Not quite overboard
This is not quite MOB, but illustrates some of the points made by others. Where we sail, there are strong tides, and a beach full of idiots. One bloke had to be rescued by the lifeboat 2 days running from an inflatable. In this story, Joe (not his real name) was sailing out of the Parrett with an inexperienced crew on board. The coastguard had seen an inflatable drifting out and seeing that Joe was in the vicinity called him up on the VHF to check it. Joe duly sailed over to intercept it, and peered over the side. New crew allowed the boat to gybe, and the boom hit Joe over the head. Fortunately he did not go overboard, but now we had a crew who couldn't handle the boat and an injured man. The coastguard had to send out a helicopter to winch Joe up and take him to hospital and someone had to be put onto the boat to get it back. Moral of the story - well there are several - probably approaching downwind was not the best idea; dropping at least the main whilst investigating the object might also have added to safety. Finally, it might have been better to get the inexperienced crew to hang over the side and look, rather than the skipper. My wife is a nervous sailor - getting her on board is difficult enough at times. Yes, I am the one who goes and does the heavy work (in light winds I can sail the 26M single handed) but she does not like the responsibility of being in charge. I learned, when sailing my late father in law's boat with his crew that someone who is seasick may not be able to even keep a boat pointing in roughly the right direction, and went from pointing into the wind round 360 degrees and nearly had me overboard (in December). I am hoping to fit an Autohelm onto the boat this winter (my normal crew unfortunately passed on this last summer) so that I can do more single handed sailing - which doesn't mean that I won't have "crew" on board - just that if I point the boat in a direction, it might actually stay pointing in a direction. Getting up to the MOB drill is going to take some time. One part of me says we shouldn't be out there unless I have crew who can do MOB. On the other hand, there are times when I would not get out at all. Since most of these times are in the river - about 3-400 feet wide, then getting ashore is not too much of a problem, and the boat, or anyone left on the boat, will just end up on the bank (very muddy but safe).
This is not quite MOB, but illustrates some of the points made by others. Where we sail, there are strong tides, and a beach full of idiots. One bloke had to be rescued by the lifeboat 2 days running from an inflatable. In this story, Joe (not his real name) was sailing out of the Parrett with an inexperienced crew on board. The coastguard had seen an inflatable drifting out and seeing that Joe was in the vicinity called him up on the VHF to check it. Joe duly sailed over to intercept it, and peered over the side. New crew allowed the boat to gybe, and the boom hit Joe over the head. Fortunately he did not go overboard, but now we had a crew who couldn't handle the boat and an injured man. The coastguard had to send out a helicopter to winch Joe up and take him to hospital and someone had to be put onto the boat to get it back. Moral of the story - well there are several - probably approaching downwind was not the best idea; dropping at least the main whilst investigating the object might also have added to safety. Finally, it might have been better to get the inexperienced crew to hang over the side and look, rather than the skipper. My wife is a nervous sailor - getting her on board is difficult enough at times. Yes, I am the one who goes and does the heavy work (in light winds I can sail the 26M single handed) but she does not like the responsibility of being in charge. I learned, when sailing my late father in law's boat with his crew that someone who is seasick may not be able to even keep a boat pointing in roughly the right direction, and went from pointing into the wind round 360 degrees and nearly had me overboard (in December). I am hoping to fit an Autohelm onto the boat this winter (my normal crew unfortunately passed on this last summer) so that I can do more single handed sailing - which doesn't mean that I won't have "crew" on board - just that if I point the boat in a direction, it might actually stay pointing in a direction. Getting up to the MOB drill is going to take some time. One part of me says we shouldn't be out there unless I have crew who can do MOB. On the other hand, there are times when I would not get out at all. Since most of these times are in the river - about 3-400 feet wide, then getting ashore is not too much of a problem, and the boat, or anyone left on the boat, will just end up on the bank (very muddy but safe).
Tom Monroe Carlyle Lake