I Almost Lost My Hat

[Don Guillette]

How many of you have lost your favorite hat while sailing? A number of years ago I almost lost mine while sailing off Fort Myers, FL. It is the same one I’m wearing in the picture that is on the front cover of my book so obviously I retrieved it but it wasn’t easy and the reason was I had difficulty stopping the boat. I was OK sailing forward but stopping within 6’ or less of a target was not my best move. Since retrieving a hat is one thing, it is nothing compared to a man over board situation but with the hat pick up all I wanted was a quick “stop and go” so I decided to figure out the simplest way and the following is what I came up with.

I needed to position the boat so the wind could not fill the sails. You might think that position is head to wind with the sails luffing but it isn’t. The boat will definitely stop when positioned head to wind but the skipper has little control in that position. Here’s the problem with head to wind – you have to be right on and stop exactly at the hat. If you’re off by a few feet it is hard to get the boat turned away from the wind and sailing again. Each time they try it they have to exactly hit the hat and it isn’t easy.

My method is to sail toward the hat on a close reach. As I near the hat, I let the sails luff gradually to slow the boat so I’m controlling the speed and direction. The pick up point I’m aiming for is on either side of the boat. A quick luff and the boat stops. Then grab the hat and trim in and off you go.

Suppose I stop short? I just trim in a bit and ease up to the hat.

The ability to stop a boat on a dime has a lot of uses and should be practiced before you really need to use it.

To solve the hat problem, I always wear a hat clip and that has saved my favorite hat many times.

Any hat stories out there?

 

[David in Sandusky]

Lost two hats

Both the Admiral and I lost a hat on our 6 week trip to the North Channel and back.

Mine was an old hat, and we were really booking at the time, so we decided not to attempt a pickup.

It was pretty rough when Joanne lost hers - she would have liked it back, but we didn.t think it would stay on the surface long enough for us to find and retrieve it.

We have done our standard MOB to pick up a hat some years ago.

Our MOB drill uses the stalling reach approach you describe so the MOB is in our lee. We lett the jib sheet trail in the water to give the MOB something to grab.

 

[kpgraci]

Re: Lost two hats

Gee Don, could have used this advice 2 weeks ago. By the time I got turned around and near where my hat came off the chop had overwhelmed it and it had (I assume) sank. I'm hopeful a MOB would have floated a little longer.

 

[Warren Milberg]

I, too, have "donated" a number of hats to the Gods of the Sea. Most of the time, the problem is looking up without holding your hat. I have since used a small hat clip I picked up at Boat US and it had saved a number of hats from going into the drink.

Interestingly, I have a youngish friend who is fast becoming a gung-ho sailor. He used to tease me about my goofy looking clip and I would just smile. Since then, he has lost a number of favorite hats and keeps asking me where I got that goofy looking hat clip.....

 

[Stu Jackson]

Whadday mean almost?!?

Two hats and a new automatically inflatable life vest.

Hat #1 - 1994 Abacos - our son, little at the time, lost his hat overboard, was NOT too happy about it. Told our daughter to keep an eye on it, wife to grab boat hook. Hove too, sailed back to it, grabbed it with the hook.

Life vest - 2005 - friend was putting it on behind the wheel, somehow dropped it overboard on windy San Francisco Bay. "I'll pay for it, I'll pay for it." "No need," I said, "watch this - but keep your eye on the vest," since it had inflated and was now an easy to spot glowing yellow! Hove to, got right back to it, he grabbed it with the boat hook.

Hat #2 - 2006 - MY good hat, windy on the bay again. Told The Admiral to keep her eye on it, hove to, got back to it. Just as I was about to say "...and when you grab it don't hold it up high because the wind will blow it off the boat hook..." It sank before we could get back to it again.

They're now making hats with those clips built right in! Great ideas, no matter how dorky some think they are. I find my hats blow off more with the wind behind us, 'cuz the wind gets in that hole in the back of the hat where the adjustment strap is located.

Heave to is a great maneuver, everyone should know how to do it.

 

[Benny17441]

Any ideas for retreiving a watch, a cell phone and a pair of sunglasses?

 

[Calif. Ted]

The day after my wife gave me a pair of sailing gloves I dropped one while talking to her on the cell phone.
My first surprise was when I turned around I actually FOUND the glove. It took 2 passes under sail but I got it with the boathook, should have gone to Vegas, what luck.

 

[AndyS22]

I've lost 3 hats so for this year, retrieved one, one Sank before we got to it & one while racing didn't win the race: ( but we did win the season , after that finaly gave in & got a clip!

 

[Alan]

Unfortunately I've lost mine while racing and there's just no way we're going back in a race. Damn, but it was the one I got at the 100th Chicago Mac Race!!!!!!

But Stu is right, if time is not important just heave to. It's very quick and real easy. Fortunately you'll never have to do this with a kite up cause you're looking the other way. Only the guy watching the puffs coming in needs to worry but if he's doing his job the hat will fly into the boat.

 

[BobM]

So far I have one rescue. I was trying to pick up a mooring solo and the hat was driving me nuts, even with the clip. I took it off the clip and flipped it into the cockpit...it promptly flew overboard. As it was monogrammed with the name of my boat...it was about a $40 hat...so I rescued it with my boat hook (to applause from my neighbors). It took a second go round to pick up the mooring though.

No luck with hardware though...if I drop a nut...bolt...pin...etc...it is like playing quarters with the worlds biggest shot glass...one bounce and it is overboard.

 

[Don Guillette]

Benny17441 ask about retrieving cell phones, sun glasses and watches and it made me think about my dock neighbor. I sold him a Garhauer adjustable fairlead track and told him I'd install it for him. He told me he'd rather install it himself. I also told him to read the shipping label!!!

I was enjoying a "tinney" and catching some rays when I heard this massive commotion on his boat with his wife and him scampering all over the edge of the boat. I didn't have to look, and didn't, as I knew what happened.

The fairlead car is loaded with ballbearings and the shipping label clearly states not to remove the car from the shipping tack. You install the car by sliding the shipping track against the existing track and merely slide the car onto the existing track.

You already know what he did and the reason the ballbearings went all over the deck and into the water - he, and not his wife, took the car off the shipping track!! A little while later I ask the wife how the installation went and she said one side went on fine but they had a little problem with the first side. I returned the car to Garhauer and had them reload the ballbearings.

It was kind of funny seeing both of them looking at the ballbearings plooping into the water.

Another neigbor, who was selling his boat, lost a Rolex over the side at his dock. My hull was being cleaned that day and he asked my diver to take a look for him. The diver couldn't find the watch. About a week after my neighbor sold the boat and left the marina my diver was sporting a nice Rolex watch - hull cleaning in Long Beach, Ca must be a pretty good business!!

 

[r.oril]

I had a throw cushion jump ship on one of my tacks. It took me two passes to snag it on the lee side with a boat hook. Good practice for MOB.
I try to stall the boat one of two times when I am out on the lake.

 

[Don Guillette]

A friend of mine called today and asked me what he could do if he overshoots the hat or whatever by a boat length or two. He said it was a pain to have to come round again. I know it is and the solution is simple - just put the boat "in irons" and drive it backwards. You'll be going very slowly so the pick up is easy.

Of course, now you have to know how to get "out of irons". I assume everyone knows how to get "out of irons" --- am I right? If not just sing out and we'll start another topic.

 

[FrankR3878]

Actually I haven't lost one yet (I also use the funny clippy thing to hold it), but I have rescued a real nice "Ultimate" hat I saw floating on the bay a few years ago. It took 3 attempts before I managed to net it. These hats go for $50-60 - so I guess the donor was either better off than I am or inept at hat rescue techniques. It had been floating for a while - a little algae on it but washing it with Oxyclean and a small brush restored it to good condition and fits my head. I guess this makes up for the hand compass, screws, and other tools I have dropped over the side.

 

[sinnettc]

Not a hat, but a blue floating winch handle went overboard just as the wind piped up one day. Made 2 passes but wasn't close enough either time and couldn't find it the 3rd time. The new one is red.

 

[Don Guillette]

Sinnettc and other listers who missed the hat pickup of whatever they were after: What do you think of my "quick stop and go" technique? Would it have helped you make a successful pickup?

 

[JWH2050]

I lost one in the Gulf of Mexico just outside Mobile Bay and another (my favorite) in the Mississippi River. It had a light built into brim. oh well!!

 

[sinnettc]

Don,

Your idea makes sense to me, and seems not that different from the figure 8 MOB approach described in the sailing fundamentals book I've got around here somewhere. In my case the winch handle was hard to see so I didn't get nearly close enough on my passes.

Let me pose a question in return . . .

Capri 22 has a long cockpit so I can't reach the cabin top jib winches from the tiller and since we have a foil the jib won't drop without help. One of the issues we had was that my wife had to take her eyes off the winch handle to help tack the boat. In a MOB situation (spouse overboard) I'd have let the jib flog, but for a winch handle? not worth the damage to the sail. As I mentioned, the wind had suddenly picked up. So, how would you have handled the jib in this situation?

 

[Winkfish]

Of course, now you have to know how to get "out of irons". I assume everyone knows how to get "out of irons" --- am I right? If not just sing out and we'll start another topic.

Don, please consider this a "sing-out"!!

 

[sinnettc]

Don, did you see my question? Post 18