You can't buy safety!

[Delfin]

A few years ago my wife spotted something that looked odd in the water. With binocs we could see it was someone clinging to a fender in the 55 degree water off Lopez Is in the San Juans. 78 year grandfather who who had gone forward on a chartered go fast power boat to pull in the fender and gone overboard. His son, driving the boat, never noticed. Grandpa had about 5 minutes life left when we got alongside him. If my son had not been with us we would not have been able to drag him on board because by that point he was a soggy helpless 220 pound weight. Lesson learned - have a tackle ready to deploy so you have a shot at retrieving a person. Nothing like experience.

[Andrew Troup]

Originally Posted by oldragbaggers

We are always having our hats blow off our heads when sailing. We try never to leave one behind. Every time a hat blows into the water it becomes a man overboard drill.

We've always done this because we figure it is more realistic than planning a drill where everyone knows what's coming and are getting into place and waiting for the cushion or whatever to be thrown over. It happens spontaneously, like the real thing would. And for us, for some reason, it seems to happen at least once a season. Maybe we need better fitting hats.

I'd say your hats are exactly the right fit; a minimum of once a season is probably about right. I've always done that too, for the exact same reasons.

[IdoraKeeper]

Good point about the difficulty of hoisting a soggy 220 pounder out of the water. I have a halyard ready to use with the life sling but I doubt my wife or sons could rig it and get me onboard in the available time. I'd better stay onboard or I'm a gonner.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Andrew Troup

I'd say your hats are exactly the right fit; a minimum of once a season is probably about right. I've always done that too, for the exact same reasons.

Andrew...

You always give great advice, but this may be your best ...
(and most concise )

I think you are spot on with "marginally fitting" headwear... The grim reality of not recovering that $25 hat every once in a while is pretty sobering...

Besides the irregular drills... This is what keeps my on my toe(s)
(reads I could be better)

[Wonderinlost]

I'd like to see some rigging ways to pull someone out of the water using I am guessing your boom to be swung over the water to help in lifting someone up. Would the line be ran to the top of the mast and then using a winch to help pull. I am guessing the tackle would have a snatch block or two as well.

[sparrowhawk1]

Originally Posted by Wonderinlost

I'd like to see some rigging ways to pull someone out of the water using I am guessing your boom to be swung over the water to help in lifting someone up. Would the line be ran to the top of the mast and then using a winch to help pull. I am guessing the tackle would have a snatch block or two as well.

I think the best way to go is a separate 4 part block and tackle off a separate halyard. I currently use a four part off my main sail halyard to raise my dinghy but would like to keep the main sail up when in a rescue operation. And my jib is a roller furler so using that halyard is not an option

[Andrew Troup]

There is a way of keeping the main up while using the mainsheet for lifting a MOB.

It works whether or not there's a headsail up. It does rely on having a permanently rigged preventer on both sides, as more and more offshore boats are starting to do.

There's a little-known method of heaving to which works particularly well for sailing up to an MOB, which I'll spell out if there's some interest.

This party trick makes it straightforward to stop the boat quickly, easily and accurately to windward of the MOB, with the fringe benefit that the boat is automatically put in a hove-to condition, with the main boom squared outboard and triangulated stably, and (simply by tightening the windward preventer and the topping lift) the mainsheet snapshackle can then be uncoupled from the traveller track and used to recover the MOB.

It deserves to be better known, I reckon.

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by oldragbaggers

Maybe we need better fitting hats.

Maybe you need a lanyard sewn into the hat with a snap shackle on the end so you can snap it to your belt loop. Thats what I do.

[Andrew Troup]

Originally Posted by Wotname

You can't buy safety!

But you can certainly sell it!

This is a CLASSIC post, few words, much import

.... a Google verified original, crafted in real time for our sole delectation.