Neil Gordon wrote:Nearly every test of COB recovery shows that if you go in the water, you probably die,
This, of course, depends on a number of factors, even assuming the COB is wearing a PFD:
--Water temperature? Hypothermia will occur in minutes in 40 degree water, hours in 60 degree water.
--Light or dark? Can you be seen? Do you have a personal strobe light?
--Sea state?
--Skill of remaining crew?
--Any injury on the way over?
A COB in a protected Caribbean bay with a skilled crew and no injury is not likely going to die.
A COB in the North Atlantic in the middle of the night with a head injury and a novice crew has a very slim chance of recovery and survival.
I, too, think of side-deck jack lines as providing little help all by themselves. Even with a short tether, just long enough to stand up, if you go over the lifelines you will hang there and be dragged through the water. If you are singlehanding and the autopilot or windvane is engaged, you'll never have the strength to get back aboard. However, if there is other crew to assist, you are still in better shape than if you were separated from the boat.
I like the idea of a v-shaped tether (or two tethers) and the center-line jack line in addition to the side deck jack line. With two tethers, you can alternate clipping into the side deck line or the center line. You can also install padeyes in strategic locations (as Warren did in the cockpit). At the mast, you can wrap the tether around the mast and attach it back to itself to shorten it up. The idea is to keep your body's center of gravity as inboard as possible.