Very well described. It's what we do.
By yourself, you go over, ya dead. I agree with capta. Mine's a 500 foot cliff. Same results. Ned's analysis is perfect, too.
Many realists here. That's good.
Singlehanded MOB Procedure
- Thread starter AlastairLC
- Start date
By yourself, you go over, ya dead. I agree with capta. Mine's a 500 foot cliff. Same results. Ned's analysis is perfect, too.
Many realists here. That's good.
Thanks Stu.
It always surprises me how few sailors think of hoving to anytime they want to stop the boat. We do I all the time to eat lunch, reef or most importantly, use the head! In our cold water the only hope for any MOB is to get back aboard ASAP.
It always surprises me how few sailors think of hoving to anytime they want to stop the boat. We do I all the time to eat lunch, reef or most importantly, use the head! In our cold water the only hope for any MOB is to get back aboard ASAP.
I'm of the "stop the boat right friggin now camp" - i.e turn into the wind and backwind the jib during the tack. By that time I plan to have the lifesling deployed, gybe under the MOB, pop to heave to position if we caught the MOB in the lifesling, otherwise go around again. Never touch the sails. In typical 15-20 kt winds I could do that in my sleep. If it's blowin like stink and rough, it's gonna be really tough. Motor will likely go on at some time but my motor cannot overcome full sail in a bit of wind.
If it's dark - the MOB is likely not getting back on the boat unless they had a light on their PFD.
We commonly practice by picking up mylar balloons when we find em. "Happy Birthday Grandma!" Who cares about the marine environment.. Just let those suckers fly.. As long as grandma had a good party who cares about killin whales and stuff.... So if we see one, we circle it or pass by it, and gaff it. I probably will try to not use the gaff on an actual MOB. We miss them often enough it becomes a MOB exercise and I do exactly what I've outlined above. (I think our record was 12 in a day - after valentines day) It's also usually a great point-of-sail exercise because we always spot them directly to windward for some reason.
Always thought the figure 8 was waaaaaay to complicated and left you sailing AWAY from the MOB for too long.
If it's dark - the MOB is likely not getting back on the boat unless they had a light on their PFD.
We commonly practice by picking up mylar balloons when we find em. "Happy Birthday Grandma!" Who cares about the marine environment.. Just let those suckers fly.. As long as grandma had a good party who cares about killin whales and stuff.... So if we see one, we circle it or pass by it, and gaff it. I probably will try to not use the gaff on an actual MOB. We miss them often enough it becomes a MOB exercise and I do exactly what I've outlined above. (I think our record was 12 in a day - after valentines day) It's also usually a great point-of-sail exercise because we always spot them directly to windward for some reason.
Always thought the figure 8 was waaaaaay to complicated and left you sailing AWAY from the MOB for too long.
Lol, and here I was thinking I was the only one that practices by rescuing balloons.
My exact thoughts! Lord knows that we were all taught the figure 8 MOB maneuver and probably executed it during sailing school in 10 knots of wind or less...not the kind of scenario that a MOB incident would likely occur. This really hit home when I was sailing with an inexperienced crew in Pensacola Bay aboard a 39 foot boat with winds gusting to 30 knots. We lost a fender and tacked to retrieve it. I did the typical MOB drill, a figure 8, and approached the fender close enough; however, with too much speed we were unable to grab it. Went around for another try and we lost sight of it in the waves. No big deal, we lost a $30. fender. I thought about it later and wondered that if it had been a crew member, could we have recovered him?
I later watched a webinar sponsored by the Maryland School of Sailing on You Tube that was conducted by Captain Tom Tursi. He's been around for a long time and has thousands of ocean miles under his keel. He has developed some of the navigation modules for ASA and is still actively teaching offshore courses and sailing. I have a lot of respect for the man because he knows what he's talking about and has the experience to back it up. His advice is to "stop the boat immediately."
I will try to post the link for his webinar, if its not working, go to You Tube and search for "Crew Overboard RescueTechniques ", Maryland School of Seamanship, by Tom Tursi. Its the most authoritative information that I have ever seen with regards to MOB. Definitely worth your time to watch this.
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Yep, you've got it absolutely correct. It's the person in the water that has the easy job.
Don't think that in over 5 decades as a professional seafarer I haven't run every possible version of the MOB scenario over and over again in my head. Unfortunately, it never ends well, especially when there are just two people aboard a boat offshore in crappy weather.
All I'm trying to say is this is one of those situations where one should put a great deal more thought and energy into staying aboard, than what you might do if one of you doesn't.
P.S. - I also practice close maneuvers with garbage and flotsam when I see it, typically in port but not always. Sometimes boat hook, sometimes fishing net. I have some as*hat's lobster buoy that I found one day floating around, crudely hacked off with only a few feet of line attached. I should use that as practice target, as our sailing instructors used to do.
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I would love to see the statistics on MOB by weather condition, but I would guess that this is not true (sorry, Capta). I suspect that it is similar to auto accidents - they happen on dry pavement near home where people are complacent. Counter-intuitive. On well-run boats in serious weather or at night, the crew is hyper-aware and is using the available safety equipment and proper crew rotations.
I'll bet that half the bodies recovered are men with their flies unzipped! On a lazy day-sail at 10 knots breeze, with a beer (or something else) in hand, is where MOB's probably happen most. It's taking a mental vacation while relaxing or pissing, not 10-foot seas, that throw people off boats. I agree that the chance of recovery changes based on conditions. I'd guess that a larger number or fair-weather MOB's just climb on after a dip and have a laugh, while we read about the storm-weather MOB's in the papers. I know the racing MOB's that I've read about are always night / foul weather, but I've seen several during beer-can races that never made the news.
In any sea state > 4', My Crew are all TETHERED into the boat with PFD's, but it depends on the size of your boat in "toss about" conditions.
This thread is on the sailing maneuver, without auxiliary power, but no maneuver does much if you don't know where the Target MOB is located.
IMHO the MOB overboard condition is much more than turning the boat.
I won't highjack the thread, but it might be good to revisit MOB prevention, action and rescue.
Jim...
I have heard a MOB situation first hand from the MOB himself. It happened during the Newport - Ensenada race. He was in the water close to an hour before the folks on the boat managed to wrestle him aboard with a great deal of difficulty.
I know that I might have "a great deal of difficulty" in my singlehanded MOB recovery operation in rough water, but I wonder about all those cruising elderly husband and wife situations. Same singlehanded MOB challenge. I imagine most of them would not be able to handle it.
Lots of good thoughts in this thread. Of course the best option is to stay on the boat. If someone goes over then I think we can all agree that retrieval is difficult and that it only gets more difficult as conditions worsen.
But people do difficult things everyday. If some one goes overboard on my boat, will I be able to retrieve them? I don't know; however, I do know that I'm going to try. And the chances of success go up (even if they remain small) if I've thought about it and practiced it beforehand. I find threads like this to be very useful in making me think about things I may not have thought about before.
But people do difficult things everyday. If some one goes overboard on my boat, will I be able to retrieve them? I don't know; however, I do know that I'm going to try. And the chances of success go up (even if they remain small) if I've thought about it and practiced it beforehand. I find threads like this to be very useful in making me think about things I may not have thought about before.
My wife wouldn’t be able to get me onboard. (May not even want to for that matter.) That’s why I always, always, always wear a PFD. I’ve never used a jackline. I can imagine the sight of it could cause uneasiness. Unless we’re in OMG rough weather I’ll take my chances with wearing a PFD and holding on correctly.
I am, lets say, in the same Boat [or out of the boat]
I told her, just keep me attached to the boat and seek USCG help, if I were disabled.
Jim...
Chuck out a Dan Buoy, or some extra flotation? MOB on the chart plotter? There was a MOB in the last Mackinac race, took a fully crewed race boat about 40min to find their guy.
On this note, WM is having a sale on coastal inflatable PFDs tomorrow. $50 off
https://www.westmarine.com/promo/coastal-PFD-FF?cm_mmc=EM-_-Promo-_-N/A-_-N/A
https://www.westmarine.com/promo/coastal-PFD-FF?cm_mmc=EM-_-Promo-_-N/A-_-N/A
If it is blowing like stink you will (should) have a reef in the main and partially rolled jib. My experience is that for any given wind, the proper sail area for controlled sailing is the correct sail area for hove-to. This isn't to say that you will not need to use the motor but it does allow you to sit relatively in one place will little effort.
That is exactly the scenario my daughter got knocked off our boat. Moderate winds and an accidental jibe. A bump from the boom and she was in the water. Not a real big deal, as everyone wears life jackets. I tacked quickly sailed back up to her, but it still was probably 15 minutes before she was back in the boat. Once the boat was on course, I ran to grab a 30 ft line I keep on board. Cleated it down. When we passed her, I threw her the line. Once she had the line, it was simple enough to pull her back to the boat.
A couple of mistakes I made that require changes in how we do things. By law, you are required to have a throwable cushion handy. I believe you are also required to have a line attached to it. We had the cushion, but no line attached. We now have the line attached to the cushion. It is coiled such that it will fully extend without tangling. If we had had the line attached in the first place, we would probably have not even needed to tack. Just throw the cushion as soon as she went over, and she could have swam to it before we got away.
It should be pointed out that when we sail in rough conditions, everyone is careful, and it is very unlikely to have a MOB. Its in moderate COMMON conditions where we get complacent.
My wife bought a WinchRite so she could use dinghy davits or spare halyard to get my sorry ass back on board. With th halyard she needs the life sling block and tackle attached for bigger assist and the davits are 6:1 and only occupied if we are out cruising
Les
Les