There were stars on the race course and I'm not talking about Rock
Stars.
It was at the reach mark in the latest regatta in Clearwater when we
went to launch the pole and thought it was set..... I'm making an
adjustment and untangling a mess around my main sheet block and look
up just in time to see my pole blasting toward my head. I tried to
duck but instead caught square in the forehead. It didn't hurt me as
bad as my faithful crew, she couldn't stop apologizing. I told her no
blood, I'm still conscious, and we're still in first place. I managed
to finish the race in first too.
My first thought after the stars cleared was, it's a good thing I put
a plug in the end of the pole or I would have had a nice 1-1/4
diameter divot in my forehead and would have been bleeding profusely.
I've had head injuries before and they have always bled badly.
(Insert joke here). That would have been the end of a perfectly good
race if that would have happened.
So what I'm trying to lead to is... if you have one of those rocket
launcher poles loaded with a shock cord, it's a really good idea to
have a plug of some kind on the end that retracts. Being a machinist
it was easy for me to manufacture one for my own but you may be able
to use a rubber cap for the end of a table leg or something similar.
I highly recommend it, that way you too can see the stars and not
blood.
Happy Sailing
