![]() I’d lost my footing a couple of times already. ![]() It took me 20 minutes to get to the first spreader. Pindar had three sets, spaced approximately 20, 40 and 60ft up the mast. Scaling the mast when Pindar was in dock took a few minutes, and not long at all to reach the first spreaders. If the boat’s motion became too unstable, the consequences didn’t bear thinking about. I was still uncomfortable with the thought of a big gust coming through while I was high up there. The tiniest bit of slack in the rope multiplied the potential for a hard climb, so I wound it down to the deck as hard as I could. If your platform is Pindar in choppy seas and gusting winds, it becomes a different proposition altogether. It sounds so simple, and on a steady platform with a taut rope, it is. Then I was able to release the pressure on the lower jammer by raising my feet, and move that up a few inches and so on. When I put my feet in them and stood up I was able to release the pressure on the seat jammer, move it up a few inches and sit back down. The foot straps were also attached to the rope with a one-way jammer. When I let go – and therefore exerted downward pressure by sitting in the seat – I could lift my feet from the ground and the seat was supported. The jammer gripped the rope when you exerted downward pressure on it. When I was ready, I climbed into the Topclimber, which was attached to the rope at waist height with a strap and a one-way jammer. This consisted of a little platform seat and two stirrup-like straps, with loops for my feet. The ascent would be via a length of rope stretched between the top of the mast and the deck, using a Topclimber. I put my video camera in my pocket, strapped on my helmet and psyched myself up. I took a knife to cut away the old dead end, the spare main halyard (240ft), some tape and a block in case the one at the top had been the cause of the halyard breaking. The wind was varying between 15 and 25 knots and I needed to make sure I had a sail setting to cover the range of winds while I was up there. I’d planned to go up at dawn, but I ended up waiting to allow some black clouds to blow through. ![]() They might as well have been a million miles away, I felt suddenly so isolated. Namibia lay 2,000 miles due east, Brazil 2,000 miles to the west. We were a fraction south of the Tropic of Capricorn and slap bang in the middle of the South Atlantic when the main halyard broke. Now, over to Emma… Extract from Around Alone ![]() Read it and, as I did, ask yourself how you might have measured up.įor a vivid glimpse into this race, have a look on YouTube for videos from the 2002 Around Alone. This extract from Emma’s Around Alone is by far the best description I have come across of the horrors of climbing a mast on a solo race boat. The skill and sheer guts lie outside the experience of the rest of us, relatively normal sailors. Sailing the Open 60 Pindar, she was pipped at the post for a podium finish, but reading her book 20 years later, I realised again that the placing is less important than the character of the men and women who take up the challenges of the great single-handed events. Advantage™ series beds, featuring “Cardio Chair” function required for those with compromised respiratory systems.Īs in crises past, Span is committed to doing everything in its power to meet the needs of healthcare providers while keeping its employees safe, healthy and productive now and in the weeks ahead.In 2002, Emma Richards (now Sanderson) was the youngest person and the first British woman to finish the ‘Around Alone’ race.PressureGuard Easy Air® LR microclimate management surface, often selected for ICU beds.PressureGuard® APM2 air therapy surfaces with advantages in infection control and cleanability.Geo-Mattress® Max® therapeutic foam support surfaces.Our goal is to build and maintain a robust inventory position on a standardized offering of our most requested and essential support surfaces while minimizing the lead time on beds. We are currently streamlining our North American manufacturing capabilities for maximum efficiency and availability. Span employees are already hard at work securing our supply chain, fielding inquiries and filling orders from local and regional providers, hospital systems and government entities who are tasked with meeting the pressing equipment needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Span-America: Fully engaged in the battle against COVID-19 As a provider of essential healthcare products, Span-America remains committed to keeping both our Greenville SC and our Beamsville, Ontario Canada locations fully operational throughout this challenging time.įor decades, Span has been a recognized leader in the design, manufacture and delivery of innovative pressure redistribution and safe patient handling solutions for the healthcare industry. ![]()
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