Overboard

[awatson]

Perhaps this has been discussed on the forum, but my quick search didn't uncover anything.
I was wondering what people who singlehand their boats do about providing a means to get back into the boat should they go over the side.
I realize that if you do go over, the chances that you are even in the proximity of your boat when you come back to the surface are slim. In the event that you are, (perhaps you were moving slowly, or at anchor, or the boat rounded into the wind when you let the tiller go), how would the well-prepared sailor go about getting back into their vessel? A ladder or line accessible from the water perhaps? Just curious to hear if others have thought about this and implemented a solution. With enough adrenaline pumping, I might be able to haul myself over the rail of my CD25, but that would not be an option on a bigger boat or one with more freeboard.

awatson

[Parfait's Provider]

Adrenaline will do wonders, but if you are going to singlehand the best thing to do is to keep from going overboard to begin with. Jacklines, tether, PFD, and a harness are a good start. You also want a personal knife so you can cut yourself loose if the boat decides to sink and you can't release the tether. We have a swimming ladder that, in theory, can be deployed from the water, but as you point out, you would need to catch the boat first. Dragging a dinghy with a poly painter might be a good thing.

[Oswego John]

Hi, A Watson,

Now and then this subject has come up in the past. Offhand, I can recall at least twice that there has been serious discussion on this subject.

About a month or so ago, I read of two tragic deaths on the water. The first report was about a person who was sailing with a rank novice who knew nothing of boatmanship. Apparently, when the owner went over the side, the guest didn't have a clue as to what the procedure was for MOB. The boat owner perished because of ignorance.

The second report told of a sailor who was sailing solo. For whatever reason, he went over the side. When they found him, his tiller and sheets were locked and the boat was under way. He was trailing a poly, floating line. It is believed that he was under the misguided belief that the trailing line was his safety insurance.

The elderly man was found alongside his moving boat with the line wrapped around his wrist. Authorities believe that the cause of death was a combination of hypothermia and heart failure.

Are there lessons to be learned from these reports? Think about it.

O J

[Marianna Max]

As a beginner, this is my biggest fear. Here I am at the tiller holding her steady on course or even just into the wind while he takes down the main. I absolutely hate it when a speed boat cuts too close to us when he's up on the main.

What if he gets knocked into the drink? What do I do after throwing him a flotation cushion?

We wouldn't be under sail at that point and the motor would already be on. I guess I just steer back to him after cutting the fuel to just a knot or so but how do I control it up close to him?

We usually have the dinghy and that seems like the thing to shove too him because I sure couldn't pull him up on my own and I'd be wary of the prop if I were to lower the ladder down the back in hopes he could catch it and climb in.

So what should a minimally skilled crew do to effect a rescue? What did I get wrong?

[Cathy Monaghan]

Marianna,

Ditto Ken's advice -- stay on the boat.

Singlehanders should be attached to the boat and anyone else onboard that doesn't feel comfortable/safe should probably be wearing a PFD if only for peace of mind. My recommendation is to wear a combination inflatable PFD/harness. The boat should be rigged with jacklines down both sides of the boat and there should be attachment points in or near the cockpit. You should have a tether attached to both your harness and the attachment point in the cockpit and when you go forward you should clip it to a jackline. A double-tether (one long bit of webbing and one short) makes it easier to work at the mast since the shorter one can be attached directly to the mast. The PFD should be equipped with a rescue light and a whistle.

With two or more people aboard, and in daylight hours, you probably don't have to use the tethers but if you're uneasy or feel unsafe, wear that inflatable PFD.

Let your better half know that it scares you when he/she goes forward and maybe hopefully you can convince them to don a PFD before making that trek forward.

It sounds like you need to practice man-overboard maneuvers as well. Knowing what to do if someone does goes overboard is just as important, if not more so, than the safety equipment. You'll feel much better knowing what to do.

You may feel more comfortable out there if you get some training too -- not from him! There are plenty of good sailing schools out there, some even just for women.

Safe sailing,
Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[rtbates]

I have read where some have trailed a line behind the vessel. Maybe with a knot every few feet for grip. Along with this line(for pulling oneself back to the vessel) a control line can be trailed that when pulled can disengage the autopilot or throttle back the motor. As for getting back on after you reach your vessel, you'll need some form of release for your boarding ladder that can be activated from the water. On Seraph's stern ladder I use a pin, like lots of ladders to hold it in place. The pin is attached to a loop of line that hangs down to within a foot or so of the waterline. From the water all one needs to do is grab the line a tug the pin out. The ladder can then be pivoted down.
Best advice is to stay on board at all costs. If you are alone and are paranoid about falling overboard simply NEVER leave the cabin w/o clipping in. NEVER no matter how calm.

randy Seraph #161

[Ed Haley]

Leaving a long line behind is one way to help yourself back aboard in case you fall overboard, as has been said. Maybe even attach the line to your dinghy.

But what hasn't been mentioned is the difficulty of pulling yourself up to the boat. If the boat is sailing more than 3 knots, you probably won't have the strength to do it - let alone pull yourself aboard. Try it sometime and see how much drag you have. You really don't want to have to depend on that method. It would be easier to pull both you and the dinghy back to the boat!

No one ever wants to fall overboard but it happens even to the best sailors and even the most prepared. 'Bout all we can do is reduce the chances.

[RMeigel]

See the following stirrup step: http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... uctId=7485

I loop the line around a stanchion and tuck it under the winch base -- reachable from the water. I adjusted the length of the line after testing it in the water - it needed to be shortened from the length it came from the manufacturer. Too short and you can't get your foot in it, too long and it doesn't give you enough lift.

This will work on a CD 27 and smaller. I don't know about larger freeboards.

This does assume that I get back to the boat! For me, trailing a line would not be enough without it. The line would get me to the boat but I don't think that is enough.

[Steve Laume]

I always thought that if I was healthy that I could somehow get back aboard my boat if I fell over board. That was with the Typhoon. I now know that if the boat were at a stand still and I could get to it I can climb into the CD-30. My son and I were out swimming off the boat on the mooring. We had the dingy tied along side. I can climb into the dingy from the stern. We also had the plastic rung rope ladder over the side in case we needed it. What I discovered is that I can climb back into the boat at the stern by shoving my big toe in the exhaust pipe and then climb up with the help of the stern rail. Okay so this might not be something you want to count on but I don't count on going overboard either. If I ever do and there is no other way I will not forget about my toe hold. I think this would still work under way I am not sure what effect the engine running would have. With shoes or boots there may be a foot hold on the protrusion for the exhaust. If I gain anymore weight this may not work and it helps to have some rock climbing experince in my distant past. Well I am still trying to figure out a good ladder arrangement, Steve.

[Steve Laume]

I always thought that if I was healthy that I could somehow get back aboard my boat if I fell over board. That was with the Typhoon. I now know that if the boat were at a stand still and I could get to it I can climb into the CD-30. My son and I were out swimming off the boat on the mooring. We had the dingy tied along side. I can climb into the dingy from the stern. We also had the plastic rung rope ladder over the side in case we needed it. What I discovered is that I can climb back into the boat at the stern by shoving my big toe in the exhaust pipe and then climb up with the help of the stern rail. Okay so this might not be something you want to count on but I don't count on going overboard either. If I ever do and there is no other way I will not forget about my toe hold. I think this would still work under way I am not sure what effect the engine running would have. With shoes or boots there may be a foot hold on the protrusion for the exhaust. If I gain anymore weight this may not work and it helps to have some rock climbing experince in my distant past. Well I am still trying to figure out a good ladder arrangement, Steve.

[Greg Kozlowski]

Never forget: If you go over you're dead, period. Make a habit of clipping on always, day and night. Need it or not. That way when you wake up in the middle of the night in a squall of 35 knotts and the rail burying itself, you will AUTOMATICALLY reach for the tether and clip on before doing anything else.

I slept in the harness often on a W to E single handed crossing of the Atlantic in 2001.

Greg

[awatson]

Thanks for the discussion on this.
Given that single-handed sailing, especially offshore, warrants the "belt and suspenders" philosophy toward safety, (the "belt" being PFD, jacklines, harness, tether), my interest is in the discussion around the "suspenders" - a way to bring yourself aboard if you end up in the water and next to your boat. The strap thing from West Marine looks interesting, and maybe a ladder that can be deployed from the water would be worth investigating. If you have the bad luck to go over, and the good fortune to find yourself alongside the boat, it would be terribly frustrating to perish while trying to climb aboard.

[Marianna Max]

A dead man switch on the throttle/engine or a remote would be nice.

Would there be a way to do something to get the boat to circle or head upwind if it wasn't manned with you in the water?

[bobdugan]

When Becky and I have first time guests on our boat we give them the "overboard" speech. Most of the talk is stolen from something I read by the Pardeys.

It goes something like this... falling off the boat is very dangerous... so much so that if you fall off the boat there is a possibility that you will die. Even with your life jacket, the water is very cold, and you are going to become hypothermic pretty quickly. We're going to have trouble spotting you... your head is pretty small. We're going to have trouble getting to you, because you won't fall over in pleasant seas and wind. And we're going to have troulble getting you back on the boat. It takes a lot of muscle power to haul an adult back onto a boat.

Think of the edges of the boat like the roof edge of a 2 story building... you'd be pretty careful when you were near the edge of a 2 story building right? You wouldn't even consider the possiblity that you might fall off the building right? So don't take risks that would put you in danger of falling overboard.

Bob

[Bob Luby]

RE "boarding the dinghy"

From experience, if you have an inflatable dink, such as a Zodiac, you will find it difficult to haul yourself over the large, slippery tubes. The stirrups sold by C-level ( I think) for dinghy boarding are worthless, because your legs will float **under** the boat.

If your arms are long enough to reach across the boat you might be able to board, but only with difficulty.

Tinker inflatable dinghies have tubes that taper toward the bow for that reason: supposedly you can pull yourself over the bow, which is kept dry by a bow cover. However they are extremely expensive. ( Can the Chinese make an affordable copy? Paging West Marine, Paging West Marine)

Also, a male cannot buy something and assume that his female partner, ( shorter legs and arms, less upper body strength) will be able to operate/climb it The strength of the Lifesling is that it uses pulleys and your winch to perform the recovery.

After buying any rescue device, test it. You may be unpleasantly suprised, but better to know now than later.
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