Man Overboard off Puerto Rico -- 7-Hour Swim to Shore

[sailormed]

Originally Posted by uncle stinkybob

Has anyone developed some type of self retrieval device? I did a search and found nothing. I would think it would be a rather in demand piece of equipment if such a thing existed. Hanging on a line like fish food would really suck.
sorry for multi posting.

YES. I read about a product test in a French sailing magazine doing exactly that. It was designed so the single hander falling overboard can get back on-board. The tether can be unscratched to reveal 2 (or 3?) tissue loops to put your feet in to climb back up the boat. It was rather cumbersome and you needed really good knowledge how to handle the equipment.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Wow.

Finally, although I hope it's never used like this, I am glad I have AIS.

????????
Is that so your Heirs can find the boat.?

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by TraderJoe

Great effort to keep ones self alive to sail another day!
Isn't there a set up that will allow one to disable the boat and give a person a chance to just climb back on in the chance that you are swept or fall overboard?

If I recall, in the latest mini-transat race. One of the competitors was swept over, and was trailing astern on a tether. He could haul himself to the stern, but not climb in...the boat was still sailing fast. However, being an open stern, he could reach the turnbuckle of the backstay. He released the backstay, the mast came down, the boat slowed, and he climbed in. Sure, he lost the race, but he lived.

On my own boat the stern ladder is held up with a slipping clove hitch with a tail long enough to be reached from the water. I tested it from in the water in calm conditions...a quick pull, the ladder comes down, no problem. I never tested it "at speed", and glad it was never needed.

[captmikem]

Originally Posted by Lizzy Belle

Nope. You fall off, you drown.
Afraid it's that simple - rarely are people as lucky as this guy.

Exactly Lizzy. it is what keeps me aboard. I do not use a harness, I keep a good hold of the ship knowing that if I go over the side I am dead.

Many people fear the foredeck, and because of that they are not familiar with it when they need to go on deck. Jacklines are great for tripping you as well. Below the knee lifelines are perfect for putting you over the side.

One hand for the ship works, and keeps you aware.

Michael

[a64pilot]

I would image that a line attached to the tiller and you would stop the boat, of course only good for if you fall off while in the cockpit, and how often does that happen?

Wouldn't be hard to have a proximity device that transmits a very weak signal as long as signal is received autopilot does nothing, lose the signal and autopilot goes hard over, I wouldn't imagine a boat with its rudder turned fully one way or the other is going anywhere very fast.

One of you smart guys build one, I bet it would sell

[a64pilot]

OK for the tiller boats, drag 50' of floating line attached to the tiller, you don't have to pull yourself aboard, just hold on long enough so the boat ends up in Irons, and then climb aboard.
Us wheel guys? Good reason to get a tiller I guess

[Celestialsailor]

This is exactly why I have a boarding ladder on the transom that fall down via a slip knot and a trailing poly line. In the event I go over board wearing a harness, I might be able to make my way to the back of the boat and climb back up. The problem with a tether is if the vessel is going any faster than 1 knot, it makes it near impossible to overcome the force of the water.

[alansmith]

One lucky man. It is lucky he was an old guy. The sharks below said, "Na, he would be too hard to chew...too tough...too much work." Smile..

[Juho]

If it is impractical to have the jacklines close to the centre of the boat you maybe can not keep the tether short enough. If this is the case, or even if the jacklines are close to the centre line, I recommend having two hooks, and connect yourself to an extra connection point at each working location. That should be simple enough to arrange.

The sailor indicated that the wave took him by surprise. This happens typically when you concentrate on some task and do lot look at the waves but at something else. If you tether yourself to a fixed point while you are working, that would reduce the probability of getting flushed over quite a bit (even if your jacklines would be on the sides).

Two hooks and a jackline that is not a continuous long line but one that is connected to some fixed points at some intermediate points (or having multiple separate lines) would be a good combination too. One of the hooks must be always connected, and at the working points probably both.

[grantmc]

Here's a link to a film about the problems on getting back on the boat when one is in the water. OK it's not the greatest film and has some very stupid people doing some very stupid things, but the message is clear. The film has two names

Adrift and Open Water 2

depending on what part of the world it was released in.

[deluxe68]

Originally Posted by boatman61

He may just have taken them off after losing his LJ if long trousers.. and used them as a floatation aid for rest stops during his swim and discarded them for the last leg of the swim.
One reason I sail in trousers.. don't wear an LJ and do not use tethers

No life jacket or tether?

[TraderJoe]

I like the idea of dragging 50 ft of line both P/S sides or devise a remote turn off for auto pilot that can be attached to your life vest so you can disable the auto pilot bringing the vessel to irons!
The lines need to be attached to main sheet line, but I can't conceive how that would work at this moment as I'm on my third dark and Stormy-Goya ginger beer and Myers sitting now in Naples!
Here's to all who went over and lived to tell about it!
Cheers everyone

[facciatosta]

What about halyard? Can it be used instead of tether? It would allow some freedom of movement and would not allow to fall over the board.
If I do fall over the board then I'd rather be tethered by long line with knots and/or loops that would allow to pull myself up.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by deluxe68

No life jacket or tether?

Never..
But.. like the guy on TV says.. don't try this at home folks..

[Juho]

Originally Posted by facciatosta

What about halyard? Can it be used instead of tether? It would allow some freedom of movement and would not allow to fall over the board.

Interesting idea. If the boat is still upright, you can not be in the sea. The biggest risk might be that there are no limits to how far you can fly and then hit something. It would be good to be connected also to some other place with a secondary tether.

I tend to think that short tethers and short jacklines are better than long ones. The extra work required to connect and disconnect the hooks (when moving around the boat) is maybe a small price to pay for the shorter distance that the waves can move you.