MOB Retrieval

[Dean Abramson]

Why never jibe?

Johnd, you pretty much answered your own question.

It's because the main is still up, and not sheeted in all the way. Taking the main down wastes time. And trying to actually perform a jibe would mean lots of taking one's eyes off the MOB (if he/she were still in sight), and in general is a maneuver which requires thought and effort from a stressed and distracted person. Plus, I do not think that Marvo has ever jibed the boat by herself; this is not a great moment to decide to work on that.

What I am trying to prevent here is an accidental jibe. I want to just drill, drill, drill it into our heads that all turns have to be made bow-thru-the-wind. This would probably be intuitive for me, but not necessarily for Marvo, or for others who might be on board. Use Figure 8s as necessary ("Chicken Jibes"). Mainly, start the engine and drive that rascal like a car. Except...

...NEVER JIBE.

I think that the risk of an accidental jibe is the next worst thing to having one crew overboard. One could easily perform a self-lobotomy in the heat of the moment. Which might not contribute positively to the resolution of the situation. :-)

Dean

[Neil Gordon]

Good example. Many of us have thrown floating orange things overboard and tried to get them back, and it's very instructive. But getting back to my query, has anyone here actually been involved in an adrenalin-laced real situation, and what happened?

Only at the marina. A woman slipped from the swim platform of her powerboat. She wasn't hurt at all... but it took two pretty beefy guys to pull her out of the water and back onto the swim platform. Halfway out of the water was easy. The second half was a lot harder.

At my marina, twice during Nor'easters boaters have slipped from their dock while checking lines. They were lucky to be heard/found... and in both cases the single rescuer needed to drag them to a low swim platform to get them out of the water. There was obviously no seaway there, but lots of wind and rain made for difficult and slippery conditions.

[CD-Sailor]

DELETED

[Steve Laume]

I have. Okay, not human but rather large dog and human toddler but not on a sail boat.

One time a had a bunch of kids on the boat at Napatree Point. As they jumped off the bow, one after another, to swim to the beach, there was one extra splash. The dog just couldn't resist. She swam in and we did a dinghy rescue on dry land.

I once decided I would let the Poochie go swimming and hook up a tackle to the bail on the end of the boom to lift the her back into the boat. This was not at all successful! as the boom wasn't nearly high enough to get a wet Labrador over the rail. I reached down, grabbed the loop on her PFD and hauled her back in. While this might work with a 65LB. dog I would be underpowered with any human larger than a toddler.

Which reminds me of the time my 1&1/2 year old son caught the gunnel of the canoe about mid thigh and peeled overboard. I immediately grabbed the tail of his PFD and started to lift him out only to find that his head stayed under and if anything dragged over the rail it would have been his poor little nose. I quickly dropped him and grabbed the loop on the collar when it popped up. This all happened faster than you could read this so I don't think he even had time to figured out what had happened. There wasn't even any crying, which is always good in a COB situation.

Sorry I can't offer any harrowing rescue tails of any adult without one, Steve.

[David van den Burgh]

No ones life was in danger and the conditions were calm and it was totally intentional, but here's the perspective from the water. The goal was not to practice a man-overboard drill, but to play with a new waterproof camera, so... take it for what it's worth (a little entertainment, maybe?). Sorry there's no video of the recovery process. It wasn't very exciting, really. I think someone lowered the folding boarding ladder and I climbed up. If not, I heaved myself up and over the taffrail (a method that would be impossible in any seas or with a fatigued crew member). Perhaps we'll give the MOB drill another go this summer and record the process. Might be fun.

By the way, the wide angle makes Ariel look a lot farther away than she really was before tacking back. Oh, and for all the well-intentioned folk out there who like to point things out, I did have a flotation device .

<embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/425817838496" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="224"></embed>

[CD-Sailor]

DELETED

[Oswego John]

No ones life was in danger and the conditions were calm and it was totally intentional.

Oh, and for all the well-intentioned folk out there who like to point things out, I did have a flotation device .

Dave,

That's our private smile for today. Well put.

O J

PS: Say a big hello to Jake and Nick.
PPS: What's the link for your pictures of the Pearson Sprite?

[mahalocd36]

especially the underwater shot as the boat went by. Thanks for sharing!

We did some MOB drills in some ASA classes we took ( and at least once the instructor didn't tell us we were going to do it, just in the middle of a very pleasant sail threw a cushion over and said Man Overboard!) but they were never with real people.

I always point out to Rich that it's me, by myself, that would have to rescue him, so if he wants to live, he better stay on the boat !

[David van den Burgh]

No ones life was in danger and the conditions were calm and it was totally intentional.

Oh, and for all the well-intentioned folk out there who like to point things out, I did have a flotation device .

Dave,

That's our private smile for today. Well put.

O J

PS: Say a big hello to Jake and Nick.
PPS: What's the link for your pictures of the Pearson Sprite?

I knew you'd get it, OJ.



Jake says "hi." And Nick will be over here next week. I'll pass your message on to him.

Here's the link for the Ensign: http://nauticallit.wordpress.com/. Work resumes in the fall when I get to teach the Nautical Lit. course again. I can't wait!

[Jim Cornwell]

In answer to Russell's question: My "MOB gate" is simply a pelican hook on both upper and lower lifelines, both sides, just forward of the stanchion abreast the mast, which on a 31 is crowded in with the shrouds. No new stanchion - releasing the pelican hooks lets the lifelines flop overboard. Not a pretty sight and not something you'd do at the dock if you were bow-in or at a short finger pier. It's strictly to facilitate retrieval of an MOB, so the lift would only have to be over the toe rail, not up and over lifelines. With the victim in a lifesling, hoisted by a 5:1 tackle from the partially raised main halyard, I think victim could be maneuvered forward enough to clear the shrouds and stanchion. A test this season will tell the tale.

Taking a cue from another thread some time ago, I've addressed the issue of climbing back aboard the boat while at the dock or at anchor by simply reversing the quickpins that restrain Yankee's stern swim ladder so they're upside down. Short cords tied to the pins' cotter rings dangle almost to the water line - and I leave them that way ALL THE TIME. From in the water (or in a dinghy) yanking on both cords pulls out the pins and lets the ladder fall. This really works! Caveat: stay out of the way of the falling ladder!!!

This has been a worthwhile discussion. I've learned more from all of you than I ever expected! Jim.

[Dean Abramson]

I went to a safety seminar a couple of years ago. It was put on by Landfall Navigation (I think they are now called just Landfall.) There were several hours of classroom type presentations, then a demo of a liferaft being deployed at a dock. It was a good program, and I recommend it if it is in your area. Steve Callahan ("Adrift") was one of the presenters.

There was a lot about COB situations, explanations of Lifeslings, etc. I asked the presenter (not Callahan) why he never mentioned the swim ladder. His response was that in the overwhelming majority of situations, it would be too rough for a person to grab on to a swim ladder, and he pretty much dismissed the swim ladder's usefulness.

This surprised me. I think if I were in the water, I would take a chance of having my teeth knocked out if someone could get me near a swim ladder. (Our swim ladder also has a way to deploy it from in the water, btw.) Maybe if you are in the business of selling Lifeslings, not swim ladders, you are a little biased. ?? I was not sure what I thought about that.

Does anyone have any experience trying to use a swim ladder in rough (or rough-ish) weather? I welcome any comments on this.

Of course, as Sea Runt says, you do not have to be in rough water to fall off and drown. It seems to me a swim ladder is an excellent tool, and rigging it to be able to deploy from the water (as my PO did) is a pretty easy way to buy some extra insurance.

[Steve Laume]

The Monitor wind vane frame acts as a pretty good boarding device. I use it all the time under normal conditions. I have been giving some thought to adding a swing down step to one of the braces. This could be easily reached from the water to deploy.

While single handing a good bit of the time I rely most heavily on a harness and tether. If I would wind up dragging behind the boat I would be pretty screwed if I couldn't climb back in myself. Having the wind vane there all the time is a bit of a comfort.

I don't ever want to see the boat sailing away, Steve.

[Dean Abramson]

Offshore, you could tow a buoy, say with 150 feet of floating line. Its line would be secured to the stern, but a couple of bights of the line would be retained on board with a lashing of very light, breakable line. This would create "latent slack." To the slacked part of the tow line, you could tie a piece of lighter line which attaches to the pin that releases the swim ladder. And mount some kind of noisemaker on the swim ladder (but one with a heavy touch, so that it does not "ring" easily).

If you fall in, you hopefully swim to the line. When you yank it, the slacked bights come into play when the light lashing breaks, and then that pulls the other line that deploys the swim ladder. The swim ladder is now down, and the sound of it dumping in, along with the bell, lets others on board know that you are in the drink.

And maybe, if the boat is not going too fast, you can hang on to the buoy line. And hopefully the on-board crew will stop the boat and haul you in.

Can't hurt, right? (I am not claiming I invented this idea; it is a composite of ideas I have read about.)

In busy inshore waters, it would not be practical to tow a long line, of course.

Dean

[Oswego John]

I don't ever want to see the boat sailing away, Steve.

Sometime a while back, someone made a suggestion that made sense to me.

When sailing solo and have to go forward to the mast or bow, of course being clipped in, make sure that the self steering is inactive.

Set the sail trim so that there is some lee or windward rudder. Hopefully you won't see the boat sailing away into the sunset but it will come into irons to give you some chance to recover.

O J
(A good argument for a tiller)

[Neil Gordon]

If you fall in, you hopefully swim to the line. When you yank it, the slacked bights come into play when the light lashing breaks, and then that pulls the other line that deploys the swim ladder. The swim ladder is now down, and the sound of it dumping in, along with the bell, lets others on board know that you are in the drink.

While you're at it, why not have the same gizmo furl the jib and drop the main.