Man overboard!!! That's what I said when my father slipped and fell into the cockpit seats. It wasn't he who fell overboard, but his hat! Now, any good skipper knows that a hat, while it may not be a man... is worth making a turn to go back and "SAVE"! Albeit a perfect time to practice a man overboard drill. Conditions were 12 knots from behind. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Not uncomfortable, but a very realistic chance to practice a drill we somehow avoid until we really need it. When was the last time you practiced one? Lets just say the event started by nobody doing anything. Everyone just froze. It was like all my goodness, he wasn't serious was he. I assigned my dad the job of watching his hat. Which by the way floats for quite a while, but not forever as we will get to that! Everyone else seemed to be lost in direction, even though we have sailed many, many times before. So I barked out a command, prepare to come about! Everyone scrambled back to the cockpit, and then was startled again, by the fact that everyone, that they knew of, was present. I spit out the fact we had lost a valued member of the crew, by the name of "Canaan the hat", and that dad had him in his sights. Which by the way he never lost track of until... We successfully came about and headed for the hat. The crew made a great effort to snag the fellow, but as we all know, Canaan was helpless, fatigued, and emotionally spent. He could not help himself, and yet we reached out trying to grab him. We made 3 more passes, some with in 3 feet, but as we all know....NOW. The boat puts out a wake, which pushes anything with in that area away. Thus the hat was always out of reach. We tried coming into the wind, down wind, with the sails up, and with them down, and the engine running. Never ever loosing track of the hat. But.... as we all know the hat can't swim, can't save itself, and can't float for longer than than 5 minutes at best. Poor o'l hat. Lesson learned. We all should practice a MOB drill well before we need it. And certainly have and develop a plan of attack, and be ready for any situation that may alter that plan. We received a valued lesson that day and have commited to practice emergency drills more frequently that once a year on a dead calm day when the sun is baking down. Safe boating to you this holiday weekend!
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close reach
What we've been working on is to try and make the final approach to the "victim" (an old lifejacket) on a close reach, which allows you to come to a near standstill by letting out the main. It's tricky; it's amazing how disoriented you can get when sailing around in circles, and timing the stop is tough too (if you're NOT close reaching, but think you are, letting the main out can have interesting results). But it's actually kind of a fun drill, and we try to give all hands a turn at the tiller.
What we've been working on is to try and make the final approach to the "victim" (an old lifejacket) on a close reach, which allows you to come to a near standstill by letting out the main. It's tricky; it's amazing how disoriented you can get when sailing around in circles, and timing the stop is tough too (if you're NOT close reaching, but think you are, letting the main out can have interesting results). But it's actually kind of a fun drill, and we try to give all hands a turn at the tiller.
Slowing down
Approaching at a reaching angle for better control sounds like a good idea. We've found it hard for unpracticed skippers to slow our boat enough to actually perform a retrieval that wouldn't rip the victim's arms off as he was grabbed. Two or three knots is REALLY fast if you're pulling someone out of the water. Lots of practice slowing down is a good idea.
Approaching at a reaching angle for better control sounds like a good idea. We've found it hard for unpracticed skippers to slow our boat enough to actually perform a retrieval that wouldn't rip the victim's arms off as he was grabbed. Two or three knots is REALLY fast if you're pulling someone out of the water. Lots of practice slowing down is a good idea.
Another Man Overboard
Enjoyed your story and it is almost identical to mine. I was recently sailing with a friend who is a retired USCG Captain with more years of small boat handling, sailing and ocean racing experience than anyone I know. The other crewman was a retired USN Captain with almost as much sailing and racing experience. During a tack his hat went overboard. The skipper immediately announced "man overboard" and said we would stay under sail to retrieve the hat. Our biggest problem was coming to a stop to retrieve an object that offered no assistance to its retrieval. It is amazing how difficult it becomes under sail to stop exactly where you need to be. I encourage all to practice the maneuver before it is a real emergency as I witnessed this can be very difficult even for those who have practiced it in the past. After several passes and much fumbling on our part we had to give up as the hat was lost.
Enjoyed your story and it is almost identical to mine. I was recently sailing with a friend who is a retired USCG Captain with more years of small boat handling, sailing and ocean racing experience than anyone I know. The other crewman was a retired USN Captain with almost as much sailing and racing experience. During a tack his hat went overboard. The skipper immediately announced "man overboard" and said we would stay under sail to retrieve the hat. Our biggest problem was coming to a stop to retrieve an object that offered no assistance to its retrieval. It is amazing how difficult it becomes under sail to stop exactly where you need to be. I encourage all to practice the maneuver before it is a real emergency as I witnessed this can be very difficult even for those who have practiced it in the past. After several passes and much fumbling on our part we had to give up as the hat was lost.
MOB
"It is amazing how difficult it becomes under sail to stop exactly where you need to be." Is this another way to describe docking? Try using a heave-to. Anything faster than 1.5 knts is a problem waiting to pounce. (Hmmm..haven't used "pounce" in a sentence in years.
)
"It is amazing how difficult it becomes under sail to stop exactly where you need to be." Is this another way to describe docking? Try using a heave-to. Anything faster than 1.5 knts is a problem waiting to pounce. (Hmmm..haven't used "pounce" in a sentence in years.
)ASA taught Figure 8 - Close reach
and let the sails luff to control speed as you get close to the MOB. As we often sail with as much sail as conditions allow, we have also found that if we reduce sail (roller furling and main) we have better control. With a little practice you can pick a beer can of the lake in 15 knot winds...from the stern. A life jacket and boat hook is a piece of cake.
and let the sails luff to control speed as you get close to the MOB. As we often sail with as much sail as conditions allow, we have also found that if we reduce sail (roller furling and main) we have better control. With a little practice you can pick a beer can of the lake in 15 knot winds...from the stern. A life jacket and boat hook is a piece of cake.
MOB Procedures
The figure 8 MOB procedure is adequate in moderate seas with clear visibility. In 1986 a study was done by US Sailing to come up with an alternative to the figure 8 MOB procedure after experience sailors were lost using the figure 8 MOB procedure, they came up with the "Quick Stop" procedure. One of the problems with the figure 8 MOB procedure is the distance the sailboat travels away from the victim in order to complete the figure 8 maneuver. In open waters with sea swells and limited visibility due to weather, the crew can easily lose sight of the victim in a relatively short distance. The Quick Stop procedure is to quickly lose boat speed to stay close to the victim in the water. An alternative to the Quick Stop procedure is the Quick Turn procedure, which also is done to reduce boat speed as quickly as possible to stay within sight of the victim in the water. The Quick Stop procedure is currently the MOB taught by the US Naval Academy, US Sailing and the Royal Ocean Racing Club in the UK. The Quick Stop and Quick Turn MOB procedures should be used at night or if the weather and sea condition may cause the crew to lose sight of the victim in the water. You should carry a life sling and also a throw bag containing a line to throw to the victim. US Sailing 1986 study: http://www.ussailing.org/safety/Studies/1986overboardstudy.htm Basic overview of Quick Stop and Quick Turn procedures: http://www.nwc.navy.mil/chnyc/CHNYC%20basic%20overview.pdf Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) in the UK Quick Stop procedure: http://www.rorc.org/programme/mob.php Fair Winds, Clyde
The figure 8 MOB procedure is adequate in moderate seas with clear visibility. In 1986 a study was done by US Sailing to come up with an alternative to the figure 8 MOB procedure after experience sailors were lost using the figure 8 MOB procedure, they came up with the "Quick Stop" procedure. One of the problems with the figure 8 MOB procedure is the distance the sailboat travels away from the victim in order to complete the figure 8 maneuver. In open waters with sea swells and limited visibility due to weather, the crew can easily lose sight of the victim in a relatively short distance. The Quick Stop procedure is to quickly lose boat speed to stay close to the victim in the water. An alternative to the Quick Stop procedure is the Quick Turn procedure, which also is done to reduce boat speed as quickly as possible to stay within sight of the victim in the water. The Quick Stop procedure is currently the MOB taught by the US Naval Academy, US Sailing and the Royal Ocean Racing Club in the UK. The Quick Stop and Quick Turn MOB procedures should be used at night or if the weather and sea condition may cause the crew to lose sight of the victim in the water. You should carry a life sling and also a throw bag containing a line to throw to the victim. US Sailing 1986 study: http://www.ussailing.org/safety/Studies/1986overboardstudy.htm Basic overview of Quick Stop and Quick Turn procedures: http://www.nwc.navy.mil/chnyc/CHNYC%20basic%20overview.pdf Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) in the UK Quick Stop procedure: http://www.rorc.org/programme/mob.php Fair Winds, Clyde
How not to...
While at a beach on the 4th, I observed a collision of an outboard and a fishing boat, resulting in four people (two elderly) in the water and nobody on board either vessel. The initial collision knocked an older lady into the water and the other three jumped- one by one- in to help. Something tells me this breaks with standard MOB proceedure. Too many Indians and no chiefs.
While at a beach on the 4th, I observed a collision of an outboard and a fishing boat, resulting in four people (two elderly) in the water and nobody on board either vessel. The initial collision knocked an older lady into the water and the other three jumped- one by one- in to help. Something tells me this breaks with standard MOB proceedure. Too many Indians and no chiefs.
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