Thus spake BrianK :

On 12/27/2007 1:11 PM Dillon Pyron did the "neutron dance", then made
these writings:
Thus spake Chrissy Cruiser :


On Wed, 26 Dec 2007 17:49:57 -0800 (PST), Warren wrote:


On Dec 26, 2:58 pm, "
wrote:

I just saw a 20 minute video of Radiance on the travel channel. They
showed the upper decks from all angles. No liferings at all up there.

Ok, I'll play along.

So, mister"fact" - exactly what do you think would happen if you
tossed something off the top deck of Radiance while she's at cruising
speed?

Warren

What's the wind like?


Minimum 22 kts. According to my little anamometer on the Rhapsody, it
was 25 knots a little to port. So those starboard rings would have
been totally useless.

It is my understanding that life rings aren't intended for the man/woman
overboard. Rather they are a marker for the general vicinity of the
overboard pax. It's to aid Search and Rescue. In most instances it's
Search and Recover. It's not very precise when you take the speed of the
ship, wind, and current flow. But it's better than nothing. Throwing
over anything that floats in absence of life rings should work just as well.

Yeah, I agree. The MOB set on my boat consists of a ring (soon to be
replaced with something more useful, looking at options) and a flag
with a water activated strobe. This will at least give me a point to
look for when I do the 180.


If you consider the distance of any deck from the sea, it's rather like
an inexperienced person performing a high dive. If they don't manage to
break the surface tension of the sea, it's like making a high dive into
solid concrete. Something is going to get broken. Add to this shock if
the water is very cold and it is a rare case indeed that there is
survival. If injury from the fall doesn't render the individual unable
to swim effectively, the shock of cold water can cause the mouth to
involuntarily open for some. Drowning is another possibility. If the
fall is not fatal, but results in a broken arm or leg that's not good.
Efforts to swim can signal sharks as they are attuned to the swim
patterns of the injured.

"I just remembered, I can't swim". "Don't worry kid, the fall will
probably kill you anyways".

A fall from deck 10 is something in the neighborhood of 100 feet.
Water is noncompressable (something like hitting concrete). If you
hit just right (feet first, perfectly vertical), you will submerge
about 25-30 feet. Of course, the shock of hitting the water will
probably expel most of the air from your lungs.

And how many people are going to do an 10.0 Olympic entry? Not the
drunk. Most will be unconcious. Then there's the "suction" of the
moving ship that will likely pull you in close contact with wake
turbulence, which will fill your lungs with water if you are supine.
If you're prone, it really doesn't matter.

Although there are live recoveries of MOBs, most do result in severe
injure. The woman whose body was recovered in the Med this year
showed significant blunt force trauma, including multiple fractures to
the thorax and spinal column.

Yeah, life rings are intended to locate a body.

--
dillon

I used to think the horse's name was Bob.
And the angel's name was Hark.