Harness and tether; a death trap?

[Mark]

Well Tom

Let me assure you that for those of us who sail for a living eg: making money(and have been for about 40 years) would rather be attached to the yacht than watching her sail away into the distance.What a lot of weekend sailors and indeed others that venture off shore for a month or so but have the benefit of time on their side might, I say rightly so with respect wait for weather windows, have almost forever to sail in weather of their choice.For us guys who need to deliver yachts on time, or there abouts, sail thru at times absolutley terrible conditions.Tether me on? No questions asked, Bloody oath.

 

[Mark]

Just read the attached article to this post

I have never read such a load of dribble. People who write such articles should be vetted for their qualifications and experiance. Come on you guys get real and dismiss such rubbish. Sailing around a lake (no matter how big) is much much different to sailing in the Southern Ocean.I mean what would you rather... The chance of your crew helping or when sailing solo getting back on board OR watching your yacht sail away into the sunset....The simple, qualified, advise is "CLIP ON".

 

[tom]

Reasonable

Mark I assume you are reasonable and have thought through the situation in which you are sailing. Having read accounts of dead men being dragged on their tethers by boats on autopilot makes me think tethers are not always a life saver. BUT we don't read about those people who don't go overboard because they were saved by a tether. My ocean experience is very limited and so far I haven't experienced conditions where I thought that I was likely to go overboard. But I do have harnesses and tethers on board and nylon straps for jacklines. Everyone will have to decide for themselves if they need to wear a tether. Safety equipment properly used can enhance safety.But I believe the best safety device in all circumstances lies between our ears. I removed the lifelines from my last boat. IMHO the stanchions were more of a threat than falling overboard. Sailing in a lake at the time falling overboard meant getting wet and maybe cold swimming to shore. Falling onto a stanchion meant serious bodily harm.  I've only been sailing about 30 years but I have never fallen overboard. I've never met anyone who has fallen overboard...maybe they are all dead???Compared to my other interests sailing is extremely safe. Rock climbing ,riding motorcycles flying small airplanes and scuba diving seem reckless by comparison. I really think that driving to my boat today is 1000 times more dangerous than sailing. So on a scaleof 1 to 100 with 100 being swiming with great whites and 1 being walking the dog I rank sailing as a 0.1 risk.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

Tethers

My tethers are made of 1/2" nylon rope that I eye spliced at each end and added safety clips to. That way you can make the size that works for your boat. I usually clip mine onto the safety lines, one on each side. That way you stay more or less centered, and also have something to pull against. If your stanchions are in good condition, including the mounting, they can take a lot more abuse than you think.I dont have various sizes. If you have to keep changing, chances are you wont use them as often. Tony B