Death warning
- Thread starter Roger Long
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head injuries
I play racquetball a couple of times a week with a group of seniors my age Im 71
Last year my partner went for a shot mis judged where the the back wall was and smashed into it. Unfortunately for him he smashed his head into the wall fell unconcious was rushed to the emergency room. He died that day. I would wear a helmet playing racquetball its much
more dangerous than sailing. But nobody else does and Im not going to be the only one wearing one enuf said.
I play racquetball a couple of times a week with a group of seniors my age Im 71
Last year my partner went for a shot mis judged where the the back wall was and smashed into it. Unfortunately for him he smashed his head into the wall fell unconcious was rushed to the emergency room. He died that day. I would wear a helmet playing racquetball its much
more dangerous than sailing. But nobody else does and Im not going to be the only one wearing one enuf said.
This sounds like a very good place to employ
the use of POOL NOODLES. Just get a big one, cut it appropriately, and slip it n your boom; may not even need additional support. You can, as I understand it, get them in different colors, too. Don't know if they make 'em in white or aluminum alloy to match your boom, and a wild green or orange one might look like you're signaling for help all the time. Padding the boom is NOT a bad idea.
I sail with a good friend on board very often, and he is a wise and cautious man. Skiis with a helmet, bikes with a helmet and for all I know he sleeps with one. He has never considered the boom a distraction and he's 6'-3" tall and works the cockpit while I drive in races.
Two sides to every coin.
the use of POOL NOODLES. Just get a big one, cut it appropriately, and slip it n your boom; may not even need additional support. You can, as I understand it, get them in different colors, too. Don't know if they make 'em in white or aluminum alloy to match your boom, and a wild green or orange one might look like you're signaling for help all the time. Padding the boom is NOT a bad idea.
I sail with a good friend on board very often, and he is a wise and cautious man. Skiis with a helmet, bikes with a helmet and for all I know he sleeps with one. He has never considered the boom a distraction and he's 6'-3" tall and works the cockpit while I drive in races.
Two sides to every coin.
During my long bicycle racing life 
I was launched twice buy DWI hit and run cars and had a REALLY bad broken bone accident from a bad front brake on a brand new bike
Lets just say the ER missed the broken bone part and let me drive home with my arm in a sling after briefly passing out when they mishandled the shattered bone that use to be my left arm
The thing i learned was you have to insist on a in my case and orthopedic surgeon if you think your hurt and ERs dont have that great of a track record
I am really not sure who was more supprised a week later ME or THE REAL doctor who up the mistake and had to spend 5 hours in surgery doing the rebuild
I was launched twice buy DWI hit and run cars and had a REALLY bad broken bone accident from a bad front brake on a brand new bike Lets just say the ER missed the broken bone part and let me drive home with my arm in a sling after briefly passing out when they mishandled the shattered bone that use to be my left arm
The thing i learned was you have to insist on a in my case and orthopedic surgeon if you think your hurt and ERs dont have that great of a track record
I am really not sure who was more supprised a week later ME or THE REAL doctor who up the mistake and had to spend 5 hours in surgery doing the rebuild
Not quite as much the life and death situation, but I got some of the insulation for plumbing pipes and put it over the bows of my bimini and zipped them up. I'll probably do the same for the aft bow of my dodger. The foam also tighens the canvas up- like how the foam in a roller reefing sail works.
The difference that must be respected here is that getting hit with something hard hurts on the outside first. A hard whack on the head with a half inch dowel will hurt like the dickens but a whack with a sand filled sock will drop you like a dead rat. What we are concerned with is brain damage not scalp and skull damage. The fractured scull is a major injury because of the injury to the brain. You can fracture many bones in the head and not injure the brain.
I once(in college) fell skiing while poaching fresh tracks on unlit trails at night. I woke up without the abillity to ski any more. The fall happened in about 18 inches of soft powder. I made it down to the first aid shack snowplowing all the way on an adjacent groomed trail. They sent me to to the hospital(in a friends car). The doc told me I had a severe concussion and kept me overnight. They woke me up every hour and sent me home the following day. I had a headache for a week and looked like a raccoon for most of that time. I never had any external injury, bump or soreness.
BTW, I was able to ski again the next time I went and no, I was not drinking when I fell. One of my personal rules. No drinking while doing things that require agility, skill and intellegence. Eg. skiing, sailing, mtn biking, etc.
BTW, I was able to ski again the next time I went and no, I was not drinking when I fell. One of my personal rules. No drinking while doing things that require agility, skill and intellegence. Eg. skiing, sailing, mtn biking, etc.
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