My wife Ann Gold, son Alexander Hadik and I developed this initiative called SailSafe in response to the circumstances and after effects of a serious marine casualty suffered by our daughter Capt. Becca Hadik on 11 November 2019.
We call it SailSafe as a reminder of the concept Fail-Safe. A thoughtful preventive mechanism to provide a back-stop to otherwise unknown hazards.
To get it over with, what is known about Rebecca Hadik’s casualty is what is written up in the CG-2692.
1st officer Rebecca Hadik on s/v Lady Maryland fell to the deck from atop the main shrouds while climbing the rig at dockside, Baltimore. She was performing seasonal rig maintenance and was climbing unassisted by any crew. She was wearing a harness when she was found on deck. There were 3 deckhands on board, all involved in other maintenance projects at the time. Two watched her fall as they we in other parts of the rig. One on deck turned to find her on the cabin top. The fleet captain and vessel captain were in close proximity nearby 100 feet away on the dock. She suffered serious head, face and upper extremity trauma. She was attended immediately and professionally by ships medical officer and other crew and taken to Johns Hopkins Emergency Trauma Center by EMTs within minutes after the accident.
This is what is known as fact, and it is all we know as fact. Speculation about cause, fault and rumors of further details are neither welcome nor offered.
So that’s what happened. So where do we go from here?
What began at that exact terrible moment until now and ongoing forward is an incredible effort of urgent rescue, heroic surgeries, critical urgent care, enormous pain and oppressive grief. Pain and grief suffered by ourselves and all around us which continues to take its price on our souls and phyche day after day. Week after week. Sleepless nights one after another. Out of this has come enormous level of support from and to fellow crew, family and friends. It is overwhelming and so genuine.
All of us are victims and all of us share a responsibility to ask hard questions , face difficult realities and take decisive action.
It only seems natural that a sailor’s father and family would seek answers to their daughter’s terrible fate. The answers we seek are not about who to blame and what liabilities can be assessed. Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda are not words in my vocabulary.
Our SailSafe mission is to engage the enormous depth of knowledge within the maritime profession and the traditional rig community in particular. We plan to maintain a long and ongoing conversation that will help to develop and deliver a new sense of Safety Culture on Tall Ships through Continuous Improvement and Dedication to Crew Safety.
This is our gift to Rebecca, and to ourselves . Please come in and bring your support.
Thank you.