MARCH 21, 2020
SAFETY AT SEA: MOB
We may not be able to sail because of the virus threat, but
we can still learn! In the last blog, I
mentioned how Peter on Sea Quake was very close to falling overboard. As with any miss-hap, I like to analyze and
learn. By considering situations like
this, you can have a plan rather than improvising on the spot.
As you will remember, all predictions for the evening were
for very light winds. Indeed, when we
left the harbor, there was no wind at all and a little “texture” on the water out
by the point. Suddenly we had 15 to 18 knot
winds. It has been awhile since we had
sailed in this much wind. When
predictions are for light winds, we all will frequently throw caution to the
wind, why not just sail with 2 people on the boat?
As it occurred, Sea Quake was one of the last boats to leave
the harbor with 2 people on board. Peter
gave up the helm so he could do the heavy lifting. As they entered the greater wind, he was
forward adjusting the jib fairlead as the boat was heeling to starboard. His foot slipped and did not catch on the
raised gunwale rail as he found himself halfway in the water, he was able to
grab something and pull himself back on board thanks to his rigorous exercise
routine and his strength. As he fell overboard,
he actually broke his lower lifeline.
His VHF radio was below in the cabin.
What can we learn from this situation? What would have been the best strategy if he
had gone overboard with one other person left on board? First of all, I am a firm believer in having
all lines lead to the cockpit. Not having
to leave the cockpit to raise the main or reef is a huge step towards safety. I believe it is best to have a VHF radio in
the cockpit on Tuesday nights for communication. If Peter had gone overboard, a call out on 69
would have had many boats ready to assist.
Having a harness attached to someone going forward would have been a
nice touch, but who harnesses up when the prediction is for 8 knot winds?
Another concept people use for safety is to always have one hand on the boat
for stability. Peter said he was using both hands to adjust the car. When I go forward and the boat is heeling, I
always place my feet behind something on the rail (stanchion, block or other fixture).
The big question is: what can you do if there are only 2
people on board and one person is MOB.
Having a radio to hail for help would be good for a Tuesday night, but lets
take it a step further. You are on your
way to Monterey and one person goes overboard, what then?
In Chris Hofmann’s presentation on boating safety, he presented
the dynamics of MOB situations. Different boats, wind conditions, waves and currents
create an incredible number of variables and challenges to deal with. Chris also presented the concept of 1:10:1. One minute of shock, 10 minutes of lucid MOB activity and 1 hour to death. It would be much easier to rescue a lucid MOB
than one suffering from hypothermia so time is of the essence!
Being short crew is one more variable to consider. If you
are short crew and there are no other boats around, the first action would be
to immediately pull the boat head to wind .
This would flatten the boat possibly making it easier to get the MOB
back on board. If the person actually
separates from the boat, hit the MOB button on your GPS and note the time. Having the boat head to wind will also stop the
boat so you are not increasing the distance between the boat and the MOB. In my opinion it would not be prudent to do
the figure 8 move sailing away from the MOB (you do not have crew to maneuver
the boat and nobody to assign as the MOB spotter). In my opinion it would be better to stop the
boat quickly and throw a line to the MOB to retrieve him. If you have increased the distance too much to
toss a line or life ring, I would think the next step would be to sail directly
up wind of the MOB and heave to so the boat will drift back down to the MOB to
retrieve them. One advantage to this
tactic would be that once the boat is heaved to and does not need any attention
for maneuvering, you would be able to give your undivided attention to getting the
MOB back on board. If these quick solutions do not work, at some point you
should send out a MAYDAY on channel 16 posting the coordinates of the MOB from
your GPS. If heaving to does not work, I
would drop and furl sails and start the motor and sit on the leeward rail as
approaching the MOB, this way you can see the MOB and slowly pull the boat
close enough to retrieve them.
Getting a MOB back on board when acting alone is another
problem that needs to be considered. It is generally considered better to pick
up the MOB on the leeward side of the boat, but how to accomplish this alone? My
thought is, if you can get a loop around the upper body under the arms you
could lead the line over a rail of the stern pulpit to the winch on the same
side of the boat. You can winch the MOB
out of the water, reach down and pull one leg onto the boat then the other
leg. The line going from the stern
pulpit to the winch offers the MOB something to grab onto to help pull himself aboard.
I crewed once on a Hobie 16 on a sail to Moss Landing. Halfway across the bay, the wind piped up
enough to trap out so I trapped out and immediately found myself in the water
as the hiking tackle on the boat failed.
The helmsman immediately turned the boat into the wind and said “I’ll
came back for you”. I said “stay right
there” as I swam to the boat which was probably 100 feet away. Fortunately I was an avid surfer at the time
and it was a short swim for me. I did
have one memory that gave me extra energy.
In about the same area of the bay on the previous year, we had a pod of
killer whales swim right under us.
I want to emphasize that all of these ideas are just my ruminations
on the subject and are not to be considered gospel. I encourage feedback with ideas other sailors
might have about short handed MOB situations.
Stay healthy and safe and hopefully we will be sailing again
soon.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice
Fred Molnar has commented on this subject and his point is excellent and appreciated.
A man overboard in these waters is a MAYDAY event, especially if there were only two people aboard. If I was in that situation I would give a MAYDAY call on my DSC radio as soon as I got the boat under control. Everyone should have a DSC radio, and have it programmed and know how to use it. See: https://www.boatus.org/dsc/
Fred Molnar has commented on this subject and his point is excellent and appreciated.
A man overboard in these waters is a MAYDAY event, especially if there were only two people aboard. If I was in that situation I would give a MAYDAY call on my DSC radio as soon as I got the boat under control. Everyone should have a DSC radio, and have it programmed and know how to use it. See: https://www.boatus.org/dsc/
Great things to consider. One correction. The US Sailing cold water sailing guideline is actually 1:10:1. One minute to get control of breathing. 10 minutes of good mental and motor capacity. 1 hour of survivability. The last one probably has the greatest variability depending on conditioning and health of the indvidual, clothing, water temperature, sea and wind conditions, and other variables. -Chris
ReplyDeleteChris, Thank you for this correction. I am sorry I got it wrong and will correct it in the blog.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteBarry and All,
Thanks for discussing this important and often overlooked topic.
My thoughts are that when I have a man overboard situation, I need to solve 3 different problems.
1. Finding the MOB
2. Getting the MOB to the side of the boat
3. Getting the MOB on board.
For each problem that is being solved there are different safety gear to use and crew processes to follow. I am not going to review crew processes, like someone's only job is to point to the MOB etc. There is a really good article for that here: https://www.ussailing.org/news/man-overboard-recovery-procedure/?gclid=CjwKCAjw3-bzBRBhEiwAgnnLCkfHqHftoUVS9AXvMCNNdAsZ-rgSZqEIF109CfZiJ4Zde6cIUyIl2hoC0lAQAvD_BwE
Finding the MOB: The key safety gear to deploy is a Man overboard marker like the old style fiberglass poles with a horseshoe ring. I personally have a SOS Dan Bouy that you throw in the water and will inflate after hitting the water with a flashing strobe.
Getting the MOB to the side of the boat. The Life Sling or a throw rope is right safety gear for this. With the life sling, as you know, you can throw the life sling out, circle the MOB and then pull them to the side of the boat. Just like getting a tow rope to a water skiier.
Getting the MOB on board: This is the hardest part, in my opinion, of Man over board. I use a 3 to 1 block and tackle system that I attach to a halyard raised 8 feet above the deck. Then I run the other end to a winch to hoist up the MOB. This is way easier than using a winch on a halyard.
In short, most people think a successful MOB drill is throwing a float overboard and sailing to it and picking it up with a boat hook. Which is strange because in that drill you dont use any safety equipment at all! Every year, on Patricia J, we do a real MOB drill where someone jumps in the water while under sail and we use our safety gear to get them. I find that being the person who jumps in really helps because it give me a sense confidence as a skipper.
Thanks,
Jason