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".

***************************************
General Description:
During a race, a bowman on an Etchells named LION'S
PAW of the Annapolis Yahct Club was on the foredeck,
jibing a spinnaker and fell off the boat, with his leg caught
between the two starboard shrouds.

Injured Crew Condition:
He had no life jacket on, his sun glasses were still
on and most of his body above water, facing aft as
he was being dragged along. The boat is heeled far
enough to keep most of the man['s body out of the
water and expose the starboard boot stripe. The
bowmans left arm and left leg are in the water. His
body and head were even with the boot stripe, and
could easily be under water of the boat was not heeled.
His head would definately be below water if the boat
was heeled the other direction. His foot is securely
trapped between the two shrouds; he is consious
but unable to help himself. The force of the water has
pushed him as far aft as his leg will allow.

Wind Conditions
There are whitecaps, and the wind looks like 12-13
knots. The boat is sailing a deep broad reach, on port
tack, but heeled like it was on a starboard tack. The
other boats all appear to be in a stable angle of heel
and headed closer to a run. There is not sign of rolling
on the other boats as you would find in heavier winds.

Boat Condition:
The spinnaker pole is attached only at the clue on
the port side, and is free at the mast. The starboard
twing is in tight, the port twing is eased. The jib is down
on the foredeck. The main is all the way out on the
starboard side. Unlike most other boats, the Etchells
boom vang's typically could not be easily removed.

Other factors:
The middle crew is a woman, probably not strong
enough to pull the bowman back aboard. A strong
man might not be able to haul this soaking wet man
back aboard against the force of the water. The boat
appears to be in the middle of the fleet.

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]

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

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

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

"Bart Senior" wrote
Question 1: What should the skipper do? [2 points]

Shoot the bowman?

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

Kick the corpse free so it doesn't drag on the next turn?

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

Buy more insurance on his crew?

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

Steady my gun on the dodger?

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

Question 1: What should the skipper do? [2 points]

He should have the rest of the crew position themselves , with safety
harness and lines in hand, and a flotation cushion tied to a line. They
should gently depower the boat so that it starts to set down while the
middle person leans over (the guys hands are free, are they not?) with the
harness...at that point it doesn't matter what part of himself he gets into
it, just so there's something to hold on to....he can use the flotation
cushion as ballast....you need to depower so the drag on his body isn't so
much that you can't free up his leg...at this point, winning the race is a
moot point...there's no way anyone's going to free that man up with the boat
going lickety split down the lake...

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

Pass the gear down and make sure the spin pole don't clobber anyone when the
boat is taken off the wind....and to heck with the spinnaker..if it rips, it
rips...you've got a man possibly dying down there...

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

I'd tell my crew to not use shroud's as anchors for their feet....it's about
as bad as people who stuff their feet under cabintop railings....

Question 4: In heavier winds with rolling conditions, would
you do anything differently? [1 point] Yeah, you could start to do death
rolls and bury the bow....maybe the bow wake would wash him back up on deck
( facetious answer)




--
katysails
s/vs. Chanteuse
Kirie Elite 32
http://katysails.tripod.com

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax
and get used to the idea." - Robert A. Heinlein



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UI don't understand the sunglasses reference. Is he trying to stay cool?
Hahahahhahahahaah. Let the spin go completely with with his life jacket
tied to it. Turn up wind and grab him.
Simple.

Cheers

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".

***************************************
General Description:
During a race, a bowman on an Etchells named LION'S
PAW of the Annapolis Yahct Club was on the foredeck,
jibing a spinnaker and fell off the boat, with his leg caught
between the two starboard shrouds.

Injured Crew Condition:
He had no life jacket on, his sun glasses were still
on and most of his body above water, facing aft as
he was being dragged along. The boat is heeled far
enough to keep most of the man['s body out of the
water and expose the starboard boot stripe. The
bowmans left arm and left leg are in the water. His
body and head were even with the boot stripe, and
could easily be under water of the boat was not heeled.
His head would definately be below water if the boat
was heeled the other direction. His foot is securely
trapped between the two shrouds; he is consious
but unable to help himself. The force of the water has
pushed him as far aft as his leg will allow.

Wind Conditions
There are whitecaps, and the wind looks like 12-13
knots. The boat is sailing a deep broad reach, on port
tack, but heeled like it was on a starboard tack. The
other boats all appear to be in a stable angle of heel
and headed closer to a run. There is not sign of rolling
on the other boats as you would find in heavier winds.

Boat Condition:
The spinnaker pole is attached only at the clue on
the port side, and is free at the mast. The starboard
twing is in tight, the port twing is eased. The jib is down
on the foredeck. The main is all the way out on the
starboard side. Unlike most other boats, the Etchells
boom vang's typically could not be easily removed.

Other factors:
The middle crew is a woman, probably not strong
enough to pull the bowman back aboard. A strong
man might not be able to haul this soaking wet man
back aboard against the force of the water. The boat
appears to be in the middle of the fleet.

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]

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

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

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

DSK wrote

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

How would you do that? Dropping it in the water will
stop the boat quickly and perhaps put the mans head
underwater.

Bart Senior wrote:
How would you do that? Dropping it in the water will
stop the boat quickly and perhaps put the mans head
underwater.

?? I don't see how dropping the spinnaker, even if it goes trawling,
will put the crew overboard's head underwater if it wasn't already
underwater. Because the spinnaker is heeling the boat? But remember, the
guy was on the lee (mainsail) side so if that's true then it's an
unstable situation anyway; the boat would basically be in the first
stages of death-rolling.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Bart Senior wrote:

DSK wrote


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


How would you do that? Dropping it in the water will
stop the boat quickly and perhaps put the mans head
underwater.


He's got hand hasn't he?

Cheers

DSK wrote:

Bart Senior wrote:

How would you do that? Dropping it in the water will
stop the boat quickly and perhaps put the mans head
underwater.


?? I don't see how dropping the spinnaker, even if it goes trawling,
will put the crew overboard's head underwater if it wasn't already
underwater. Because the spinnaker is heeling the boat? But remember, the
guy was on the lee (mainsail) side so if that's true then it's an
unstable situation anyway; the boat would basically be in the first
stages of death-rolling.


In this case it would not matter as letting the spinny go frees upo the
crew to help the man. He just needs one hand to keep his head above
water! I agree with you Doug.

Cheers

Nav wrote:
.... I agree with you Doug.

Well golly, that's made my week... wait'll I tell my Mom...

DSK