PLB Saves Solo Sailor

[Rorzech]

His brother didn't know how to stop the boat ? Something smells !

[Franziska]

I was wondering too why he did not clip in an extension, than cut the original tether and retrieved him when floating beside the stopped boat.

But, than again I was not there, the brother might have been injured and not have been able to safely float beside the boat. Weather and waves might have been bad too.
I'd be pretty certain that the onboard brother tried all he can to save the brother on the tether.

Originally Posted by Rorzech

His brother didn't know how to stop the boat ? Something smells !

[bumpman]

A little off topic, about drowning while tethered and dragging next to the boat. The studies I saw showed that a MOB being dragged face first can drown in a couple of minutes with water under pressure filling the lungs quickly at every attempted breath. That may be what happened to the brothers' tragedy.

[Wotname]

Local news is reporting the vessel has been recovered along with the ship's cat who was still on board. Vessel and cat are OK.

[Franziska]

Great!!!

Originally Posted by Wotname

Local news is reporting the vessel has been recovered along with the ship's cat who was still on board. Vessel and cat are OK.

[JBsurfin]

Originally Posted by StuM

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-...itory/13031970
Solo sailor rescued after eight hours in rough seas off remote Northern Territory coastline

A man sailing alone in the Arafura Sea has been rescued in rough conditions eight hours after he was blown overboard from his 10-metre yacht.
The sailor was wearing a life jacket with a personal locator beacon (PLB) when he fell into the water after being knocked over by what he described as a "freak gust of wind" and could not make it back to the vessel before it drifted away.
The beacon on his PBL alerted the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), who advised water police in Darwin at approximately 9:30am yesterday of the destress signal, located 93 kilometres northeast from the remote Northern Territory town of Nhulunbuy.


...
The man was located by the AMSA aircraft 23 kilometres from his yacht ...

Is your life on a solo sail worth more than 150.00US for jack lines and a tether? I use mine all the time when offshore alone. Glad to know he made it back alive.

[Franziska]

Until you don't use it. No-one is free of mistakes.
We don't know if that guy has not had jack lines and a tether and is was not the one occasion when he failed.

I concurr though, glad he made it and the yacht and dog were saved as well.

Originally Posted by JBsurfin

Is your life on a solo sail worth more than 150.00US for jack lines and a tether? I use mine all the time when offshore alone. Glad to know he made it back alive.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Until you don't use it. No-one is free of mistakes.
We don't know if that guy has not had jack lines and a tether and is was not the one occasion when he failed.

I concurr though, glad he made it and the yacht and dog were saved as well.

I of course have jacklines and tethers but rarely use them when I'm single handed. A jackline/tether setup which does not allow you to go over is very rare. If you do go over tethered when you're single handed, it's a death sentence. You'd have much better chances falling clear of the boat and deploying beacons.

[CyKlop]

As I was reading through this thread, I had a thought, which might well be a crazy one.

As a parachutist, we had something called an AAD. It would automatically deploy the spare parachute under certain circumstances. It did this through a small pyrotechnic charge and a cutter to cut the loop holding the bag closed.

I was wondering if something similar could be done for solo sailors - where if you go overboard, a pyrotech charge would go off and cut the sheets and maybe the halyards too so that the sails would de-power. Sure, the boat would still drift, but it wouldn't sail away.

[Franziska]

Sounds not to crazy.
Or a radio remote for the Autopilot & maybe trail a float line as well..

Originally Posted by CyKlop

As I was reading through this thread, I had a thought, which might well be a crazy one.

As a parachutist, we had something called an AAD. It would automatically deploy the spare parachute under certain circumstances. It did this through a small pyrotechnic charge and a cutter to cut the loop holding the bag closed.

I was wondering if something similar could be done for solo sailors - where if you go overboard, a pyrotech charge would go off and cut the sheets and maybe the halyards too so that the sails would de-power. Sure, the boat would still drift, but it wouldn't sail away.

[southseasailor2]

The tether is not the be all and end all. Seldom is it short enough to keep you on board (and if it is you dont have enough movement to do anything). If you are solo and go overboard tethered and your boat is doing better than 5 knots and has significant freeboard you will be dragged until you drown. Unless you are a young athlete.

[JBsurfin]

Originally Posted by chrisr

going overboard & tethered while solo sounds a really slow and unpleasant way to die (you aren't going to get back onboard)

personally i'd prefer to drown quickly...

cheers,

Have any report proof on that concept? I did a google search and couldn't come up with any reported boats adrift or on the rock with a solo sailor hanging off on a tether. Although I could find a few stories where solo sailors were saved by one..

I'll take my chances with my jack design and the offshore sailing I've done for years, even racing Newport to Bermuda.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by bumpman

A little off topic, about drowning while tethered and dragging next to the boat. The studies I saw showed that a MOB being dragged face first can drown in a couple of minutes with water under pressure filling the lungs quickly at every attempted breath. That may be what happened to the brothers' tragedy.

Not off topic at all.


THIS is why I don't clip on, when single handed.

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by CyKlop

I was wondering if something similar could be done for solo sailors - where if you go overboard, a pyrotech charge would go off and cut the sheets and maybe the halyards too so that the sails would de-power. Sure, the boat would still drift, but it wouldn't sail away.

Many years ago (both in terms of age and of experience) all the three people on my boat went for a swim on a totally becalmed (think glassy, flat water, no sails up) day in mid-ocean. Only by shear chance did I look back at the boat and think “That looks further away than it should”. After what I consider to be a heroic swim (100% physical commitment) did I manage to get my hand on the ladder in what could have been my last stroke.

If a boat is drifting away from you in even a slight breeze, there is no possible way (IMHO) that you’re going to swim fast enough to catch up to it. In those days I was an above average strong swimmer. So with the greatest of respect, I believe your device would have very little value.

On tethers - I recall many years ago reading a report of a sailor somewhere on the Great Lakes, falling over the side on a tether (smallish catamaran as I recall) and being found on a beach the next day, still tethered alongside his boat, dead. Thethers are not necessarily life-saving devices.

[Savanna]

With regard to going overboard whist attached to the boat with a tether, we have added a small web cutting knife to all of our lifejackets. Whilst being able to cut the tether is not assured, it does add an extra possibly.