I am collecting some basic information on sailing fitness, a short anonymous survey, takes about 5 minutes. Even if you don't keep fit except by sailing you input would be most useful.

Alan Done

Hi Alan,
Once per person - or once per class?
You've posted on another forum that I visit (Shh - the MROA are reading this!)

Colin (M/R 3387 Solo 3400)

Done the survey. But no questions re age of respondant-this may colour one's response!

Done 4 u

hope it helps

Good point about the age groups

done

Kelly and I have both completed it

Done...

Hi Alan,

Filled mine out a couple of days back. 

Struggled a bit though as it didn't list sofa's, bed, alchohol and greasy spoon, only strange words of which I was most unfamiliar with like EXCERCISE!

Cheers

Richard

Job done. Agree with the earlier post though; exercise???????????????

I am in shape. Round is a shape.

Thanks to all that participated. Here are the results, enjoy the read and have a great Easter weekend.

Thanks for the fun and informational survey Alan. Results are interesting but one particular quote worried me. It was the guy (or gal) who didn't know anyone over 50 who had not damaged themselves by sailing. I don't think they know many people! Certainly I don't have these problems at 66 nor do my friends at Whitstable who are slightly older or younger than me. We have all been bashing round the course for the last few weekends, in Merlins, Lasers, Tornados, F.18 and Dart 18 cats and beating a few youngsters in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. A few aches and minor pains to be sure, but not enough for scaremongering.

Mike, 

that is a very important coment. We wouldn't want people getting put off sailing for fear of hurting their joints, when we know that with care that isn't the case.

I think it is so important that I have added a 'comment' feature to my article, so please can you 're-add' your comment there (or just tell me I can copy your comment and I will cut/paste it into the comment box.)

Thanks Alan. I've added my comment to your site (I think). If it didn't stick feel free to do it again for me. I do think it is important for us older folk to stay positive and keep on trucking. In view of the star comment perhaps I should say we should keep on doing anything ending in ucking. For example: mucking about, bucking broncoes, ducking responsibilities, shucking peas etc etc.

I did my back in after years in Lasers, not from the sailing but I am convinced it was from dragging my boat up beaches after being knackered and not thinking about how it should be done. When sailing you are (hopefully) focused and things runs smoothly. When you stop anything will do. I'm OK now but just watch for the signs but a bad back is like the poor, always with us.

Being 50+ I do sometimes wonder why some things ache after a day like today sailing in light stuff with no apparent effort. Still a nice bottle of Merlot seems to restore order.

Yes, the comment 'stuck' thanks

Alan.
There is a layout problem with my comment copied to your website. Carriage returns vs space width have gone to pot. Words are split in two. My limited skills can't patch it up.

I noticed that. I tried to patch it up too, but failed. I think it is a software issue, I will get to the bottom of it - eventually !!!

Somehow I fixed it. I don't know how, as I have had too much to drink to understand what I did, thank good this isn't my real job!!

Sailing related attendances at an a fairly average G.P>'s surgery over the last 12 months.
      Major Kidney infection 
      Two broken ribs
      Nine mouth ulcers
      Mashed thumbnail
      Prolapsed disc in back
      Three heads slammed by boom - concussion
      Three cases of seasickness 
      Fifty five Torn medial meniscus in knee 
      Mouth ulcer caused by a bitten lip
      Grotesquely mangled and bloodied index finger
      Fifty nine cases of infected skin and sores
      Thirty six Torn anterior cruciate ligament
      Seven head or face injuries
      Five fungal infections due to dry suits
      Six Torn buttock muscles
      Knee infection
      One hundred and fifty cases of Hemorrhoids
      Seventy six cases of Dupytrens Contracture

If the above is factually correct
1 - sailing should be banned immediately due to the drain on NHS
or
2 - it is great news, far more people sail than we ever imagined, perhaps the whole population sail every day

(of course the GP>'s  could infact be many GPs' which does chaneg the statistics, but assuming one GP's surgery)

Based on my knowledge of 6 minute appointments, a GP can handle about 2,000 cases per year. I didn't count closely, but above is listed about 350 cases. So 17.5% of cases are sailing related in an average surgery.

This is an interesting proportion, a little research on the web indicates that over all sports, for A&E cases (clearly different to GP cases) that 1%-2.1% of A&E cases are attributable to ALL sports, and the vast majority of these are due to collisions with people or equipment during ball playing sports.

Alan is I think a bit unfair on sailing as a drain on the NHS (Sport generaly is both in the present and in the future as the extra wear and tear leads to break downs in our joints and tendons.) many of the above complaints knees, Dupeytrens etc would almost certainly be treated under various insurance schemes, the above list I suspect pails into insignificance when compared with horse/pony related injuries or the contact sports even a rough saturday night in one of the less desireable areas of this Sceptred Isle!
As a martyr to the dreaded dupeytrens contracture (In my case certainly caused by gripping ropes.) and succesful operations on various fingers and other hand parts I am grateful to the skill of surgeons who have kept me on the road.

My point, put perhaps too subtly, is that the list above is factually incorrect. 

If one average GP saw 350 cases of sailing related ailments (as opposed to ailaments that could possibly be attributed to sailing), then when in his 2000 appointments per year would he see the
- 3500 cases attributed to football
- 2000 cases attributed to rugby
- 15,000 cases attributed to cycling
- 22,000 childhood ailments
- 150,000 colds and flu
- 900,000 general ailments of old age

My proportions are based on my casual observations of my GP surgey and the type of people I notice, scaled up based on the 350 sailing cases.

If anything should be banned due to a drain on the NHS, it should be pregnancy, old age and over eating, in my humble opinion, not based on fact (but I could write a quick survey :-))

Not sure who . is or where he or she practices - Cowes perhaps?  Admittedly not a lot of water to sail on in SW19 where I practice (Wimbledon Park Lake anyone?) but based on my own experience over the last year this is just wildly out.  I've seen one unpleasant sailing injury recently, a degloved finger 18 months ago and that was a yacht not a dinghy.  Other than that it is occasional strains and sprains, cut or crushed fingers; full time, list of around 2,100, about 140 consultations of 12 minutes or so a week.   Over the years I have been sailing I have not sustained any injury worse than a damaged finger ligament and from attending open meetings, Salcombe Week and the Nats I have only occasionally seen injuries that required the NHS to swing into action.  I have always thought dinghy sailing a remarkably safe sport, certainly if you compare it to the number of significant injuries I see each year from ski-ing.

Thanks for soem real input Andrew. Obvioulsy . is just a wind up merchant, as suspected.

I suspect there are more after-sailing related injuries than actually sailing related.

Its the beer afterwards that causes the problems!

Be fair Alan. people have choices about eating, drinking and even pregnancy these days, but we can't avoid old age. If only!

Ah but Mike there are even choices there.  Maurice Chevalier when asked about what old age was like (at the age of 90+) said "it is better than the alternative"

Think about it...

And it does depend where you start!