![]() This record was used by paramedics, and doctors in Proserpine and Mackay. Christine – my better half – was a bit upset by the events and kept busy by documenting everything from my medical history and Medicare number to my pain levels and details of the accident.Even my first aid training was helpful and I was able to articulate I was going into shock and needed to be kept warm. Two of the crew were first aid trained and this training kicked in when the accident happened.I relaxed and my guard was down so need to learn to maintain vigilance. The accident happened after a boisterous sail where I was conscious of all the dangerous things that could happen. I am safety conscious on the boat and pondered why I had been so stupid.Sometimes this is referred to as a RTFM ERROR – Read The ***** Manual ERROR. Obviously, there was a user-error in that I failed to execute on the clear instruction to use a boat hook to turn the generator.The wind was 30-plus knots at the time of the accident! I have now decided there is no place on our boat for this noisy and murderous device! Lessons learned In my recovery time I calculated that the tip speed of the wind generator (diameter 1.7m) would be in excess of 570km/h at 20 knots. The previous owners advised us the wind generator had once dispatched a Booby. We are currently slow-sailing from Coral Seas Marina back to Sydney. The length of recuperation is unclear at this point but it seems clear I won’t be able to use my right arm for much for a while. The open break was deemed beyond the scope of Proserpine and I was transferred to McKay Base Hospital where I underwent surgery the following day to clean up the wounds and insert a plate.Īll went well and after two days I was discharged to recuperate on the boat. It was a fun sail and we relaxed when we dropped the sails in preparation for anchoring in Happy Bay on Long Island.įrustrations of trying to eat a Coral Trout Burger with a cast after the battle with the wind turbine bladesĪfter securing me in the cockpit, wounds were dressed, my condition was assessed and deemed to be OK for the two-hour journey the nearest port.Ī distress call was made to Coral Seas Marina, we said that we were OK to make our own way to port and didn’t require a medical evacuation.Ĭoral Seas Marina organised a 70m superyacht berth, crew to catch lines, the ambulance and paramedics ready to whisk me to Proserpine Hospital. The winds built to 30-plus knots providing the opportunity to test the second reef in the main and the seas became lively due to the strong current. Winds were stronger than forecast, 20-25 knots, so we opted for a conservative sail plan of the Solent stay sail and one reef in the main. We don’t sail to wind often and thought it would be fun to test the boat and our ‘to-wind skills’ on a short passage. Normally it’s just Christine and I, however on this occasion we were joined by experienced crew Terry and Louise. ![]() On the fateful day, we departed Hook Passage in the Whitsundays, Australia, in forecast 15-knot southerlies on an 11-mile passage south to Long Island. Under ideal conditions the wind generator supplements our power generation by around 10%. Above 20 knots, thermostats in the motor cut the power production. The boat was equipped with a simple (old-school) generator that provides around 2-4A at 10 knots of wind, increasing to 9A at 15 knots and 18A at 20 knots. On cloudy days, or when the panels are shaded by the sail for extended periods, such as going north in winter, the solar may be insufficient for our needs so is supplemented by wind generation. My sailing companion for the trip from Chichester Marina to Gosport, in my 19ft… ![]()
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