shoulder and several minor infections that could have
turned nasty if not properly treated. A former friend of mine
experienced a fatal heart attack while trying to refloat his boat from
a grounding.

Collisions are common also, sometimes with the bottom, sometimes with
debris, and more often than you'd think, with other boats. There is a
LOT of debris out there, all different types, and shipping containers
are only a small part of the problem. A lot of collisions attributed
to whales or shipping containers are more likely due to miscelaneous
debris instead: Logs, pilings, whole sections of docks, large steel
balls, runaway buoys, trees, fish netting, floating line, etc. You
name it, and it's out there, and that's just the stuff I've actually
seen. We see a lot during the day and who knows how much we've missed
at night. More often than not it does not show up on the radar at
all, or only dimly and buried in sea clutter. Several of the
collisions that I am personally aware of happened between boats
running on autopilot and not keeping a good lookout. Another happened
to a boat in foggy conditions with an inexperienced radar operator at
the helm, and uncertainty regarding right-of-way.

If you have to worry about icebergs or pirates you are sailing the
wrong route or at the wrong time of the year. Both are avoidable.

Submarine collisions are extremely rare.

Unpredictable storms and rogue waves are - - - - unpredictable, but
they happen.