Single Handed Sailing

[Cynara]

Originally Posted by thomm225

I've been in the "drink" 5 times maybe more

Once I missed the hook on the trap line and just dropped into the water.

The other 4 were during rather violent pitch poles.

On two of those the boat stayed on it's side and blew away from me, but I was pretty close to land anyway.

Another time I was maybe 5 miles offshore and a fellow racer picked me up and dropped me off at my boat. Then all I had to do was get the spinnaker in and right the boat.

Many other times I was able to grab some part of the boat and then right it after getting the spinnaker in.

Were you dinghy racing

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Those are nice “rules” that are unworkable for lots of people.

A proprietary tether is not necessarily better than home brew.

Never go forward of the cockpit after dark means being stuck with whatever mainsail size is set.

Rules are meant to be broken.

I think the proprietary tethers are pretty good. Anyone who has tried to work on the foredeck with a standard or home made tether learns pretty quickly how tangled your legs and feet get in a 5' tether. Dang, working in a tether is frustrating. Especially in baggy weather gear">foul weather gear trousers. The proprietary ones with elastic to take up the slack and two clips on separate lengths of tether so you can clip to a new point (or just get around a shroud or under a jib sheet) I think really help. Plus the clips which cannot be accidentally unhooked but can be released under load...all these are good ideas.

Making one of these at home is not that easy and probably costs more than buying it.

And do people die going over he side? In Seattle a guy fell off his Olson30 in heavy weather, was tethered on, (not single handing) and his girlfriend could neither pull him back or stop the boat. He died.

John Svoboda, of SV Joliga II, fell off, not tethered, and was picked up, naked, by a cruise ship which then ran down his still sailing boat and put him back on board. He fell off again some years later (not tethered) but managed to grab his fishing line and pull himself back to the stern of his slowly moving Joliga. I once asked him if he want to go snorkeling with us and he declined saying he didn't really like the water.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Cynara

Were you dinghy racing

Racing Nacra 17 Beach Cat

Or Nacra 6.0

or Hobie 16

Picture of Hobie 16 is of my son at 15 years old and his friend who borrowed it back in 1997 to sail to Pensacola Beach to check out the girls and eat tacos etc

He had been my racing crew since age 10 and knew sailing. The beach is about a 10-11 mile sail out across the bay

[Don C L]

As a side note, a while back I was playing around with being off my boat (while it was anchored) if I had slid off, and I have a short tether, but I found that even if I was still holding the gunwale I am not sure I could pull myself back on board. (And I have low freeboard!) If you have a boarding ladder I think it is a good idea to have it rigged so you can deploy it with one hand while holding on for dear life with the other. This is assuming you can work your way around to where it is which would probably require detaching the tether.
I've always wanted to try all this out and make a video.

[Kurlie1]

On a delivery trip from Fiji (to NZ) in a Davidson 35 a couple of years ago we ran into a storm about 150NM off Cape Brett. Typical NZ offshore winter blow-up. 60+ kn sou-west winds were whipping up a steep sea and the helm (tiller steer) was heavy.


During the night you could hear the breaking rollers bearing down on the boat.

We had a small headsail and motor to hold us as high as possible so we could lay into BOI. If the wave got the timing right the side slam would lay us over in a flash. On Occasion the violent motion would dislodge even the most firmy lodged helmsman and I found myself being tossed across the cockpit. My PROPRIOTORY teather (I mean would you install your own seatbelts in your car ... Or use some old rope?) which was connected to a central D' bolt fixing was the only thing that kept me aboard. Good wet weather gear kept me dry as the waves crashed over the cockpit. We made it in safely and in good spirit thanks to good protective gear.


BTW .... I will never sail with (or drive in a car) someone who really believes "rules are maade to be broken"!! What utter nonsence IMHO.

[barryglewis]

My wife had 2 incidents in the same gale, in1984 in Punch, an S&S 34, in the 84 Hobart.
One crew was washed out of the cockpit over the rail, feet still on board, the other was thrown across cockpit again held by tether. She said "Of course I had everyone clipped on to the windward jackstay" .

[barryglewis]

The trick with tethers is to use them all the time, and become comfortable with handling them. Practice holding your tether short so it accompanies you when moving on the side deck rather than dragging it behind when it is likely to snag.

[Jim Cate]

John Svoboda, of SV Joliga II, fell off, not tethered, and was picked up, naked, by a cruise ship which then ran down his still sailing boat and put him back on board.

A great story... but when John told us the tale it was a Mexican fishing boat that picked him up and then caught up to his slowly sailing yacht. Seems more likely than a cruise ship, for spotting him in the water in the dark from a ship is pretty unlikely IMO.

He was an interesting character to be sure. We didn't really support many of his practices, but always enjoyed having a chat with him. Not so many characters left in the cruising community these days!

Jim

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

A great story... but when John told us the tale it was a Mexican fishing boat that picked him up and then caught up to his slowly sailing yacht. Seems more likely than a cruise ship, for spotting him in the water in the dark from a ship is pretty unlikely IMO.

He was an interesting character to be sure. We didn't really support many of his practices, but always enjoyed having a chat with him. Not so many characters left in the cruising community these days!

Jim

Wow, When and where did you talk to John? (must have been Australia between 2000-2003)

And he described the incident to us as: During evening meal on the cruise ship a couple not dining were on deck and heard his yelling (cursing) as the cruise ship steamed by, they alerted the crew who launched a lifeboat and pulled him out of the water. Apocryphal?

We were together with John Svoboda:

• In Mexico 1996-1997. "Joliga II" was frequently heard on local radio net.
• In Savu Savu, Fiji, 2000 where John held court at the bar in the Copra Shed
• In Gizo, Solomon Islands 2003

Anyhow, story would have been different if John was wearing a tether (or anything).

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Don C L

As a side note, a while back I was playing around with being off my boat (while it was anchored) if I had slid off, and I have a short tether, but I found that even if I was still holding the gunwale I am not sure I could pull myself back on board. (And I have low freeboard!) If you have a boarding ladder I think it is a good idea to have it rigged so you can deploy it with one hand while holding on for dear life with the other. This is assuming you can work your way around to where it is which would probably require detaching the tether.
I've always wanted to try all this out and make a video.

A neat project to involve your kids in. Have fun.

Ann

[Jim Cate]

Wow, When and where did you talk to John? (must have been Australia between 2000-2003)

Well, it was a long time ago, but checking in our "boats met" data base, the first time was at Caleta Partida just N of La Paz on June 5, 1989. Lots of further interactions both in Mexico and on across the Pacific. It would be near impossible to retrieve all those interactions from our written logs... mostly we don't detail subsequent meetings unless something noteworthy has occurred.

He was, as I said, an interesting character!

Jim

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

A neat project to involve your kids in. Have fun.

Ann

Oh I'm sure they'll have fun making the video of dad gurgling and thrashing around hanging on to the gunwale at 4 knots

[Glenn.Brooks]

I fished out of Cordova, Alaska for 10 years on my 30’ gillnetter. Pretty much everybody in the fleet fished (gillnetting salmon) by themselves on their own boat.

Two tricks of the trade that everyone adopted were dragging their 15’x20’ dock lines in the water when underway, and stringing lines over the gunwales, bow to stern, on both sides of the boat. The dock lines were meant to give you something to grab onto if you went over boat,( and hopefully) drag yourself back to the boat. The lines along the hull were a means to climb back on board. I practiced it a few times and it was a very difficult process. Impossible otherwise.

I’ve read a few ocean sailing stories were singlehanders sometimes drug a long line astern to grab onto, sometimes attached to their self steering vane. Pull on the line and ideally it was supposed to detach the vane and round the boat up into the wind to give you a fighting chance to get to the boat and climb back on board. Alas, have never yet heard of someone who actually did this and reported the outcome…