sadkins372
Member
ARTHUR B. HANSON RESCUE MEDAL AWARDED TO ANDRE PATIN
Way to go Andre Patin, along with John Porter!. I am fairly new to the Sunfish Class and Bob Findley has been so helpful and welcoming to my wife and I. It would have been a tragedy to loose him on June 11, 2023 if Andre had not retired and sailed by him and rescued him.
Less than three months earlier on March 26, 2023 at the Masters at Midwinters Race skippers meeting, Race Committee Chairman, John Farris responded to a question about radios:
I think the class says no. And I think that is something, if I may politic, the class needs to look at. Radios have gotten small enough and cheap enough, and there are safety factors to all of that. I am very fond of verbal communication…
In reading the quote below, what could be more important to the class than SAFETY to not allow radios? (sorry but I am a Safety First guy) I still carry a small radio in my PFD pocket, ask for the appropriate channel, but keep it off at class regattas. I urge the class to reconsider. They are standard in other classes and very common in others. At my second class regatta in Clearwater (Midwinters 2022) my upper boom endcap broke and it took me an hour (sailing alone) to make it back to the club. Just a few days earlier Andre's dad, Paul-John, assisted our friend Lynne, who had capsized multiple times in the Masters on the very long sail back from the Gulf to the sailing club.
(quote from the article at the link below) "...On his way in, he noticed a sailor who had capsized while also sailing to shore. Obviously in trouble, waving his arms, yelling, and becoming increasingly fatigued, Andre sailed towards the sailor and stopped to offer aid. Bob Findlay had been in the water for an undetermined amount of time with injuries to his chest area from struggling to right his boat, and was clinging to the stern at the rudder as the effects of cold-water immersion were setting in. He was unable to self-rescue. In addition, in his unsuccessful efforts to right his boat, he had damaged his life jacket and had concerns as to its continued floatation and usefulness...
Andre received the US Sunfish Class Association Peter J. Barnett Sportsmanship Award at the event for his actions. Mr. Findlay was quick to note, “Had it not been for Andre’s unhesitating and quick response, I may have certainly perished.”
Click this link to read full article ARTHUR B. HANSON RESCUE MEDAL AWARDED TO ANDRE PATIN
Way to go Andre Patin, along with John Porter!. I am fairly new to the Sunfish Class and Bob Findley has been so helpful and welcoming to my wife and I. It would have been a tragedy to loose him on June 11, 2023 if Andre had not retired and sailed by him and rescued him.
Less than three months earlier on March 26, 2023 at the Masters at Midwinters Race skippers meeting, Race Committee Chairman, John Farris responded to a question about radios:
I think the class says no. And I think that is something, if I may politic, the class needs to look at. Radios have gotten small enough and cheap enough, and there are safety factors to all of that. I am very fond of verbal communication…
In reading the quote below, what could be more important to the class than SAFETY to not allow radios? (sorry but I am a Safety First guy) I still carry a small radio in my PFD pocket, ask for the appropriate channel, but keep it off at class regattas. I urge the class to reconsider. They are standard in other classes and very common in others. At my second class regatta in Clearwater (Midwinters 2022) my upper boom endcap broke and it took me an hour (sailing alone) to make it back to the club. Just a few days earlier Andre's dad, Paul-John, assisted our friend Lynne, who had capsized multiple times in the Masters on the very long sail back from the Gulf to the sailing club.
(quote from the article at the link below) "...On his way in, he noticed a sailor who had capsized while also sailing to shore. Obviously in trouble, waving his arms, yelling, and becoming increasingly fatigued, Andre sailed towards the sailor and stopped to offer aid. Bob Findlay had been in the water for an undetermined amount of time with injuries to his chest area from struggling to right his boat, and was clinging to the stern at the rudder as the effects of cold-water immersion were setting in. He was unable to self-rescue. In addition, in his unsuccessful efforts to right his boat, he had damaged his life jacket and had concerns as to its continued floatation and usefulness...
Andre received the US Sunfish Class Association Peter J. Barnett Sportsmanship Award at the event for his actions. Mr. Findlay was quick to note, “Had it not been for Andre’s unhesitating and quick response, I may have certainly perished.”
Click this link to read full article ARTHUR B. HANSON RESCUE MEDAL AWARDED TO ANDRE PATIN