Be Careful Up There!

[Rick D]

I found out today that a friend of mine fell 'about 20 feet' when the line slipped. The helper had had him up there a hundred times before but this time was different in that the line slipped. This follows on the heels of my former rigger's fall from the masthead. She will be in rehab for a ling time as will my friend. Both are incredibly fortunate to have no paralysis nor brain injury although you can imagine both are pretty broken up. So, hook on a safety line even if it's a quick trip! I don't do it but sure will.

 

[Ross]

Falling 20 feet is practically the same as crashing into a wall at 30 miles per hour. Avoiding brain injury is a miracle but the other injuries are a trama surgeons nightmare. The internal displacement of vital organs can require surgury to restore them to their proper places.

 

[RAD88]

This is exactly why I am such a fan of the Mast Mate. Nobody else to rely on but your self and it is very easy and stable to use. Sorry to hear of your friends misfortune.

 

[Alan]

That's why I only go up wearing a climbing harness! You CANNOT fall out of it. Climbing the mast on a pair of ascenders doesn't put your life in someone else's hands.

Besides it's not the fall the kills you, it's the sudden stop!

 

[Ross]

Besides it's not the fall the kills you, it's the sudden stop!

The problem is that not all of your bits and pieces stop at the same time. Your ass can hit the deck and your kidneys can keep going for several inches as can your liver and stomach.

 

[Blitz]

This is exactly why I am such a fan of the Mast Mate. Nobody else to rely on but your self and it is very easy and stable to use. Sorry to hear of your friends misfortune.

Mast Mate is good to help the person down below to climb up on your own power but if you slip you can fall back out of it especially if your not in a harness or chair.

 

[higgs]

Rick
Can you give us more details on how these falls happened? I have been up, and hoisted others up, countless times with no problems, but I am always looking for ways to make it safer.

 

[Rick D]

Causes

Rick
Can you give us more details on how these falls happened? I have been up, and hoisted others up, countless times with no problems, but I am always looking for ways to make it safer.

Understand this is second hand in that I wasn't there. In the case of my friend, the person winching simply said they lost the wrap. They had recently changed sheet stoppers and I wonder if that was an issue? In any event, they simply do not know specifically what happened and they had done it lots of times before. In the case of the rigger, her friend told me she was trying to remove a windex and the screws were stuck. She went back down and got her torch and didn't rig her safety line. She cut through the halyard with the torch.

If all this sounds like something we'd never do, think again. Both these folks had been up hundreds of times and the rigger for 20 years. They were both a little freaky in terms of how they happened though.

 

[RAD88]

Mast Mate is good to help the person down below to climb up on your own power but if you slip you can fall back out of it especially if your not in a harness or chair.

I do not understand any of your quote! With a Mast mate you use a safety belt and walk up the mast using the web steps. If your foot is not in the web step you cannot take the next step. You will know of a problem before it happens. I have been up my mast many times alone. If you pay attention to your actions you will be safe. It is truly the most secure and comfortable working situation up a mast I have ever encountered and I have tried them all. Just my opinion.

 

[Alan]

For sure freaky. It doesn't matter how many times you've been up, it only takes ONE mistake to have dire consequences. I'd rather be totally responsible for my ass than let someone else.