The Importance Of Being Tethered and Having a Boarding Ladder

[Schooner Chandlery]

The extra long halyard idea reminds me of some of the ocean racers attached to such halyards while working the foredeck or in the rig. I've seen some videos that look pretty hairy with them flying through the air -- I was thinking "oh, no! don't hit the mast!" Still, a great idea in some cases. We have extra halyards on both the foremast and mainmast that could be used in that way but have never done so. It's never been much of a problem for us to clip and unclip in the two jackline locations that require it. We have a hard enough time keeping halyards and lines in the rig fairled--I can just see us trying to keep the foredeck person fairled whilst also getting things done on deck as needed. LOL.

[Sandero]

Originally Posted by maxingout

We started sailing around the world with a jack line going down each side of the deck, but I was not happy that it would not keep people from going overboard.

I eventually made an extra long halyard to the top of the mast and I clipped that into the safety harness of whoever went forward. That way if a person ever fell through a trampoline or went overboard, they could easily be winched back on board.

Interesting idea... but why not just a long "leash"... which also could be winched in? No way can you pull someone up from their attached harness!

You might need a snatch block clipped to something on the mast or boom end.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

My understanding is that the very lucky fellow had a tether, which is how he got back aboard the first time. The second time the lifejacket went over his head when he was knocked overboard the second time.

Reminds me that a crotch strap may be in my future.

I have a in water deploy-able boarding ladder. I have a 50' poly line to trail behind the boat, but it might need to be 100 feet. pondering pondering....

I recall in a SAR/boat safety lecture, the presenter said "And now on the topic of crotch straps, which are fun but not in the way you're thinking."

[TrentePieds]

"I eventually made an extra long halyard to the top of the mast and I clipped that into the safety harness of whoever went forward. That way if a person ever fell through a trampoline or went overboard, they could easily be winched back on board."

Bravo! I've always argued that your rig should be set up so you can use your main boom as a cargo boom. It doesn't matter much how you do it, just so long as you can swing your boom out and get a tackle on the MOB. The fall of the tackle needs to be lead to a winch. The tackle should be a permanent part of your safety equipment, ready to deploy instantly. There'd be no way I could get MyBeloved up and over the lifelines and back inbord if I didn't have that!

Nuther way of doing it is to parbuckle the MOB in the bunt of the main, but with mast furling - forget it. But even with mast furling you can rig you topping lift so you can use the boom.

In these waters where the water temperature six foot down is about 42ºF, incapacity is almost a certain consequence of a dunking!

TrentePieds

[Schooner Chandlery]

Our staysail has a 12' boom and we frequently use it (winching in the topping lift) to lift our 125lb delta anchor and stow it on deck or below deck. One of us winches while the other pushes the anchor away from the vessel, otherwise it would come to rest against the hull and scratch. That is quite far forward to winch someone aboard with but it is very easy to douse and quickly control the staysail alone.

Our other two boomed sails (foresail and mainsail) are quite a bit more work to singlehandedly get to a state that they are useful for hauling someone aboard. Would never happen.

Our practice MOB drill has us using a spare halyard, not boomed out, and dragging the person up the side of the boat. I've done it, in calm harbor, using our manual and not self tailing Barient 32 sheet winch (with my 180lb husband on the line, limp and not helping!) and it is NOT easy but can be done. It is much harder using the smaller, again not self tailing, halyard winches on the mast.

Best of the person to never make it off the boat --thus the tether or halyard or whatever to be securely attached and keeping the crew member on deck!

[TrentePieds]

Good for you Chandlery :-)!

In a sloop your choices are few, but there is always a way.

We had a discussion in the last few days about whether "sailing" is easy or hard. We didn't get into the distinction twixt "sailing" and "skippering". What we are discussing now is in the realm of "skippering". Even skippering isn't terribly hard, but competence is a function of forehandedness: Lay out all the problem scenarios you can anticipate, then design means of coping with them. Get the gear you need to handle them - and then do you skippering so the problems never arise!

As one of us is fond of pointing out: "Good judgement (in skippering) comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement"

I can teach boat handling in an afternoon. I can't teach skippering at all - only sea time can do that :-)!

[hellosailor]

Rustic-
"How many times"

In the words of Auric Goldfinger:
"Once is happenstance, twice is co-incidence, but the third time, my dear Mister Bond, is very definitely enemy action."

So, three times.

[techmans]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

My understanding is that the very lucky fellow had a tether, which is how he got back aboard the first time. The second time the lifejacket went over his head when he was knocked overboard the second time.

Reminds me that a crotch strap may be in my future.

I have a in water deploy-able boarding ladder. I have a 50' poly line to trail behind the boat, but it might need to be 100 feet. pondering pondering....

In addition you need a trip line or some other means to disable the autopilot.

[captainmike99]

I tested trailing a 100' poly line. Totally useless. Falling off mid ships on starboard with line tied to cleat on port side of stern at 3-5 kts; the line was gone before you I could get upright and turned to grab it. Most of the time I couldn't even locate it, and I was ready with perfect conditions. When I just slipped off the stern and tried to grab it; forget that too, can't do it. I didn't think you could, just had to prove it. Tried 'til I was too tired. Fun trying, but not a viable plan. I tether to jack line when I'm alone and my stern ladder can be lowered by pulling a line that reaches close to the water line.

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

... I have a 50' poly line to trail behind the boat, but it might need to be 100 feet. pondering pondering....

I wonder if trailing a line behind would have any practical benefit. Obviously falling in you'd have to be able to get to it, but that aside, after a short time it would become slimy and slippery. And at even a slow speed, say a couple of knots, the water pressure would be immense. So like prayer it wont help but you might feel better (until you actually fall in).

I undertook a Sea Survival Course a year or two back and we were able to use all the safety gear in a swimming pool. For example deploy different PFDs (with and without crotch straps), life raft exercises, use of breathers etc, also trying to assist helpless crew in the water and the like. It became very obvious to us all, and very quickly too, if you fall in the water the difficulty of getting back on the boat or to safety is immense. You become tired very quickly as it takes so much more energy in the water. Plus trying to help someone else in the water for more than a short time is so hard.

I thought too about some of the people I've crewed with over the years and there have been some big guys and girls.

Something that became obvious too is that getting someone back on board needs to be practiced. The people left on board need to know how to go about the job and what to do and they need to do so quickly. Zeehag wrote 'don't pee out the back of the boat', and it's such good advice, as that's the time when so many guys fall in. And if you're a typical man/women team, then how does a 60kg woman get back on board a 110kg guy?

[uncle stinkybob]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

lol, no I've never owned a powerboat. nor do I own two boats. Gee, I don't even have a dodger. Nope, this sailorchic sails.

No dodger? make that "tough sailorchic"!

[sailorboy1]

I'm pretty impressed by the guy. He got back on the boat the first time pulling himself up. How many of us could do that (not me)? And he of course made it back to land after the second!

Normally I would say the story kind of shows how useless it is to wear a harness when solo sailing. But again he got himself back on the boat the first time. I wonder if he would have survived if the second time he had been dragged along by the harness because he was too tired to pull himself up again?

[jongleur]

I question the plausibility of falling
overboard twice, in that story.
Could be true... I just question it.

[Sandero]

I was at the bow about 25 yrs ago doing a sail change in steep short seas and 25 knots. Boat was on AP motoring more or less head to wind. I was clipped to the tow rail... when tying the sail bag to the bow cleat when the bow fell into a trough and then and I went flying up as the bow went down... and I was tossed overboard tethered to the boat on a 6' Lirakis harness. I was on the lee side and able to get my leg up over the rail and pulled myself aboard under the life lines with the harness over them. YIKES.

I was lucky.

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by uncle stinkybob

No dodger? make that "tough sailorchic"!

Most the time not that tough. My boat is old cca design with a full bow that pushes the bow wake to the side..... most of the time. Call me old fashion... I do have a Bimini, though it's down for the winter. Mainly to keep the sun off my head.

OK so trailing a line while moving is pointless, or so it seems. It might still be useful in some anchorages where current is a knot or so. I have that enough in the bay and delta.