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Old 29-03-2017, 14:26   #1
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Who has fallen off the boat?

I have been boating since 1980 on fresh water inland lakes. Now moved to Florida where I want to be out on the ocean.

I fell off my little runabout boat a few years ago. I have a straw hat on, windy day, I am launching the small boat myself. I back the boat off the trailer and close to the dock where I want to tie up. But the wind is blowing the boat away from the dock. I reach over and grab the dock and over I go. It happened fast. The boat gets blown away from me so I swim as fast as I can to catch it. I get back on the boat with wet clothes, wet wallet, and embarrassed. Oh, I motor the boat to pick up my wet straw hat, get to the dock, tie up the boat, get to my tow vehicle, park the tow vehicle and get back to the boat and start the days boating. Oh, my wallet now has wet money in it.

Ok...now falling in a lake is nothing like falling on the ocean.

For those that fell in the ocean how did you get back to and into the boat?
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Old 29-03-2017, 14:30   #2
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Re: Who has fallen off the boat?

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Originally Posted by tuffr2 View Post
for those that fell in the ocean how did you get back to and into the boat?
If you don't get any responses....
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Old 29-03-2017, 14:39   #3
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pirate Re: Who has fallen off the boat?

I was on a circumnavigation.. it was a long wait..
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Old 29-03-2017, 14:45   #4
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Re: Who has fallen off the boat?

Agree...I might not get any replies which will tell me what I want to know...
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Old 29-03-2017, 15:10   #5
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Re: Who has fallen off the boat?

I misjudged the height of a floating dock while stepping off my swim platform and landed in the water. I was carrying the puppy and she ended up on the dock. She thought it was fun. I did not.

I caught myself with my arms on the dock and swim platform so I only went into the water to my waist. I did have some scrapes though.
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Old 29-03-2017, 15:12   #6
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pirate Re: Who has fallen off the boat?

There's been long threads speculating on possible techniques but the general feeling is if your solo your screwed.. and if you've crew make damn sure they're well trained in MOB and how to operate the boat to get back to you.
Tales of GF's who watched their BF fade into the distance.. a brother drowned because the other could not haul him aboard in spite of the harness.. and he did not think to stop the boat.. or at least heave to.
Basically know your boat, train your crew and hope for the best.
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Old 29-03-2017, 15:15   #7
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Re: Who has fallen off the boat?

Be very careful during solo cruising.

We practice MOB drills to recover lost souls.

Everybody knows the wife has NO excuse for returning to the dock alone...
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Old 29-03-2017, 15:35   #8
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Re: Who has fallen off the boat?

I sail single-handed 90% of the time and I'm extremely careful when the boat is moving. If the ride is at all bumpy and I leave the cockpit, I'm tethered, and sometimes when it is smooth too. I also have a PLB that I keep with me when I'm on deck, FWIW.

My boat has a folding boarding ladder and I rigged a quick release with a snap shackle and lanyard so I can deploy it from the water if necessary, but that is obviously only useful if I fall off when the boat is not under sail or AP lol. I could climb up via the monitor wind vane but I'm not getting any younger and have not tried it in recent years.

I did for the first time about a month ago slip when stepping onto my boat from a dock, two feet above the gunwale. My foot slipped off the gunwale, my other leg was bent and I landed on my shin and hurt the posterior cruciate ligament in my knee from the impact. Hurt like $*%@. You don't have to fall far to seriously injure yourself.

These things always happen when you're not paying attention. The lesson is to always pay attention. Always.
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Old 29-03-2017, 16:30   #9
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Re: Who has fallen off the boat?

This describes my worst nightmare, watching the boat sail / drift away.... But it's probably less dangerous / likely than some dipstick walking into traffic or down a open manhole while playing candy crush on his / her phone.
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Old 29-03-2017, 16:45   #10
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Re: Who has fallen off the boat?

I was just at a bluewater cruising seminar given by a very reknown woman who advocated for running your jacklines off the deck, so as to remove the slack in the tether line that could cause a situation where you're in the water, but wind up drowning from the forward motion of the boat.
Also saw another piece where there was a "preventer" line rigged a bit back from amid-ships, pre measured, so that you wound up basically at the transom in an over-board situation that would facilitate getting out of the water.
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Old 29-03-2017, 16:58   #11
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Re: Who has fallen off the boat?

For many years of living aboard I was employed and had to spend long times in a slip except for holidays. I had spent most of three years in the same slip with the habit of taking an evening walk on the dock before going to bed, always stepping from the port side of my boat to the finger pier.

One day, after a neighbor departed, I moved my boat to the other side of the finger pier in order to move my boat away from a vessel operated by someone with little control and some risky docking practices.

That same night I stepped off the port side of my boat in the dark and into the water. If this can be called falling, then I guess I fell, but it was a purposeful and habitual step, 'just no dock.

This was my only "fall" from my boat over decades of living aboard and cruising.
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Old 29-03-2017, 17:07   #12
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Re: Who has fallen off the boat?

I recommend not falling over. Someone will invariably make an embarrassing crappy movie about your pitiful life.

Open Water 2: Adrift (2006) - IMDb
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Old 29-03-2017, 17:08   #13
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Re: Who has fallen off the boat?

Many years ago a friend of mine took a group of his friends sailing on SF Bay.

One of the guys (drunk) who was sitting at the stern, literally fell backwards into the water while taking a large swig.

The only thing I know, because my friend won't talk about it, is that the guy went under before they could get the boat back to him....which obviously took some time. The body was found on Angel Island the next day.
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Old 29-03-2017, 17:13   #14
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Re: Who has fallen off the boat?

I went over many years ago. Commercial diving operation, I was tending that day, the other two guys were on the bottom working. Fairly rough day with a decent swell, the decks were wet. Was standing on the bulwark working on a davit when the boat lurched on big swell, my feet slipped and over I went. As I was falling I got a clear picture: no one else on the boat, no one knows I've gone over, and there was nothing rigged for climbing back into the boat (we hoisted divers in with the cranes). I hit the water very hard with my hands as I was dropping into it, thrust up, grabbed the bulwark and did a muscle up. Was back in the boat in 2 seconds. This is not a normally possible feat. It was an example on adrenaline and utter need.

My brother went over the side, about 13 miles offshore, late in the evening. He was on the aft deck, pursing up nets, leaning back and hauling when the line parted and he fell back and over the bulwarks.
No one saw it happen. Eventually, some time later a crew got up from his bunk, looked around and didn't see my brother. They looked in the head, lifted up the floorboards, oh HELL. They turned on the reciprocal course, firewalled it, ran for awhile and then shut down the engine and yelled for him. No response, ran again for a bit, yelled again. No response, repeat. They did this quite a few times and eventually heard a faint "here I am." They headed for the sound, stopped and called again, etc. When they finally spotted him it was almost full dark and he was 50 yards away. It is not easy to see someone in the water with a swell running.
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Old 29-03-2017, 17:16   #15
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Re: Who has fallen off the boat?

I fell off twice, both in the slip while working on the boat. One time was in january and it was very cold. I ciuldnt breath and wouldnt have made it far, luckily the neighbors boat was far enough back to get the ladder down. Cant think your safe just because your not moving.
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