Bart Senior wrote:
There is a picture in Sailing World this month in
ASK DR. CRASH. However, instead of providing
usefull suggestions on what to do in this situation,
they make a joke about a potentially fatal situation!
Shame on you Dr Crash!

The picture is located in the last page of this months
issue titled "Drop the Chute".

Yes, saw that. It was an interesting story.

We've had crew come off the foredeck under somewhat similar
circumstances. Getting the leg caught in the shrouds is a complication.


Assumptions:
1. Assume there are one or two other boats
upwind of LION'S PAW, and all are headed
downwind with their kites up.
2. The committee boat is over a mile away.
3. You do not have a radio on board.
4. The bow man cannot be pulled aft without
breaking his leg or dislocating his knee.
5. Assume the boat is on a dead downwind run.
6. You have typical safety gear on board and handy.
*****************************************
Question 1: What should the skipper do? [2 points]

Soundly curse the crewman, along with his ancestors and his descendants,
for at least 7 generations.

Where is the spinnaker halyard cleat? Can the skipper reach it? Dropping
the chute would slow the boat down... indeed, could well bring it to a
complete stop


Question 2: What should the middle person do? [2 points]

Either drop the chute & gather it quickly OR let the old sheet run out
to take pressure off. If the twing is tight, the sail shouldn't sky...
this might not work too well and may lead to worse problems.


Question 3: As a skipper what would you change in
future races to mitigate a problem like this? [1 point]

Put a toerail on the boat, at least along that short section where Mr
Fumble Foot stands when gybing.


Question 4: In heavier winds with rolling condtions, would
you do anything differently? [1 point]

The ultimate answer is to do an immediate North River Gybe (warning the
remaining crew of course). This will do several things... it will swing
the boat around the crewman in the water, reducing the rate at which
he's getting dragged... it will bring him to the high side, reducing the
depth to which he is immersed... it will slow & stop the boat... it will
free up the middle crew from everything else, once he's ducked &
covered, so he can fully assist the crew in water... in fact the boat
could end up hove-to so the skipper can help too.

Somehow gybing a spinnaker seems to bring out either the best or the
worst in people. I've had otherwise calm & skillful crew start shouting
nonsense and flailing, and my wife who is usually rather intense becomes
jovial & devil-may-care. I've fallen down or been flung around when
gybing, never overboard though. I've had crew go overboard once gybing
in a race, the biggest problem at the time was that it was right at the
gybe mark and there was a lot of traffic bearing down on her. They told
me later that the Race Committee (approx 2 miles away) and people on
shore (2 1/2 miles away) heard me warning the oncoming boats....

Fresh Breezes- Doug King