I caught a merman this past weekend in the central bay. I've read about the methods and thought about how I'd go about it if someone fell off my boat but have to say, once things are really in motion everything goes out the window.
At about 4:00 pm in the slot a mile east of Pier 39, I was heading south going home when I saw a sailboat west of me with an out of control headsail . I assumed they had lost their sheet; the boat was doing pirouettes and I thought they were passing through the wind to snag the line.
Then I saw someone hanging over the stern rail making a tossing motion and realized they had a man overboard. The central bay was empty at this point; the wind at Angel Island was 20kts with gusts to 26 and the bay was a washing machine having been worked up all afternoon.
I headed toward the boat with no idea what I would do other than watch. The boat was a 40+ foot sloop and they had thrown a number of articles trying to get flotation to the victim. Between the waves I could see the black dot that was his head. He had gone overboard without a pfd and was treading water. He'd be ok for a moment and then get a wave of water over his head and re-emerge.
I called the coast guard on 16 to say I was witnessing an MOB. I hadn't heard anything on the radio but I was listening to vessel traffic on 14 so wasn't sure if they were aware. There were two or three other people on the mob's boat so someone could have called it in but hadn't.
I kept edging closer and after another failed pass by the big boat it seemed I was close enough to do something. I went to throw my one required throw-able but even with the guy 20 feet away it was obvious I was too far to do any good.
With the wind and waves the only way to get anything to the man was to maneuver my boat close enough to run him down. I had dropped sail all over the deck. The windage from my freeboard/dropped sails and water action made it hard to steer with the outboard digging in half the time.
The man couldn't have been more than 5 feet from the rail when I made the throw. I winged it like a frisbee and managed to get it just a few feet from him so I thought I'd done good. Watching him tread water trying to chase a cushion being blown downwind just out of reach was a moment of dread. It really was only a moment before he grabbed the square. It was good to see that he knew how to hold on with his arms through the loops clutching it to his chest.
I don't carry a lifesling. I never figured I'd need one since I sail alone or have guest wear inflatables with built in harness.
I had to tie off a spinnaker sheet and toss the end; that took two more passes. In the meantime the other boat had drifted off downwind out of range. My attention was on the mob so I don't know what his crew was thinking or doing.
The man got the spinnaker sheet wrapped around his wrists to hold on and got alongside my boat. I realized then that there is absolutely no way to lift 200 pounds up 3 feet of freeboard with muscle alone. My personal plan had been to pass a line to a fallen guest assuming they would be able to tie off to their harness then winch them up using the boom end as a lifting point.
I had contact with the coast guard a couple of times while scurrying around and let them know I had the guy but was having trouble getting him out of the water. I was fashioning a loop in another sheet for a sling when I looked up and four CC RIBS were alongside.
One went to retrieve all the floating upholstery and the others formed an upwind semi circle. Even they had trouble with a throw bag from 15 feet. It doesn't sound far to throw a bag but they had to take their time to line things up. One the second try the line was out of the bag so the coastie dipped the line to weigh it down and that was really great; the line pays out like it's filled with lead.
The man was dragged aboard the RIB by his wrists and that's the last I saw of him. When I looked around for the victim's boat, they had set sail and were sailing north toward east Angel Island and were already more than a half mile away-LEAVING THE SCENE!!!
One of the CC boats went after the sailboat but I don't know what happened after that. I had enough to get back under way. I'd lost the main halyard while trying to construct a solution so sailed south with a flopped main and jib alone.
Reading books and internet sites like this provides a lot of raw information. Seeing it first hand is something else. There is just no way to communicate that.
On the plus side my mob was healthy, strong, and was a familiar with procedure. He offered suggestions and helped to keep me moving forward with the process even though he had been swallowing sea water and not feeling so hot. The total time from him falling in to being hauled out was about 15 minutes. Things could have been much worse; he could have been drunk, out of shape, inexperienced and starting to go under.
I'm glad I didn't know the guy. If it had been a friend or relative I'd have had even more on my mind. I'm thankful I got to pop my cherry on a stranger first.
The only conclusion I've drawn is I need to get a lifesling just in case.
At about 4:00 pm in the slot a mile east of Pier 39, I was heading south going home when I saw a sailboat west of me with an out of control headsail . I assumed they had lost their sheet; the boat was doing pirouettes and I thought they were passing through the wind to snag the line.
Then I saw someone hanging over the stern rail making a tossing motion and realized they had a man overboard. The central bay was empty at this point; the wind at Angel Island was 20kts with gusts to 26 and the bay was a washing machine having been worked up all afternoon.
I headed toward the boat with no idea what I would do other than watch. The boat was a 40+ foot sloop and they had thrown a number of articles trying to get flotation to the victim. Between the waves I could see the black dot that was his head. He had gone overboard without a pfd and was treading water. He'd be ok for a moment and then get a wave of water over his head and re-emerge.
I called the coast guard on 16 to say I was witnessing an MOB. I hadn't heard anything on the radio but I was listening to vessel traffic on 14 so wasn't sure if they were aware. There were two or three other people on the mob's boat so someone could have called it in but hadn't.
I kept edging closer and after another failed pass by the big boat it seemed I was close enough to do something. I went to throw my one required throw-able but even with the guy 20 feet away it was obvious I was too far to do any good.
With the wind and waves the only way to get anything to the man was to maneuver my boat close enough to run him down. I had dropped sail all over the deck. The windage from my freeboard/dropped sails and water action made it hard to steer with the outboard digging in half the time.
The man couldn't have been more than 5 feet from the rail when I made the throw. I winged it like a frisbee and managed to get it just a few feet from him so I thought I'd done good. Watching him tread water trying to chase a cushion being blown downwind just out of reach was a moment of dread. It really was only a moment before he grabbed the square. It was good to see that he knew how to hold on with his arms through the loops clutching it to his chest.
I don't carry a lifesling. I never figured I'd need one since I sail alone or have guest wear inflatables with built in harness.
I had to tie off a spinnaker sheet and toss the end; that took two more passes. In the meantime the other boat had drifted off downwind out of range. My attention was on the mob so I don't know what his crew was thinking or doing.
The man got the spinnaker sheet wrapped around his wrists to hold on and got alongside my boat. I realized then that there is absolutely no way to lift 200 pounds up 3 feet of freeboard with muscle alone. My personal plan had been to pass a line to a fallen guest assuming they would be able to tie off to their harness then winch them up using the boom end as a lifting point.
I had contact with the coast guard a couple of times while scurrying around and let them know I had the guy but was having trouble getting him out of the water. I was fashioning a loop in another sheet for a sling when I looked up and four CC RIBS were alongside.
One went to retrieve all the floating upholstery and the others formed an upwind semi circle. Even they had trouble with a throw bag from 15 feet. It doesn't sound far to throw a bag but they had to take their time to line things up. One the second try the line was out of the bag so the coastie dipped the line to weigh it down and that was really great; the line pays out like it's filled with lead.
The man was dragged aboard the RIB by his wrists and that's the last I saw of him. When I looked around for the victim's boat, they had set sail and were sailing north toward east Angel Island and were already more than a half mile away-LEAVING THE SCENE!!!
One of the CC boats went after the sailboat but I don't know what happened after that. I had enough to get back under way. I'd lost the main halyard while trying to construct a solution so sailed south with a flopped main and jib alone.
Reading books and internet sites like this provides a lot of raw information. Seeing it first hand is something else. There is just no way to communicate that.
On the plus side my mob was healthy, strong, and was a familiar with procedure. He offered suggestions and helped to keep me moving forward with the process even though he had been swallowing sea water and not feeling so hot. The total time from him falling in to being hauled out was about 15 minutes. Things could have been much worse; he could have been drunk, out of shape, inexperienced and starting to go under.
I'm glad I didn't know the guy. If it had been a friend or relative I'd have had even more on my mind. I'm thankful I got to pop my cherry on a stranger first.
The only conclusion I've drawn is I need to get a lifesling just in case.
