Challenge: What Do You Do?

[Live to Dive]

Originally Posted by neilpride

Im always sail with a 150 ft yellow line atached to a life ring towed in the stern, if i fall overboard i have a better chance to cacht the ring and back to the boat, if i miss the ring, make noise.

Sailing at 8 knots?? You won't pull yourself back on board. Try it at 2 knots. (Not that I have I hasten to point out) But read another post of someone who had. No way.

If your sailing solo and don't carry a personal epirb, you are definately living on the edge.

[svHyLyte]

Even with the best of planing and preparation, shoot does happen, and its entirely possible for someone to go over the side (been there, done that!). As previously noted, a short tether is a wise precaution and may keep one far enough above the water that one can reach the rail and hoist oneself aboard--if one is fit enough. If not...

When my wife and I are on passage, we do a couple of things. Firstly, our tethers are two part with a long tail and a short one and, generally, unless we're moving about on deck, we rely on the short tail (<6'). In no case do we disconnect one tail until the other's been connected so that there is never a point when one is not secured to the yacht. Secondly, our inflatable life-vests and harnesses include an ear-splitting whistle secured by a lanyard and fastened to the shoulder strap with a velcro patch. If necessary, one can wake the dead with the things. Next, we do not leave the cockpit without wakening the off-watch. It can be a pain in the neck sometimes, but the alternative is worse.

FWIW...

[stevensc]

There are electronic devices, in degrees of complexity, available which sound an alarm if someone falls overboard. One can also be attached to the dinghy in case someone "borrows" it, or it comes loose.

Search for "man overboard alarm" you'll find a bunch.

Never used one so can't offer any firsthand experience.
Steve

[David M]

If you are going to die like a piece of bait being trolled through the water, then at least catch a fish.

[Beverly Stayart]

Yell louder than you ever have in your life and don't stop!

[defjef]

The way I figure this...

You have at least one 6' tether attached at your chest to a jack line about a foot inboard of the life line which are about 24" high minimum.

When you are over the life lines the tether has 2 foot from the jack line to the line line and then another 2 foot to the toe rail and then 2 feet to the harness on your chest.

Your reach from the harness point is about 3 feet meaning you sould be able to reach the toe rail with your two hands.

If you are being dragged along you might be even "closer" to the toe rail and as it was in my case, close enough to throw your leg up and slither in under the life lines.

If the freeboard is high enough you'll dangle straight down and then you'll have to pull yourself up... but you also may be able to swing yourself and get a leg up.

I suggest anyone who wonders about this put your harness on and jump over board tethered to the live line and try to get on board while at anchor and work out how to get back aboard.

[Greyhound]

My real answer: I'd have made sure to practice MOB situations with my husband of both him and I going over to see what our strenghts and weaknesses are. Plus I'd have a very loud whistle around my neck.

My fun answer: Think to myself, "I'm such bad luck. I knew before we left the dock that something like this would happen to me".

[crazyhorse]

I know going over the side in ANY conditions is not an option (always one hand for the boat!) but it should never be treated as a "can't happen to me" situation! Although I haven't done it yet, with friends aboard (who know what they are doing!) and in safe conditions, I intend to do exactly that to see if I can reboard my boat without assistance and if I can't, then what do I need to do to change that. Obviously a boat underway even at moderate speed is going to make the task impossible so the trick is to luff the ship up. A trailing knotted warp attached to the tiller when pulled should allow a bungy cord to pull the tiller full one side allowing the boat to come about and hopefully enough time to to board before the sails fill again. Thats the plan.... when summer rolls around, I will see if it works! Any suggestions gratefully received!

[captain58sailin]

If you have a watch alarm installed and it is active then when it goes off in ten minutes or less you might not have drowned by then and your watch partner can hopefully rescue you.

[Zanshin]

Let's assume that the seas are calm and you are being dragged along outside of a wake. Let's also assume that the harness is such that it lets you turn onto your back and surf along without danger of drowning immediately and you have the luxury of a bit of time without having to expend energy.
You realize that you don't have the upper body strength required to pull you up and out. But anyone (assisted by mother nature's energy boost supplied by the adrenal gland) can pull themselves partway at a time, so the idea is to get back aboard a couple of inches at a time - but how?
If you have shoes with laces or have a professional harness (with one extra clip-on rope/webbing) then maybe you have a chance. Although we might not know the more specialized or esoteric knots as the prussic hitch, anyone who has sailed for a while will have tied a simple rolling hitch and can hopefully remember how to during this stressful moment. Tie a rolling hitch to the taut lifeline, attach the standing end to the harness so that the knot is about 2 or so feet away. Then comes the part where fear gives you sufficient strength to use one hand to pull on the lifeline and the other to push the rolling hitch forward. Or maybe both hands to pull and your teeth to push the hitch. Rest and repeat as required. Once enough slack is on the main lifeline, perhaps a quick single Angler's loop or bowline-in-a-bight (I've never tried that) to use as a stirrup for a foot and as a leverage point to continue using the rolling hitch. Chances of this working are minimal but I can't think of any other method that is more condusive to continued existence.

[Hud3]

That's an interesting idea, Zanshin. I've used the Prussic knot on a safety line with my climbing harness when going up the mast steps. It worked quite well when I tested it, slipping up, but not down when under load, so I'd expect it could work as you suggest in an overboard situation.

When sailing alone I sometimes hang a length of line with a couple of loops tied in off the stern, thinking that I could use it to climb up onto the sugar scoop. Short enough that it can't get into the prop. I've tried it successfully when anchored, but never when under way.

Sailing offshore with crew, my rule is no one leaves the cockpit unless someone else is topside to take the watch, day or night. If by yourself topside, you must be tethered, and at night everyone topside is tethered. The idea is not to fall over in the first place. It can happen, though. A friend of mine was adjusting sails in the cockpit after dark when a wave hit the boat broadside. He was flung across the seat and combing ending up with his arse sticking over the side between the two lifelines. He was tethered, but couldn't get unstuck immediately. He screamed his lungs out until crew below rushed up to haul him back in.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by Hud3

my rule is no one leaves the cockpit unless someone else is topside to take the watch, day or night

that makes a lot of sense .. seems pretty much fail safe.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by gonesail

that makes a lot of sense .. seems pretty much fail safe.

no one is allowed outboard of the coming unless someone else is in the cockpit.

the off-watch sleeps better knowing that the on-watch is still aboard. what this means is that you should never hesitate to wake the off-watch if you feel the need to go forward. over the course of a passage, everyone gets better sleep because of this rule.

fortunately, it's very rare that anyone would need to go forward of the dodger on my boat during a passage. you'd only need to do that to set the chute, and we don't singlehand the chute.

[anjou]

All good and very interesting answers guys. I was once a water babe, always on or in the sea, boating, skiing, fishing surfing and then one day I left the coast and moved to the middle of the country for work.

That was 31 years ago and somewhere along the way, ive lost my nerve a little. I see a lot more danger now, I have suffered a lot of drowning nightmares and I cant watch films involving drowning scenes like Titanic or The Perfect Storm.

But, I also know fear is irrational and is best faced and dealt with. Making sure you dont go over the side is the most sensible thing but accidents happen, so awareness is important.

Next question

What are the chances of becoming shark bait if you just happen to go over the side?
Sorry, its another irrational fear

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by anjou

What are the chances of becoming shark bait if you just happen to go over the side?

Sorry, its another irrational fear

I gather that you're really asking, "What are the chances of being eaten alive by a shark?" Otherwise, if you've already drowned, what does it matter which species on the food chain makes use of the windfall?

You would probably be astonished to know that about 100,000,000 sharks are killed each year by humans (and this is only based on reported catch numbers), while the number of humans attacked by sharks each year is about 100, with only about 20 resulting in fatalities. These numbers suggest your odds are pretty good.

HowStuffWorks "How many sharks are killed recreationally each year -- and why?"

It kind of depends on where you happen to go overboard. Some areas are more thickly populated with sharks than others, but sharks, like gold, are where you find them - which could be anywhere.

You may have seen this image before, and know the story already, but for others it makes interesting reading:

snopes.com: The Follower

TaoJones