We first learned about wearing a helmet when climbing the mast at sea from Dame Ellen MacArthur. She always did when solo sailing. As we always have our bicycle helmets aboard, we have availed of using them even when climbing the mast at anchor if there is a swell. Here 's a story about what can happen when you don 't. The skipper of Spirit of Hungary climbed the mast without a helmet and got terribly smashed up when he lost his grip and went metronoming out and back repeatedly. He 's lucky to have survived.

http://www.yachtingworld.com/news/hungarian-skipper-injured-in-southern-ocean-whilst-competing-in-barcelona-world-race-62062

Vice Commodore, OCC 

Of medical kits and self-inflicted wounds at sea.

This article about medical kits and other resources prompted me to post. I too have the Merck Manual (both physician and Home editions) onboard as well as Paul Auerbach 's Wilderness Medicine (now a two-volume edition). Those books were very helpful. Are there any resources that you have found particularly useful?

http://www.sailmagazine.com/cruising/opinion/self-inflicted-wounds-keep-good-medical-kit/?utm_source=sail-enewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=textlink&utm_campaign=enewsletter

Vice Commodore, OCC 

Hi Daria,
I will look into Paul Auerbach’s book. It is one I am un-familiar with.

You ask about for other recommendations to medical books for at sea emergencies. I have tracked (casually) these books for 3 decades or more now and certain criteria stick out. The first is that the writer needs to have a great deal of experience with “wilderness” medicine (and I mean a lot hands on experience of a wide range of medical emergencies where lay people dominate and supplies are limited: very hard to come by experience). Oceans are clearly wilderness, but the experience is usually achieved in back country rescue and in training groups and individuals for responding on their own, without help or consultation, to the wide range of medical problems that might occur. He/she must have excellent communication skills, be deeply experienced in this area while at the same time being pragmatic and aware that the teaching is aimed at lay people who will be impressively anxious at a crew in medical trouble and aware of their own medical limitations.

To that end, Jeff Isaacs’ work stands well above the others I have become acquainted with. He has been the lead guy in the field for these emergencies, has trained groups and individuals on many hundreds of occasions, communicates well and, most importantly, is pragmatic about the diagnostic/intervention questions that need immediate addressing in a medical emergency. His years of hands-on been-there/done-that over hundreds/thousands of medical emergencies with few supplies is what allows him to stand out. In addition to his back-country work, Jeff is also a sailor and he writes for many of the most well thought of US sailing magazines on medical issues.

Most emergency medical books are written by physicians and most suffer (my opinion) from the need they have to make a living and so most are emergency room/hospital/office based. This deprives them of gaining much of the kind of hands-on experience of being in the field with lay people and only the supplies in one’s rucksack. Even those physician writers who have offshore experience (hopefully for them, they had few, if any, medical emergencies during their passages) suffer in their teaching/writing in pragmatic approaches to medical emergency with lay persons.

Our go-to book of Jeff’s is “The Outward Bound Wilderness First Aid Handbook” which has been updated regularly over the 15 years we have been using it.

My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Vice Commodore, OCC 

Hi Dick,

I 'm so glad you brought up Jeff Isaac. I forgot about his work. Yes, very accessible. He 's a physician assistant (PA-C) and a mariner. I have his book, too. Excellent.

https://www.wildmed.com/about-us/wilderness-medicine-search-rescue-training-instructors/jeffrey-isaac/

Daria

Vice Commodore, OCC