Working alone and PTO's are a dangerous combination ;-)

I wonder what the fatality rate is for solo sailers?

On an aside, i think its time for me to consider future careers. Ive been
unfortunate enough to work in logging, fishing, structural iron and steel,
truck driving, truck building, construction and in foundries. On top of
that my hobbies include motorbike racing, rock climbing and sailing. I
wouldnt class myself as an adrenaline junkie, i rarely get a rush, just the
pleasant focus, and a momentum to consciousness. Isolation is sometimes its
own reward ;-)

In my spare time Ive been a mountain and cave rescue worker for 5 years and
a year in the new zealand coastguard. Now Im working in the mines here in
australia, underground as a contractor and also part of the mine rescue
team.

Im pretty proud of the fact that i dont hane too many scars, but its
probably a combination of luck and caution. a lot of guys in these
industries are so called 'hard man' types who look down on anyone using eye
protection, gloves etc. They increase their own risk of injury. Some of
these industries are inherently high risk because of dangerous processes,
like hooks whizzing past your ear on the deck of a fishing boat.... but i
read a statistic recently that really disturbed me; I cant remember the
exact terms and numbers used, but they said that 'not so obvious' fatalities
by far outnumber the 'more obvious' types by a multiple of more than 10.
While getting your leg ripped off by a PTO and bleading to death is a
gruesome way to go, these are nothing compared to the number of people who
quietly slip away each year due to long term exposure to chemicals, gasses,
heavy metals, toxins, dust and so on. Im hoping that these statistics are
represented in the mian by the older generation who worked harder rather
than smarter.

As for the ilness statistics.... i wouldnt pay them too much mind. Ive had
quite a few of those ilnesses myself, quite often after a few too many
beers, or mysteriously when the weather is right for
sailing/surfing/climbing ;-) A lot of my co-workers seem to suffer the same
fate; the day after pay day people are quite often feeling under the
weather.

Shaun