Solo overboard
- Thread starter sailnewbie
- Start date
SEALS are in great physical shape and they board dingies that are moving thru the water at high speed. Of course they have the help of folks on those boats who are also equipped with a snare of sorts that they hook one arm thru and then roll into the boat. That isn't an option for an over the hill sailor who unexpectedly finds him or her self in the water while the boat sails on it's merry way. I like the idea of a rope looped around the throttle.
I got my belt pack PFD from West Marine. While this type of PFD has its limitations, it's a tradeoff between safety and comfort. See: http://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-...-jacket-belt-pack-blue--15911308?recordNum=17
I have four aboard. I ask anyone going on deck to wear one. The best preserver is the one you wear.
Just a thought. For those who have stated their line pulls the throttle to zero, how do you avoid the turning prop when trying to board the boat? That is why we prefer jet boats for pulling skiers as there is less chance of injury when boarding.
Thanks Warren. I see it is recommended for "competent swimmers". Good to know as some of my regular crew do not swim well.
Nor rough conditions.
I said if one needs an option other than towing a line. It's a perfectly viable option, and one used by the old navy.
Also, maybe the person to whom I responded is in his 20's.
A dinghy has boarding lines on the gunwale. Also, a kayak is designed for boarding from the water. In desperation, I would be clawing to anything that floated.
I'm not saying it would be easy, and was being a bit humorous, but it would be better than nothing or a bare line, for someone worried about the potential for leaving the boat.
A previous poster wrote "....Remember, in reality one should not be falling overboard in calm conditions." While I have never gone overboard by accident, I have had two close calls in 40 years of sailing, both in relatively calm conditions (winds under 10 kts, seas about a foot). In both cases, I was careless and tired, perhaps lulled into a state of complacency by a long sail under those conditions. On the other hand, when the winds and seas are really up, your senses are really up, too. and I think people are more careful. Just remember, stuff happens on the water, and it usually happens when you least expect it to happen.
I wear this on my scuba rig. would not be bad idea on the pfd.
(signal Tube/Surface Marker Buoy with Inflator Orange)
http://www.leisurepro.com/p-aqusmds...^157354255273-sku^AQUSMDSRD@ADL4LP-adType^PLA
(signal Tube/Surface Marker Buoy with Inflator Orange)
http://www.leisurepro.com/p-aqusmds...^157354255273-sku^AQUSMDSRD@ADL4LP-adType^PLA
Let's say 2 to 3 ft/sec in swim wear; but what about in clothing (long pants and long sleeve shirt; perhaps a jacket too) w/shoes on? What then? Likely no more than 2 ft/sec, and for how long in a sprint using the American crawl--i.e., the fastest stroke? A 40-ft boat traveling 6 kt is making 10 ft/sec. If pitched from amidships (beam of 12.5 ft)--1 sec to the water the boat makes 10 ft, in another sec to surface the boat's transom is passing you. If you hit 3 ft out, in the 9 sec (average 1 ft/sec swimming speed) it takes to reach the center of the boat's wake where the 100-ft line is trailing, you'd have a remaining "target" of 10 ft of line, meaning a one-second chance to grab and hold; but you could get lucky w/two chances if you can muster the average of 2 ft/sec swimming speed. (To catch a 50-ft trailing line a victim would have to average at least 2 ft/sec.) You would need "big knots" to keep it from slipping away, and if you did manage to hold it I imagine you'd injure your arm muscles and/or tendons as the boat jerked you forward through water w/ your clothes on. Some folks over 40 injure their arms just swinging a golf club w/o training or conditioning. So, what then?
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I don't have Jack lines, but always use an inflatable PFD with harness built in and a 6' webbing tether that can be fixed at strategic points. First is an eye that I fitted below the companionway, then I move it to the upwind lifeline, then move to an eye 4' up the mast. With these points I'm quite well constrained, and really can't go over, but the challenge for me is up at the bow, so I plan to not to have to go there - not usually a problem with my roller furling, but of course things don't always go to plan.
I have a knife on my PFD to cut the tether if needed, but I do need to get something to communicate with - I could be 15 miles from shore, and on Erie, traffic is light beyond the fishing areas. I don't plan on trying to get back onboard - my tether is to help stop me falling off in the first place. The cockpit eye works really well, it's not at all inconvenient - I can even go below without unhooking - would recommend it to all.
I have a knife on my PFD to cut the tether if needed, but I do need to get something to communicate with - I could be 15 miles from shore, and on Erie, traffic is light beyond the fishing areas. I don't plan on trying to get back onboard - my tether is to help stop me falling off in the first place. The cockpit eye works really well, it's not at all inconvenient - I can even go below without unhooking - would recommend it to all.
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So use a longer line.Let's say 2 to 3 ft/sec in swim wear; but what about in clothing (long pants and long sleeve shirt; perhaps a jacket too) w/shoes on? What then? Likely no more than 2 ft/sec, and for how long in a sprint using the American crawl--i.e., the fastest stroke? A 40-ft boat traveling 6 kt is making 10 ft/sec. If pitched from amidships (beam of 12.5 ft)--1 sec to the water the boat makes 10 ft, in another sec to surface the boat's transom is passing you. If you hit 3 ft out, in the 9 sec (average 1 ft/sec swimming speed) it takes to reach the center of the boat's wake where the 100-ft line is trailing, you'd have a remaining "target" of 10 ft of line, meaning a one-second chance to grab and hold; but you could get lucky w/two chances if you can muster the average of 2 ft/sec swimming speed. (To catch a 50-ft trailing line a victim would have to average at least 2 ft/sec.) You would need "big knots" to keep it from slipping away, and if you did manage to hold it I imagine you'd injure your arm muscles and/or tendons as the boat jerked you forward through water w/ your clothes on. Some folks over 40 injure their arms just swinging a golf club w/o training or conditioning. So, what then?
And stop falling overboard.
And quit golf. :-D
Why wouldn't you prefer a boat that is designed for water skiing
(inboard with prop under the boat, i.e. Ski Nautique, Mastercraft, Malibu Skier, etc.). Sailboats are typically installed with an inboard and the prop well in front of the rudder, so the danger from the prop is just not a factor for most sailboats that we're talking about in this situation.Who says an old man can't be dragged behind a boat and pull himself up. That's just silly!
The drag force on a human body moving through water w/o clothing at 10 ft/sec (3 m/s) is estimated at about 40-45 lb. Can anybody here lift a 40 lb weight 90 to 100 ft while seawater is being splashed in your face? I suppose it might be done with rest stops.
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At 3-4 knots, I can pull myself through the water and get my knees back on the boarding ladder. At 5 knots or higher, it is very difficult. But once in the water and hanging on, the boat speed drops quite a bit (I am 54 years old, 200 lbs. so I make a pretty good drogue to slow the boat down.The drag force on a human body moving through water w/o clothing at 10 ft/sec (3 m/s) is estimated at about 40-45 lb. Can anybody here lift a 40 lb weight 90 to 100 ft while seawater is being splashed in your face? I suppose it might be done with rest stops.
Certainly staying on the boat is goal #1, but if I fell overboard, grabbing a trailing line and hauling my fat @ss back on board is preferable to watching my boat sail away without me.
Greg
NotCook
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- Dec 29, 2008
- 805
That is a valid question. When on offshore passages we most definitely stayed "clipped in". And, you're right, it is a pain in the butt to do it right, when moving from one side of the boat to the other and having to clip onto one side before releasing the other, etc. On the otherhand, as the original poster observed, watching your boat sail off without you is also really a pain in the butt, even when not solo! As has been stated on this forum in the past, going overboard offshore is a death sentence - we take lots of precautions to avoid it and try to improve the odds, like PLBs, DanBoys, and so on - even practicing man overboard drills - but we really are talking about just trying to increase the odds a little better. Your original response is really the only right answer - stay on the boat! So, yes, as P.I.T.A. as it is, the harness, jack lines and tether are really the way to do it. Every time. And even then, don't put too much faith in those - stay low, keep one hand on a handhold at all times. Boats on the open ocean have a way of getting tossed by a wave you didn't see coming, or those waves washing across the deck in a powerful way you hadn't anticipated.
On our recent passage from Norfolk to Tortola, at one point I was on the quarterdeck by myself, securing some gear, just a few feet from the hatch. My feet slipped out from under me, landed partly on my rear and partly on my lower back, and banged the back of my head on a winch - hard enough that I don't know how it didn't knock me out. Nasty gash, but I stayed conscious and I stayed on board. Could have been an entirely different story. I was clipped in, but it emphasized how important it was to be. It also reminded me that if someone is on deck alone, at least one other crew member needs to know you are out there and are watching, at least in anything but completely calm weather. But, even when calm, stay clipped in!
Just sayin...
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NotCook
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- Dec 29, 2008
- 805
It's about time someone really got to the heart of the matter! Chuck is a very smart and resourceful guy.
Chuck would clip in and STAY ON THE BOAT!