My husband, Rick, gives 110 percent to whatever he does. So, while I was unhappy to hear about a recent rope burn injury, I wasn’t entirely surprised. Rick was injured aboard SV Spirit of Juno in Barbados while competing in the Mount Gay Rum Round Barbados Race with Ondeck sailing.
Rick’s rope burn was caused by a freak event. The kite sail had just been lowered into the saloon through a hatch when, somehow, the halyard line got tangled. Within seconds the halyard ripped the kite sail out of the saloon, back up through the hatch, and sent all the associated lines with it. One of those lines went whizzing by and took a chunk out of my husband’s leg.
He didn’t realize that he had a rope burn until the next day. He thought he had a sunburn. Below is a picture of his injury caused by the friction of the halyard against his skin.
Treat minor cuts with care
This looks like a pretty minor rope burn, right?
However, on the water — especially if you are offshore cruising — it’s important to clean wounds and to watch them carefully for signs of infection.
I carry topical and oral antibiotics. (A link to the inventory of our offshore medical kit follows below.)
Seek medical attention if your rope burn injury is deep, becomes increasingly painful or shows signs of infection. Medical advice should also be sought if it worsens or does not begin healing within a few days.
Since we began sailing as a family in 2015, I’ve developed a healthy respect for the lines, learning the hard way. In the early years on our way to Culebra, Puerto Rico, some unexpected weather came up. I put too little resistance on a winch; I should have put more wraps. Instead, the line pulled out of the winch, and whipped up, hitting me in the face, and knocked the lenses out of my glasses.
As recently as last month, Rick was using an electric winch. He lost his focus for a moment, and his hand became wrapped in the winch. Fortunately, he didn’t panic. But his near-miss has made me even more cautious when using the electric winch.
Other Medical Incidents After More Than 10 Years at Sea
Since 2015, we have visited more than 40 countries and encountered several medical events. These include:
- anaphylaxis
- appendicitis
- broken collarbone
- broken ribs
- dengue fever
- dental injury
- fish hook to the face
- head wound (caused by a kayak paddle) that needed stitches
- pinch injury caused by a pulley while someone was hoisted up our mast
- respiratory infection
- shallow water blackout
- splinters, including one that required numbing
- two knife wound injuries, once when cutting a coconut and another time while doing dishes when my hand met an unexpected fish knife
My blog post Our Offshore Medical Kit: A Complete Breakdown describes what we actually used and what we wouldn’t buy again.
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Boats are cruel. Just changing the oil usually required a blood sacrifice if you expect the engine to run correctly afterward.