The Sydney to Hobart yacht race has suffered a double tragedy after two sailors died in separate incidents.
    • jam12705@lemmy.world
      8·
      15 days ago

      My suspicion is that the wind suddenly changed direction and caused the two vessels to jibe unexpectedly. If you’ve ever been sailing, an unplanned jibe is very violent and fast, causing the boom to rip from one side of the boat to the other. Unfortunately it is easy to get whacked by the boom in that situation and is extremely dangerous.

      • DavidDoesLemmy
        3·
        14 days ago

        Not a sailor so excuse my ignorance. But do they wear helmets? Is the boom padded?

        • RubberElectrons@lemmy.world
          2·
          14 days ago

          No to both, questions are always welcome.

          Only on larger ships of yore would the boom be above head level, death by concussion has been a problem on smaller boats for millennia.