I’ve often
dreamed of taking a boat tour on a yacht, sailboat or cruise ship. It sounds so romantic to sail on the high
seas (or the Great Lakes), visiting various glamorous cities of the world, but
never staying in any one place for too long.
That’s my idea of the truly ideal vacation, or even a way of life – if
you’re lucky enough (and rich enough) to own your own yacht or sailboat. I’ve had a few opportunities to do some of
these things, but not very often. And,
I’ve never come even close to owning any kind of seafaring vehicle. But, that hasn’t stopped me from dreaming
about it and continuing to dream about it.
But, before actually
purchasing a boat, I resolved to do some research into the cost of acquiring a
yacht or sailboat, as well as the costs of maintaining the said vessel. I’ve been told by various boat-lovers who are
also boat-owners that taking a holiday on your own boat has definite advantages
over owning a cottage or booking a hotel room somewhere. I love to travel, so the thought of staying
in only one place for a week, 10 days or two weeks isn’t something that turns
me on. However, that is what I have been
doing for my holidays in recent years. I
just didn’t know that there were other choices.
For example, I always
enjoy travelling by bus, especially when I have a “Discovery Canada Pass”,
which is a special bus travel pass that you can purchase from Greyhound Canada. This pass allows me to travel to all parts of
Canada and various parts of the United States, and I can get on and off the bus
as often as I want. When I board a bus
in any location, I merely show my pass, which has been validated for the
specific dates and duration that I have planned. I can book my hotel rooms in advance if I know
where I am going, or book them as I need them, the day before or a few days in
advance. That was, and still is, my idea
of true holiday fun, but I am now open to experimentation in the boating arena. With the idea of purchasing a boat of my own,
I could plan to visit the various cities I choose, and see them from an
entirely different perspective. It
sounds so exciting to me.
I had done a
little boating in the past, such as, taking the ferry boat from Vancouver to
Victoria (on Vancouver Island) in Canada.
In Europe, on a bus tour, we started out by taking a train from Victoria
Station in London, England, then boarding a ferry boat from Dover, England to a
coastal city in Belgium (whose name eludes me at the moment). I also vaguely remember taking a cruise on a small
cruise ship through the Thousand Islands at Cornwall, Ontario in Canada, with
my family as a child.
But, owning my
own boat (like a yacht) and hiring a crew to sail it for me would be a definite
departure from my normal vacation activities.
I believe that sailboats can support up to 4 people comfortably and
yachts can support 8 people or more, depending on the size of the yacht. This is where my research would begin, to
help me to accumulate some needed information, since I would want to make an
informed decision about any such major purchase.
During my
research, for example, I found out about things like ideal, fair and poor boating
and weather conditions, life on the water, water safety, mooring fees, boat
maintenance, property taxes, and so on.
I wanted to know exactly what I was getting myself into before taking
the leap into buying a boat of my own.
A good part of
my research also included water safety, for good reason. Up until now, I had assumed that people who
are good swimmers would not have any problem surviving in the water if the boat
capsized or the swimmers were thrown or fell overboard. As I did more reading, however, I discovered
that cold water immersion can kill even very good swimmers in a matter of a few
minutes, or even seconds, depending on the water temperature. The following excerpt is about the hazards of
falling into cold water and the chances of surviving (from the web site www.coldwaterbootcamp.com):
Let's
look at the cold, hard facts about cold water immersion. Many studies have been done to determine why
so many drowning deaths occur as a result of falling into cold water. If you
look at the statistics below, it seems that in a lot of cases these tragedies
should not have happened given the fact that most were good swimmers and were
within a short distance from safety - the shore, a boat, a dock, etc.
Lifesaving Society Facts
In 2004, 410 people drowned in Canada, 130
were boating.
Cold Water
60% drowned in water under 10 degrees C
34% drowned in water between 10 – 20
degrees C
LIFEJACKETS
Only 12% were properly wearing a lifejacket
2% were improperly wearing a lifejacket
DISTANCE FROM SHORE
43% were less than 2 metres from
shore/safety *
66% were less than 15 metres from shore/safety*
*shore, boat, dock, etc.
HOW THEY ENDED UP IN THE WATER
26% fell or were thrown overboard
48% were in a boat that capsized or was
swamped
SWIMMING ABILITY
Non-swimmer = 29%
Weak = 15%
Average = 12%
Strong = 10%
Not identified = 34%
It then became
clear to me that the key factor that helped people survive while in cold water
was whether they were wearing a lifejacket or not, and whether they were wearing
it properly. According to the video
clips I saw on cold water immersion, it was clear that wearing a lifejacket
would be needed, especially when the swimmer could no longer move his or her
frozen limbs anymore to keep floating. The
swimmer also had to be able to keep his / her head and face up and out of the
water. The following is an excerpt with
some more general facts about lifejackets (from the web site www.coldwaterbootcamp.com):
Lifejackets
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The
key to survival in cold water immersion is wearing a lifejacket whenever you
are on or near the water. The goal is to keep your head and face out of the
water while you either try to rescue yourself or wait for rescue to arrive.
Here, we'll examine the different types of flotation equipment, what kind of
protection each has to offer and also discuss how to maintain and test your
devices to keep them in reliable and good condition.
Lifejackets
fall into various categories depending on their usage for different levels of
activity. Choosing the right one is usually a matter of personal preference,
but the thing to remember is that it's best to have a device that will
automatically keep your head and face out of the water and floating face up,
especially if you become unconscious.
If you want to get some more information about
lifejackets for yourself, read this information web page from the web site www.coldwaterbootcamp.com . Here is the specific web page address:
And, above all, remember this fact, as, it may
save your life one day:
So, now that I have the necessary information
about lifejackets and water safety, I am determined to make anyone who is
going to be on my boat wear a lifejacket.
To prove how serious I am about this, I will have to be prepared to
wear a lifejacket too. Given what I
have learned about cold water immersion so far, it appears that a person will
get cold very fast in cold water and that fact translates to less ability to
swim or tread water and more probability that the person will sink and then
drown. Imagine if that person was a
member of your family and you had to watch them drown, knowing that you could
not help them. Not only would it be a tragedy
for the victim, but it would also be a tragedy for anyone who had to witness the
drowning. Cold water immersion means
people will go into shock quickly, and shock from trauma of any kind can kill
a person, just as drowning can. No
one, especially those who love boating and/or own boats, should ever take
their lives on the water, especially cold water, for granted. In Canada, cold water is a fact of life and
must be respected.
Whether I actually purchase a boat or not in the
future, I may be boating with other people again and I need to prepare myself
properly for the necessary contingencies that could occur. As an owner or witness, I would never want
to feel responsible, directly or indirectly, for anyone’s death because of
drowning or cold water shock or simply because I was unable to assist them in
getting out of the water. This has
certainly given me food for thought in the realm of boating pleasure.
published by Authorhouse, copyright 2011, Anne Shier. All rights reserved.
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