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> Historically sailors were actually quite bad swimmers. The thinking was that any man who fell overboard was basically dead anyway, as the ship was unlikely to
by peteretep 8y ago
> Historically sailors were actually quite bad swimmers. The thinking was that any man who fell overboard was basically dead anyway, as the ship was unlikely to be able to turn around and get him before he drifted away
This may be true, but doesn't pass the sniff test. There are many situations with small boats (to and from the shore, other ships) and when the boat is stationary when being overboard would be easily remedied.
- macintux 8y agoA small boat can stop immediately and recover someone in normal circumstances. Even those who can’t swim should be able to stay above water long enough to be rescued in such a situation.
- c2h5oh 8y agoEven a small sailboat will need to do 3 turns and position itself against the wind when approaching person in water. That takes long enough for someone who can't swim to drown even under perfect weather conditions.
- macintux 8y agoI thought the context was the rowboats used to ferry people to/from ocean-faring ships.