The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site

Broken Skipper—What We Did Right

In the last article I covered the story of my accident. In this one I’m going to go over some of the things we did correctly, both before and after the accident:

Clothing

As is our habit whenever we hike, we were both dressed right, not only for the prevailing conditions but for any deterioration in the weather or the need to be stationary for some time: Smart wool and capilene next to the skin, a quick drying layer over that, topped with fleece. In the pack were Gortex outer layers, gloves and warm hats.

Even though my rescue took over four hours, neither of us was ever really cold, albeit in my case thanks in part to the blankets brought by the rescuers. The story could have been different if we had been wearing the jeans and tee shirts you see so often on the trail. Cold and shock are a dangerous combination. Probably not life threatening in this case, but it is not for nothing that Yosemite Mountain Rescue call cotton “death cloth”.

First Aid Kit

Even though the trail was comparatively short, we were carrying a full wilderness level first aid kit. We only used one item, but, as we shall see, that was vital.

Good Comms

We were carrying a CDMA cell phone, which Phyllis used to call for assistance. Had the phone been GSM, she would have had to walk out for help. That we had the right phone was no accident. We had selected our phone based on our intended area of travel. The phone also contained a GPS and I had loaded a topographical map of the area on to it. Both helped Phyllis explain exactly where we were.

By the way, even if your GSM phone is theoretically capable of using a CDMA signal, like the new iPhones, don’t assume that your carrier will actually let you do so, many block this feature. Test before you go.

If we had been in an area with no cell service we would have been carrying our personal rescue beacon, as we did in Greenland and Baffin Island last year. However, after this event, I will seriously consider carrying our Iridium phone when out hiking in wilderness areas. We, like many voyagers, own a satellite phone for weather reception and email, and the newer ones, like ours, are little bigger than the cell phone of a few years ago; so why not carry it?  The benefits of actually being able to explain your emergency to rescuers are hard to overestimate.

We have the numbers of the relevant rescue coordination centers programmed into the Iridium on speed dial.

Wilderness First Aid Training

Last year we did a wilderness first aid course. This training may have saved my life since it enabled us to evaluate the injury (femur break) and immediately understand that we had a life threatening situation on our hands.

Using our training, we made the decision, before I stiffened up, to move me a few feet to a more stable position and at the same time get me on top of the plastic tarp that we were carrying in the first aid kit. Not only did this assist us in keeping me warm, by separating me from the cold damp ground, but the tarp was a vital part of moving me onto the back board without further damage for the carry out.

Also, being trained gave us immediate credibility with the rescuers, so that when we said what was broken and that I was already partially stabilized, they believed us. And it was interesting to note that the several people in the rescue group that were wilderness first aid trained were the ones that instinctively understood the situation.

It is really important to understand that wilderness first aid is very different than general first aid training. If you spend several days in a classroom being PowerPointed to death, getting a first aid certification, you are simply not qualified for the wilderness.

Real wilderness first aid training takes place in the woods, preferably in the dark with rain and black flies. You are presented with horrible scenarios with your fellow classmates acting as screaming, shivering, blood covered victims and you must make decisions in a world where there are no clean right and wrong answers, just common sense and probability—much like being at sea. It is, in my opinion, the very best training for cruisers.

Have the Right Partner

Phyllis was absolutely calm and competent throughout the whole ordeal. She sat motionless in an awkward position stabilizing my leg for over two hours in a situation where even the slightest movement produced screams from me—I did not suffer in silence. And her reassurance kept me going, even in the blackest moment when I realized that I was to be carried out on a board through rough terrain with no analgesics. Thank you, My Love.

In the next post, I will write about one big mistake that I made.

Comments

Have you had a medical emergency at sea or in the woods? If so, please tell us about it and what you learned from it in the comments.

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Sigurdur Jonsson

Thanks again for keeping this fantastic website alive and well, and for many informative articles…

In our operation we try to get as many guides and boat crews as possible through “Wilderness First Responder” training. This is probably the best wilderness specific first aid training. It´s different (and in many ways probably more relevant) than the normal ship captains medical training.

Here is one training facility and description of the courses: https://www.nols.edu/en/wilderness-medicine/why-nols/ but I´m sure there are others. Here in Iceland the national rescue teams to this training under the rules of WFR.

All the best // Siggi

Carolyn Shearlock

You only touched briefly on having the phone numbers programmed into the phone, but that was HUGE. I’ve seen so many emergencies where people had a phone but not the numbers they needed (no 911 in these areas).

Another big one was that you happened to be in an area that spoke English (or to put it another way, a language you were fluent in). Having to get a translator can also really degrade communications.

Paul Mills

Hi John,

It’s really great that you had the foresight of good preparation combined with the right kit and training to help you both manage things so well.

It’s very pertinant that you mention so strongly Phyllis’ role and how her calmness and focus was a massive factor in you coping well with the kind of situation that we all hope never to experience. I have a friend who was severely hurt severel years ago in a chainsaw accident. He remembers very little of the hours after the incident – apart from the voice of the guy (a complete stranger) who found him, helped him and stayed with him all the way to the hospital.

Here’s hoping for a swift and comfortable recovery

Paul

Patrick

I was raised in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains since childhood and learned to butcher animals of all types along side my grandfather. Hunted pheasant, grouse, rabbits and squirrels beginning as a child of 7 with a single shot Remington 22 learning winter survival skills directly.
Nevertheless, I foolishly walked into a snowmass of 10″ to cross a mountain meadow that had not melted by early July.
As I walked across this meadow, the snow gradually became deeper until before I knew it had walked out into snow that was almost chest deep but too soft to hold my weight.
Thinking I could traverse it, and being waist high for a few more yards I misjudged, its continuing depth and the icy snow compacted in ice particles.
Wearing a thin denim jacket, corduroy shirt, denim pants and calf high lace boots, I begin to feel the initial stages of hypothermia with about 150-175 yards snow yet to cross with an equal amount reverse, I gathered my wits and decided to roll across that expanse. By rolling, my stretched body spread its weight across my body length remained above the snow.
Hence, I was able to to cross that expanse of snow in about 20 minutes without immersing myself in the semi-soft snow that had become minature crystal globules of ice snow. I was wet arriving on the other side, nevertheless, not with the hypothermia I would have suffered if I had waded thru it.
Hard earned lesson not to attempt the foolhardy without firm knowledge of the exact depth of of late unmelted snowbanks. Much safer to go around such snowbanks despite the added time to encompass the perimeter.

Ben

Great summaries John – and wonderful to hear the training was so good. I train regularly with Blair at the Halifax Regional Search and Rescue base (Blair was our internal training officer for many years, and essentially built the training program we now use – he is also now one of our key ground SAR managers), and I can emphatically second all you’ve said about the training, and Blair specifically. There is absolutely nothing like experiential training to get you prepared for this sort of thing. hmm. maybe I need a refresher! Looking forward to hearing more about this event-
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