Harness at sea

[JPA Cate]

It was Jim's off watch (6 hrs.). It was bouncy, maybe 25-30. I was wearing full foulies, and my harness. It was overcast. And some time in the wee hrs. of the morning. I went forward, clipping onto the jack line as I exited the cockpit. Walked upright to the mast, then put in the next reef. Came back to the cockpit, stuffing the excess of my tether into my foulie jacket pocket. Then decided to go below to use the head.

As I stepped onto the companionway ladder, somehow , I tripped on the tether, and fell (6 steps worth) to the floor. I hear from Jim that that was an awful way to wake up. I was lucky to have nothing broken, and the bruises were quite sore, very colorful, and uncomfortable for days after.

Now, this is the only tether-related fall I have had in our long sailing lives. And we --like Boatie -- did not normally tether; only tethered up if we were putting off doing something due to boat motion. As our physical capabilities have diminished, there's a lot we do to keep it comfortable, rather than pushing things a bit as we used to.

When we've had family with children aboard, they had to wear flotation when outside the cockpit, were responsible for knowing where their life jackets were, and we told they'd have to use them any time Jim told them; they were warned. And then we did our best to keep it comfortable for them.

I'd say the OP's teachers are teaching him good safety procedures, and there is risk to not following them. If the risk crosses your comfort zone, and you don't have much experience, you are likely to learn the hard way, unless you're lucky.


Ann

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by JPK

Going down this tangent a bit further (apologies in advance)... I few years ago I had a couple of Mustang inflatable PFD's that had expired inflators that I needed to replace. Mine had the optional crotch straps added. The spare did not. I tried them both out in my swimming pool and the results were sobering. The PFD with the crotch straps had me floating with my chin above the water. The PFD without the crotch straps had me floating with the water just barely below my nose. If you happen to fall in the water unconscious for whatever reason with an inflatable PFD without a crotch strap and there's any sort of sea state you will drown. I've since switched to using a Spinlock Deckvest Vito as my primary, and it has a built-in crotch strap. It's completely unnoticeable when on.

An excellent point.


Lifejackets without crotch straps are USELESS.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

An excellent point.


Lifejackets without crotch straps are USELESS.

…. when unconscious

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

…. when unconscious

A significant number of the Fastnet '79 fatalities were -- conscious -- sailors who fell out of their lifejackets and then drowned. One of the important lessons learned was --


Lifejackets without crotch straps are USELESS. Whether you're conscious or not.

[JPK]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

…. when unconscious

A snippet from the accident report I posted above:

"The two survivors who entered the water had automatically inflating integral life jacket/harnesses, which met the US Sailing requirements. However, these survivors reported struggling with their inflatables riding high about their heads in the water, making it difficult to breathe and nearly impossible to use their arms for propulsion since they were battling the inflated bladders."

IMO, inflatable PFD's without crotch straps can be a significant liability whether you're conscious or unconscious.

[Mark D]

There is not one correct answer that covers it. It really depends on the situation and use of common sense.

For example a situation last year on anchor that happend to me.
Unexpected a storm hits 8 hours earlier then predicted and in stead of 30kts we got 56kts.

We were on anchor and 6 boatlenghts away from the shoreline. My girlfriend went directly for the harnass and clipped herself on. I choose for engine and manouvering.

The situation went very fast very bad and the seastate was dangerous in 30 seconds time. ( Our lifevests or stored in the outside cockpit seats)

Mainsail got unfurled with 56 knots pushing and wind pulling the anchor lose going fast to the shore.

To refurl the main and throwing away the Anchor there was only a minute tops before hitting the shore.

I believe if I had put the vest on and with the vest and lines and safety I would have never made it in time and pretty sure the safety line would have made me stumble and get hurt.

On night passages when I do my watch and the second crew is asleep and I am doing a deck check I will clip on.

My girlfriend sees the lifevest as an item that will safe here life in every situation and gives her a false safety feeling.

As Ben bow Sirroco says it is one of those Political talks where everyone is right and wrong.

[thinwater]

Rather than tuck tethers in a pocket (they can fall out and trip you) or let them droop, wrap them around your back/waist. Much safer and easy to retrieve.

[Mike OReilly]

The choice of when to wear a tether must be both personal, and dependent on the conditions, and your boat. Not all boat are created equal. Some are inherently safer working platforms than others.

I only wear a tether when I feel I need to; which is rare. Outside our arbitrary rule of always tethering at night while on passage when off-watch crew is down below, I've probably only worn my tether a dozen times in two decades.

My current boat is a good working platform. It is stable, with wide decks, and lots of good hand-holds. I only resort to a tether in the more extreme, bumpy conditions. It's almost never about the wind, it's about the sea state.

But on my previous boat, with tiny side-decks, I snap into the tether quite often.

[Kelkara]

I mostly sail solo in remote cold waters ... falling overboard would probably be fatal.

I always wear my tether underway ... even in the most benign conditions. That way I don't have to make a decision of whether it is safe enough to clip in or not. On mild days the decision would be easy, or rough days the decision would be equally easy ... but somewhere in between is a day that you don't know what decision to make ... not having to make the decision means never getting it wrong. You will never know whether you needed to until you are overboard.

I also usually (but not always) remain clipped in even in the cockpit. Not because I feel I need to, but that way I have to unclip before going forward, which means I can't forget to clip the jack-line because I'm holding the clip in my hand. After a while being clipped in becomes just second nature, it's just how I move about the boat I don't even notice the tether.

[Don C L]

Yeah I have the kids clipped in in the cockpit when the wind picks up, probably for my peace of mind more than their safety! However, it depends on your boat. IN my case, my narrow hull can get rolled pretty quickly in an unforeseen gust, like a dinghy, so it can catch someone off guard. Being able to respond so quickly to a gust releases the load on the rig quickly, but it might release a crew member quickly too! This has only happened once so far, when I came around a headland, (and no one fell off) but it's indelibly printed in my memory.

I was going to add that my PFD is a holdover from my river running days; not an inflatable. It floats me high, I can swim with it, is comfortable to wear and has pockets for a PLB, whistle, etc. For me, if the conditions are rough enough to warrant a PFD, it's the best choice. Those things around my neck, inflatable or not, ensure I'll be drinking plenty of seawater!

[Russ]

Of course, Eric Taberly never wore a harness and fell off Pen Duck at night in the Irish Sea never to be seen again!
Buckle up!
Russ

[sailon46]

After a whole life sailing across oceans in various boats now I feel uncertain about my athletic abilities to stay on a boat while been belted by not one but five squalls in one night crossing the 15th parallel on the way to PR from Curaçao. I strap myself onto a Jackline with a harness. Stay alive strap yourself and live another day.

[sinnerman]

Originally Posted by JPK

A snippet from the accident report I posted above:

"The two survivors who entered the water had automatically inflating integral life jacket/harnesses, which met the US Sailing requirements. However, these survivors reported struggling with their inflatables riding high about their heads in the water, making it difficult to breathe and nearly impossible to use their arms for propulsion since they were battling the inflated bladders."

IMO, inflatable PFD's without crotch straps can be a significant liability whether you're conscious or unconscious.

This was one of the complaints I had rea of the Spinlock life preservers which many offshore people use.

The bladder is (was?) not attached to the sides of the life preserver body and when inflated would ride up over you head.

Again, it was something I had read...

Cheers

[sinnerman]

I love this video from the single hand sailor Christian Williams when he is boarded by the US Coast Guard on his way from Los Angeles to Hawaii.

Jump to 5:30 for his comments on throwable cushions and not using life preservers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArDaJbPY7xA

BTW- He has GREAT videos (and books ...)

cheers

[Flagfish]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I have never worn a harness, or a life jacket come that.. however I know my abilities and have confidence in my sense of balance and reaction speed.
One thing to remember is people have died whether wearing a harness or not.
Its a personal decision based on self knowledge vs risk aversion.

—————

Well, you do you. My experience- on night watch in the cockpit off the coast of Cali on the way to Hawaii, 15 knot wind on the beam. Easy sailing. Reading a book on the iPad.

Rogue wave slammed in, filled the cockpit and launched me clear over the lifelines into the water. Without a tether I’d still be there.