Self rescue when sailing alone?

[Anonymous 121765]

Ray,

I don't know how useful this is but, some years back, my brother crewed on a commercial fishing boat. He was 20 yrs. old, just moved to Florida & knew NOTHING about commercial fishing. Someone said he could make GOOD MONEY on a long liner boat. He fell for the bull & signed up for crew. It was out on his third day.

Has anyone witnessed up close & firsthand, what a long liner does? They drop lines 1 to 2 miles long & troll for 12 hours or more. The long line is indiscriminate on what it catches. or snags. Normally, 50% is NON-TABLEFARE (trash) fish. By the time they retrieve the lines, almost all the fish may be dead. The un-edible fish, are merely thrown back. The mortality rates might surprise you. At what cost valor, right?

He was the only one on watch that nite everyone else was asleep. Somehow trying to take a wiz, he fell off the boat in the dark, no moon. They had a line floating off the back with a 1 ft. anchor ball @ the end. Luckily, the line had knots every 2 ft. or so tied in. In the past, the boat lost a crewmember & this is what they used after the tragedy. It worked this time.

It took my brother two hours, as the boat was on a slow troll but, he got close enough to the stern to call for help. Dragging a line aft I feel is at least giving you a chance to save yourself. Will it work, who's to say, does it better your odds of survival, I would have to say yes. Do knots or loops help, I would definitely say YES!

I have knots tied into my drag line. A one gallon plastic bottle is NOT gonna get it pal. One other thing to keep in mind is that at nite, drop your stern ladder early on, it won't help if you can pull yourself back to the stern but, not reach the ladder to get onboard. One other thing I do is, I have a sealed battery LED strobe/flasher at the float. At least this way, you might be able to see the ball & reach the line or end.

Just my take on it man. I can tell you that my brother was 250 miles offshore that nite. Today, he has his own A/C business. After his experience, he never went out on a commercial fishing boat again. Lessons learned I guess............are you surprised?

CR

 

[centerline]

The many comments that I have read about not getting back on your boat is hogwash. It is your boat. You have to get back on, your life depends on it. You are the one responsible for figuring out how to get back on. When? Now! Take you boat to an anchor spot and jump off. This is the best time to setup any kind of device to get back on be it ladder on the stern or the side of the boat, or what. The more you practice the better prepared you will be.

Go out with an experienced sailor and try your techniques. Jump overboard while the other sailor is standing by. Try and get yourself on board. IT IS A MUST!

My boat? I have done this already because it ALMOST happened to me. However, I fell into the cabin and not overboard. I have a swim step and an outboard. Getting the outboard down is easy and so is climbing aboard. Being on the stern there is at least some kind of protection.

For autopilots, install a cut-off switch on the stern so when you get back to the stern you can kill the autopilot. There is also a good chance you can kick the rudder enough to get the boat to head up some. Unless you have a full keel boat then that is just not possible.

Regardless, you MUST find a way to get back on board. "No way" is not an option.

Brian, I agree with everything you say... when you know its life or death, you can sometimes do things that is not possible without the extra incentive...

but as has been shown historically by less fortunate sailors, its an unreasonable expectation that you will be coming back.

no matter how much we practice in a controlled environment, the conditions will invariably be different "out there".... but i agree that practicing is the ONLY way we can increase our slim chances of survival if it should ever happen.

you are right that "you MUST do it"... depending on where you are, the chance of survival can be very small to non existent, if you dont...
Sadly, some just cant do it.

it is possible that luck could be with you on the particular day that you happen to be un-shipped from your vessel, and you are able to get yourself back onboard. but i think its more of a desperate last chance thing that it is a skill thing... and you have to realize some people are heartier and more capable than others... the older we get, the less chance we will have....

but as i have said before and strongly advocate no matter what age we are, practicing "planned" MOB maneuvers is a good thing to do that can actually be a fun activity for the whole family. everyone benefits from the knowledge gained.

no matter if you are practicing pulling yourself up to the boat on a knotted rope at 4-6kts, or if its only safety gear deployment and victim retrieval, its a good thing to know what can be expected and what is involved before you have to deal with a real life and death situation.

 

[Jackdaw]

Brian, I agree with everything you say... when you know its life or death, you can sometimes do things that is not possible without the extra incentive...

but as has been shown historically by less fortunate sailors, its an unreasonable expectation that you will be coming back.

no matter how much we practice in a controlled environment, the conditions will invariably be different "out there".... but i agree that practicing is the ONLY way we can increase our slim chances of survival if it should ever happen.

you are right that "you MUST do it"... depending on where you are, the chance of survival can be very small to non existent, if you dont...
Sadly, some just cant do it.

it is possible that luck could be with you on the particular day that you happen to be un-shipped from your vessel, and you are able to get yourself back onboard. but i think its more of a desperate last chance thing that it is a skill thing... and you have to realize some people are heartier and more capable than others... the older we get, the less chance we will have....

but as i have said before and strongly advocate no matter what age we are, practicing "planned" MOB maneuvers is a good thing to do that can actually be a fun activity for the whole family. everyone benefits from the knowledge gained.

no matter if you are practicing pulling yourself up to the boat on a knotted rope at 4-6kts, or if its only safety gear deployment and victim retrieval, its a good thing to know what can be expected and what is involved before you have to deal with a real life and death situation.

Exactly. That you can 'practice' for this at anchor is silly.

Most of the time you fall off the boat is is MOVING. You first have to get back to it. It's moving twice as fast as you can swim.

Most of the conditions you fall off in, there is sea state. Going anywhere near the transom is deadly dangerous.

Most adult sailors can't do a pull-up in a gym. Let alone cold wet tired and wearing foul weather gear.

I've done three real MOB retrievals, each with a trained crew. In each case we thought ourselves lucky getting the person back on the boat. There would have been NO WAY a person in the water could have done it on their own.

 

[All U Get]

Good story Captnron,

Keeping this in mind if you fall overboard you spend several seconds below the surface and then surface, try to orient yourself, and then grab at a rope sliding along in the water. Using a rough chip log with knots every 50 feet you can get 100 feet in 30 seconds, @~2 Kts. At 4 Kts the 100 feet would go by in 15 seconds. Not a lot of time.

If you grab the line and do manage to keep above the surface, you are still being drug along like bait if you can't pull yourself to the boat. If there was a boogy board at the end of the line you might be able to pull yourself up enough to rest or surf along with the hope someone would notice. Maybe even pull yourself forward to the stern.

If the water is cold the odds get pretty steep against hanging on.

All U Get

 

[Joe]

The problem with "killing" the auto pilot is that it does not go to free or neutral status allowing the boat to naturally head up.. what happens (on a tiller pilot, anyway) is that it simply stops and locks the tiller in position. So.... the boat will continue to sail for some distance, assuming you had the rig balanced as is necessary for efficient AP operation. It eventually will work it's way into a luff... but may soon bear off in another direction.

What would be desirable is to disengage the mainsail and headsail.... along with a neutral tiller.. the boat will constantly weather vane... luffing up, falling off, etc. even if the boat heads downwind with the boom fully extended against the shrouds, the unrestricted tiller will cause the boat to round back up.

Contrary to another comment, I think you are less likely to fall overboard in storm conditions because you are almost surely hooked on ... rather it is more likely to fall off when your confidence is such that you wander about the boat untethered in benign conditions and something happens... you stub your toe, the boat hits something, an unnoticed, counteracting wave from a distant yacht hits you sideways.... you get a cramp, you hit your head... you do something stupid like pee over the stern... see what I mean.

So... staying clipped on in any conditions is the key... that's number one. Designing some kind of rube Goldberg device to turn the boat around and make it stop where you're floating comfortably in the water waiting to get back on board .... well that's going to give you WAY to much confidence in an untested or unproven system. STAY ATTACHED!

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

Joe you beat me to it

Just a quick comment regarding the idea of killing power to the autopilot: On the Raymarine wheel unit like several of us have, killing the power will not release the clutch !!! And if your sails are adjusted and balanced so the autopilot can do its job properly, wouldn't the odds be that the boat would keep going for quite a while before turning into the wind ?

PFD, harness and tethered even in the cockpit is my solution. And if under storm conditions, staying in the cockpit unless absolutely necessary for boat safety.

 

[RonRelyea]

wouldn't work if you were hit in the head with the boom, but

this looks like fun to try out on a warm day in warm water ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vsAjNBRQ_I

still the best advice to me is to clip in and stay on the boat

 

[Ray Bowles]

I failed to say that I sail on a river and therefore reaching shore is possible. On the ocean in our IP38 we had jacklines and inflatables with harnesses and lanyards.
Ray.
PS. 2 years ago I did pull out a man that had fallen over from his C22 and was hanging on a tube. No jacket.

 

[Stu Jackson]

One item not mentioned yet, but similar to not falling off when conditions are rouch 'cuz you're really, really aware of issues:

"One hand for yourself, one hand for the ship.Z"

I simply don't go anywhere on the boat where I don't have one hand on something sturdy.

 

[Jackdaw]

Contrary to another comment, I think you are less likely to fall overboard in storm conditions because you are almost surely hooked on ... rather it is more likely to fall off when your confidence is such that you wander about the boat untethered in benign conditions and something happens... ou WAY to much confidence in an untested or unproven system. STAY ATTACHED!

Joe,

That's an interesting thought. Certainly worth thinking about.

I'm interested in what your experience has been. I've been very near (or directly involved) in I think 10 MOB situations. 80% of them were in weather/sea state that factored. Only 2 were in flat/easy conditions.

For a good person on deck, they don't just fall off. Weather or the sea does it.

 

[Brian D]

{snip}
Exactly. That you can 'practice' for this at anchor is silly.
{snip}

Then do away with MOB drills because that is silly also. You just said you can't get a man on board, so why even try?

This is the worst thing one can say to anyone. You MUST practice. I would agree that one should not sail into a storm to practice, but one must practice reefing sails in calm conditions to get the hang of things.

I wholeheartedly disagree with you. Practicing at anchor is not silly. It is essential to understand where things are and how to go about getting yourself on the boat. Practice makes one better prepared. Do it while conditions are in your favor so that when the time comes you are mentally prepared.

 

[Joe]

Joe,

That's an interesting thought. Certainly worth thinking about.

I'm interested in what your experience has been. I've been very near (or directly involved) in I think 10 MOB situations. 80% of them were in weather/sea state that factored. Only 2 were in flat/easy conditions.

For a good person on deck, they don't just fall off. Weather or the sea does it.

The fact that 2 out of 10 of your MOB experiences were in flat/easy conditions is high enough odds for me to be cautious in all sea states.

The single hander's biggest mistake is getting complacent ... it calms down and he detaches the tether... then makes a quick dash forward to change a sail or leans over the side to clear seaweed off the prop or rudder. He doesn't perceive a threat from the weather or sea.... and that is when he is most vulnerable. He stands on the transom to take a pee hanging on to the backstay and loses his grip, for instance. And that's it..

The point of my rambling is that anything can happen anytime. If you're by yourself... take no chances, assume nothing. Thinking your risk of going overboard only exists in foul weather is foolhardy.

 

[Jackdaw]

The fact that 2 out of 10 of your MOB experiences were in flat/easy conditions is high enough odds for me to be cautious in all sea states.

The single hander's biggest mistake is getting complacent ... it calms down and he detaches the tether... then makes a quick dash forward to change a sail or leans over the side to clear seaweed off the prop or rudder. He doesn't perceive a threat from the weather or sea.... and that is when he is most vulnerable. He stands on the transom to take a pee hanging on to the backstay and loses his grip, for instance. And that's it..

The point of my rambling is that anything can happen anytime. If you're by yourself... take no chances, assume nothing. Thinking your risk of going overboard only exists in foul weather is foolhardy.

I totally agree with you. Most of my direct experiences MOB have been crewed. People might take different risks and precautions then. I was wondering what you saw in your world.

My personal sense however is that people get 'better' at deckwork and balance on a boat over time. That leads to lower accident rates overall but probably also to complacency. I could imagine most solo MOBs might be caused by something unexpected.

BUT.

This thread is about someone ALLREADY IN THE WATER.

No matter what the conditions, if you fall in solo you will 99% chance NOT get back on your boat yourself.

 

[Jackdaw]

Then do away with MOB drills because that is silly also. You just said you can't get a man on board, so why even try?

This is the worst thing one can say to anyone. You MUST practice. I would agree that one should not sail into a storm to practice, but one must practice reefing sails in calm conditions to get the hang of things.

I wholeheartedly disagree with you. Practicing at anchor is not silly. It is essential to understand where things are and how to go about getting yourself on the boat. Practice makes one better prepared. Do it while conditions are in your favor so that when the time comes you are mentally prepared.

Brian,

Any type of practice helps. But any one who has been swimming at anchor off their transom and came back on board via the swim ladder has already become an expert at that. Deluding yourself into thinking that this somehow will make you more survivable if you fall off solo sailing is dangerous, as is suggesting it will to others.

95% of the REAL problem is getting back to that location when the boat is moving. The rest is managing your way up in any type of sea state.

Last year I jumped of the back of Kestrel while she was making about 2.5 knots on a very light day under just her asym. When my head popped out of the water, I was amazed how far away the boat already was. It took a decent effort to swim back to her, and I'm a strong swimmer and was wearing just shorts. The ladder was very hard to mange because when you tried to pull yourself into a vertical position, the waterflow tried to push you off. Sobering.

You cannot swim with an inflatable PFD on. Tread water, doggy paddle yes. But make real progress? No.

When I have done actual MOB retrievals in a sea state, the transom area was a total death zone. Easy for someone to get crushed under it. We always go up the side with a halyard.

 

[centerline]

Then do away with MOB drills because that is silly also. You just said you can't get a man on board, so why even try?

This is the worst thing one can say to anyone. You MUST practice. I would agree that one should not sail into a storm to practice, but one must practice reefing sails in calm conditions to get the hang of things.

I wholeheartedly disagree with you. Practicing at anchor is not silly. It is essential to understand where things are and how to go about getting yourself on the boat. Practice makes one better prepared. Do it while conditions are in your favor so that when the time comes you are mentally prepared.

when you practice you should practice for the worst case... if the rescue is always going to be easy, there would be no need for worry or practice.

i must agree that practicing at anchor is way too much of a controlled enviroment... you need the boat to be a "live boat"... you need to be able to manage the steerage of the vessel, the gear deployment, and the rescue all at the same time... if you cant do it in practice, it isnt going to happen when the adrenalin is pumping.... the boat is your world. it is the PRIMARY tool that will make a rescue possible.... it needs to be managed along with every other stage of the rescue...

exception.... if you only want to practice pulling yourself to the boat in a 4-5kt current, i would agree that you can do that at anchor in a 4-5kt current.
but if you dont have a live boat available, and you cant make it, you have just created a real live rescue event, that may not turn out like you have in your mind that it will...

3kts isnt too bad for most of us, but anyone who has ever water skied should know how much drag the water has against us and even a very slow pace... tie a 75lb weight to yourself and climb a rope at the gym... when you can do that, you have a reasonable chance to pull yourself back to the boat against a 5kt current... if you are lucky enough to make it to the rope you have dragging before it gets away....

 

[Joe]

This thread is about someone ALLREADY IN THE WATER.

No matter what the conditions, if you fall in solo you will 99% chance NOT get back on your boat yourself.

Right... someone called it "self rescue".... which sounds odd... but your comment about the danger of the bouncy transom is ominous for the safety rope crowd. I have a boarding ladder on the transom with a lanyard that theoretically allows me to pull the thing down into position while in the water.....I anchored in a nearby cove many years ago, then dove off into the water for a swim. I had a heck of a time getting the ladder down and this was in protected water with just a little seesawing from passing boat waves.

Even when I let he ladder down to board a dinghy it can be a little challenging if the water is not calm. I actually think one of those side mounted dinghy step devices would be safer... because you access from the side near the middle of the boat where there is less hobby horsing.

So... rethinking where you'd like to get on the boat.... the side instead of the back end.. might stimulate new thought on what boarding device one could keep ready to deploy should the unfortunate event occur. Trailing a safety rope tethered to the side? Would that cause the boat to turn? A line with a loop tied to a stanchion base? It would act as a foot hold, in theory.

There are two problems... staying in contact and reboarding. On my beachcat... getting back on was easy, there's perhaps 6 inches of freeboard... so staying in contact was the priority. I accomplished that by tying the mainsheet/traveler loop through my harness. On a larger boat with 3-4 feet of freeboard... yikes. It's the getting back on if you're lucky and the boat stops scenario that is challenging.

 

[Doc_holiday]

I probably should heed my own advice and stay silent here. Given this is the trailer sailor forum falling off will likely happen within sight of land. Not always, but most likely. I'm sure I'll be bashed with exceptions. On a trailerable, why are you going forward on the deck under full sail? Our decks aren't like the big boys and footing is less.

So again, why go forward? Lower the jib? Put up a storm jib, reef the main? Setting the anchor? Most of these are going to be into the wind and probably with the motor running. The boat wasn't really set up for solo then was it? If you have to board in these scenarios, do you really want to be at the transom with the prop spinning?

This fall I made a 2 day trip and almost went over when I went forward to pull the jib down (guess who forgot to rig the cockpit jib haul down). The motor was on, main already down, Otto holding the boat steady into the wind but going fast enough to keep water passing the rudder. It wasn't far to the shore as I was preparing to anchor for the night. It was windy and choppy. The kicker was the boat was pointed somewhat away from land so she would have headed south with me swimming to the east for land. I skipped a heart beat or two that night.

 

[weinie]

new boat has a fold up rope ladder that stores in the transom.

 

[All U Get]

this looks like fun to try out on a warm day in warm water ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vsAjNBRQ_I

Wow, that's a bit more than what I was thinking but now I don't have to build one. Thanks for the video.

All U Get

 

[Doc_holiday]

I must have missed it but did a parachute get deployed that pulled in the opposite direction that pulled him forward?