MOB ( ME over board ! )

[tasdevil]

I've always had reservations about the MOB procedures taught at sailing schools , especially when it's suggested that you do it under sail . In real life when things go overboard it's in bad weather and sailing to recovery is hardly an option except for the highly skilled sailor - and then the prop and trailing lines to a lifesling can provide their own problems.

However my experience yesterday in MOB ( Myself overboard !) was in ideal conditions - and taught me somethings previously unconsidered.
I was in my Oday 22 - solo as usual - after a days sail in light breeze and glorious sunshine. Coming into the dock at the marina , I followed my normal procedure; coasting under engine then into reverse at idle to come to a stop and allow me step off and secure the bow line . Normally I stand at the shrouds to do this but this time the wind had taken the bow round to a sharper approach angle than usual so I went forward to step of the bow - and steadied my left hand on the lifeline stanchion.I am not wet behind the ears - though I became so - so I did not put weight on it, but..SPLASH ! !!..and I am now an auxiliary fender with the stanchion tickling the back of my neck..Accidents produce a moment of paralysis before the brain kicks in, but when it did I thought " No problem " and went to heave myself on to the dock - and the problems made their appearance.I could hook my fingers over the edge of the dock , but could not raise myself with the weight of sodden coldweather clothing on my back. I kept trying and got a leg up but that was it. And the water was cold, and suddenly I was getting tired and it was'nt very funny.Dry land twenty inches above my head but as far as the moon for me.Then I remembered a boat that had a swim platform and ladder and swam for it - and found out how difficult it is to swim fully clothed.Only one length of the pool maybe, but exhausting- and even elbowing onto the platform and dragging up the ladder, quite a job. However, thankfully I made it and managed to find someone in the deserted marina to help rescue my drifted away 22 ; looking at the broken stanchion I found it had been just screwed down and not bloted through the deck.
I've learnt that when alone you have to keep very aware and alert all the time, even at dock on a nice day.And I've had the boat three years so I should have checked the gear more thoroughly for sloppy work. My boat, my neck ,my responsibilty.

 

[KMm]

I had the overboard experience as well and if the wet clothes was all that stopped you from getting on the dock the, learn what I did "naked works". I never solo without a safety harness and a 15 ft line. I lost two friends because they didn't wear them. Happy sailing

 

[Stu Jackson]

Glad you made it back safely. Good lessons learned.

FWIW, you shouldn't ever have to get off your boat to dock, and you've found out how dangerous that can be. For our C22 and C25 we used the winch for a midships spring line, and for our C34 we use a track mounted cleat just aft of midships. You can have a line on the dock or make one of these:

http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=15645&SearchTerms=dock-o-matic

 

[tasdevil]

I use jack lines and harness on the water and life jacket at all times ; I put it on with my clothes.BUT , I forgot I had it on and as it's an inflatable , that's not much help. I think that because I was at the dock and it was a fine day, my brain didn't register that I was in a serious situation untilll almost too late.

 

[zeehag]

place a dead mans line-- from bow to stern that hangs within 6 in if the water surface. then you can grab it--is also good for diving to clean the bottom. can place deadmans line over dock cleat... many ways to use a long line connected both bow and stern.

 

[Anchor Down]

How Long Can You Tread Water?

Very little of this actually helps the OP.

When solo, leave your swim ladder down, or secured by a cotton string/weak velcro, and have a lanyard hanging down to a foot above the water, so that a good tug will break the string and release the ladder.

You can get in trouble quickly in a marina full of floating finger-slips. They're quite high out of the water, and there is no "wall" that a swimming pool has to use to push against with your feel. I don't think I could haul myself out, clothed or not, and I've never seen any in my area with any kind of safety ladders. Best bet is to make arrangements to get back onto your boat using your own equipment, and all that requires is a bit of "thinking ahead," which is the name of the solo sailor's crew mate.

 

[jimmyb]

I use jack lines and harness on the water and life jacket at all times ; I put it on with my clothes.BUT , I forgot I had it on and as it's an inflatable , that's not much help. I think that because I was at the dock and it was a fine day, my brain didn't register that I was in a serious situation untilll almost too late.

Glad you were able to self rescue and everything turned out OK.

Curiosity prompts me to ask, if you were wearing your inflatable did you discharge it when you hit the water and if it was auto discharging did it not inflate? Or was it inflated and it was simply overpowered by the amount of wet clothing you we in?

We were PDF's at all times until on the hard...but not inflatables.

 

[jimmyb]

On my 3rd day of sailing ever during a sailing school I was taking our very experienced instructor mis-judged the dock stepping off the boat and went straight into the chilly Boston Harbor first week of May this year. He was very cold and was paniced and I assume quite embarrased. I was the only one left on the boat and was able to grab hold of his vest harness and a shirt sleeve and guide him back to the stern of the Colgate where we got him aboard. He was franticly grabbing at the boat when in the water and the intensity of the moment has not left me. Thank God he was wearing an auto inflatable that popped its cartridge. Dont want to think about what could have happened if it didnt. As far as I am concerned THAT was the most important thing I learned at the 3 day course. I prefer not to leave my life relyiing on any mechanical device. I will stick with my regular old LIFE jacket. (Just my preference dont want to start an argument.)

jimmyb

 

[Andy1237]

Did you ever learn the Boy Scout survival PFD method? Remove your pants, tie knots in the legs, and flip them over your head so they fill up with air as you squeeze the waist. This creates a temporary but effective PFD. If you continue to sail solo it may be a good thing to learn.

 

[sinnettc]

A couple of thoughts/comments . . .

Regarding spring lines -- our fingers are so short that I *can't* use a spring line. By the time I got the line looped on the cleat at the end of the finger the bow would already be going crunch.

Re emergency ladders at the marina - the only place I've seen them is at Friday Harbor in the San Juans. They had them spaced fairly evenly throughout the marina - they kind of looked like those telescoping stern ladders.

 

[jibes138]

One concern with using a swim adder is if the mototr was in gear at idle to grab a spring line you don't want to be near a live propeller. A line with a small loop hanging from a cleat will allow you to put a foot in it to pull yourself up. As a mountain climber knows your legs are way more powerful than your arms. The loop should be maybe two feet or so below the surface to allow you to get your body out to about stomache height then you can flop up on your chest and roll onto the dock. Not pretty but it will work. They make a little plastic step that I use sometimes and I think this site sells them, same idea and you could just leave it attached at the dock, when in need just pull it into the water step up and voila.

 

[jibes138]

Step to get out of water

Here's a shot of the little step I talked about. 29 bucks on this site's store. Just attack with line to a cleat and you have a way to climb out of the water.

 

[tasdevil]

The plastic steps can be useful - I have a set - but , like the hanging rope loops, they will only work if backed against a solid surface ; as shown in the photograph. If you step on to non rigid steps hanging down in the water, they will move away from you and your shoulders fall back .
Another lesson I learned was how very quickly the cold will sap your muscle strength ; a few futile minutes in struggling to pull up onto the dock and my arms were cooked spaghetti.

 

[Hermit Scott]

On my 3rd day of sailing ever during a sailing school I was taking our very experienced instructor mis-judged the dock stepping off the boat and went straight into the chilly Boston Harbor first week of May this year. He was very cold and was paniced and I assume quite embarrased. I was the only one left on the boat and was able to grab hold of his vest harness and a shirt sleeve and guide him back to the stern of the Colgate where we got him aboard. He was franticly grabbing at the boat when in the water and the intensity of the moment has not left me. Thank God he was wearing an auto inflatable that popped its cartridge. Dont want to think about what could have happened if it didnt. As far as I am concerned THAT was the most important thing I learned at the 3 day course. I prefer not to leave my life relyiing on any mechanical device. I will stick with my regular old LIFE jacket. (Just my preference dont want to start an argument.)

jimmyb

I think it was Roger Long that wore his freshly expired inflatable and jumped in a pool with some friends doing the same thing. Their's went off but his didn't. So I don't think you crazy for wearing one already ready already.

 

[Roger Long]

I think it was Roger Long that wore his freshly expired inflatable and jumped in a pool with some friends doing the same thing.

It wasn't me. I was the one who said that in 4 out of the 5 training sessions I've attended where just expired life rafts were being inflated they failed to inflate.

 

[Joe]

Couple of comments.... when soloing..... never leave the cockpit except to STEP onto the dock. Never, never try to jump on the dock from the pointy end... never hold on to a stanchion or life line. If you do step onto the dock from the cockpit, and the boat is still moving.... walk to the front and catch the boat by the pulpit ... don't try to stand at the side and hold the stanchion to stop it.... you won't.

Get an extending boat hook... and use it to grab a cleat to pull the boat nearer the dock. Don't try to jump across the gap. That's what boat hooks are for.

To pull yourself up on the dock you must submerge while holding on to the edge and then thrust your entire body upward, trying to belly flop up on the platform. It's easier than trying to hold on and throw your leg up... because, uh, I'm not as flexible as I used to be, ya know and there's nothing to push off to get a good swing going. The floatation tanks under the dock are usually covered with crustacions and such.

Leave at least one dock line cleated on the dock... then you can use it to help you get out of the water if you fall in. (you could tie a bowline for a foot hold, for instance.)

That plastic step that Jibes pictured is useless for getting in the boat from the water. You need a proper ladder with submerging rungs that braces off the boat's topsides. And even that is tough when you're tired, cold and heavy. (and old!) It might work for getting up on the dock.... but it floats, so a piece of non floating dock line might be easier to manage. The biggest issue is if you are flexible enough to get your foot into the rung when it's high enough to do any good.

 

[Quoddy]

Cold and wet

It’s great your ok. Thanks for sharing that close one,hopefully it will save some of us from a similar fate.
I count on the idea that my inflatable will always be there. My big question is -What happened to the PFD?

 

[MitchM]

on our boat: emergency board ladder at midship , made of 12" x 4" x 3/4" teak wooden planks drilled with holes at outboard ends with ropes fitting thru holes drilled outboard each side of plank . deployed by yellow polypro trip line reachable from the water. in every3rd slip at our dock, mounted by marina : 2 metal 'steps' , 1 extending below water that you can get a foot into. (but figuring out those assists in an emergency would be tough unless you knew they were there...)

 

[PrincessoftheLake]

I think I hold the record for the number of times I have gone in the water off the boat and the majority of those times have been while at the dock. The first time was when the DH and I were trying to sail our 24 footer into the dock and caught a bad puff. It blew us sideways down the fairway and at some point I climbed off the boat and onto the dock and then tried to get back on the boat which is when I slipped off the bow. Luckily I had a grip on the bow stanchion so I was able to get mysef back on board. The next time I stepped off the boat as we came into the slip when a puff pushed it away from me. Instead of waiting for the DH to use the motor to adjust I leaned waaay over and grabbed the lifeline and promptly got pulled in. Never lost hold of the lifeline though. Another time while racing on a friends Capri 26 while crossing in front of the mast during a tack I stepped wrong, got the sheet wrapped around my ankle and when my buddy went to trim it pulled right off the cabin trunk and as I flew past the shrouds I grabbed one, somersaulted over the lifeline and ended up catching the lifelines behind my knees with the sheet now wrapped around my thigh and my buddy is cranking away on the winch and I'm yelling "Andy let up-I'm caught". He looks up, sees me hanging over the lifeline and without missing a beat says "get off my goddamn sheet" and goes back to cranking. I kind of levered myself up, got hold of the shroud and pulled myself back on deck. Another time racing on my friend John's boat I went forward, on the low side while heeling 15 plus degrees (bad idea but the skipper insisted I do that instead of going around the high side) and my feet went right out from under me and I slipped under the lifelines and right into the lake. Now we have just rounded the bottom mark and are fighting our way to the finish line. I managed to grab the rail on the cabin trunk so I am only in the water up to my waist. Bob, the other crew guy is on the low side trimming the jib and I said "Uh, Bob-can you give me a hand?" I was having a hard time hanging on-the force of the water on the part of me that was in the water was really powerful. Bob says "Just a sec, let me finish this". He thought better of making me wait once I clamped a hand on his forearm and dug in with my nails. The last time I went in the water was right off the dock. It was a sunny day in early June and some dock neighbors stopped by for a cookie. I stepped on the block of wood the DH had put on the dock for me to use a step to board Emmanuel. It rolled and Iwent right with it into the water. Luckily I fell between the boat and the dock and went straight down. As I came back up I could hear everyone yelling for me. Luckily our marina had just put in safety ladders in all the slips so I just dog paddled 40 feet, got onto the ladder and then Jerry and Matt pulled me out. The DH hardly even looked up. He's so used to my falling in it doesn't even phase him anymore.

POTL

 

[Winkfish]

Princess, I'd get a new DH and crew if I were you!!