Roger Long wrote:
I always felt smug when I heard about this happening to people because
I am religious about halyard control. Today though, as I was
straightening up for raising sail as a family shore party returned
from exploring an island, I heard a little "snick" and looked up just
in time to see the free end of the halyard disappear into the mast.


Two words: Matthew Walker

What the hell happened to the stopper knot? I remember putting it
back in after lubing the sail track last night and I always look for
it when I coil the halyard. There was a fair amount of family
participation today so maybe, "Untie that rope, the one in your hand,
not that one, the one in your hand, you know, the thing connected to
your arm, that one." got misinterpreted at some point. I know pilots
get so used to seeing things on preflights that their eyes sometimes
just skip over missing bolts. Maybe I really didn't put the knot back
in.


That's a pretty serious bummer... it's happened to me too,
although the halyard lesson that *really* sticks in my mind
was letting the running part of a halyard fly up the mast
while handling sails on a blustery day. My father made sure
I would not forget that mistake any time soon.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King