Man Overboard

Mastering a recovery system is essential for every yacht owner and
crewmember.
By Chris Caswell


Photo: Steve Pereira
We heard the splash and then the blood-chilling cry, "Man overboard!"

Leaping out of the cabin, all we could see was a fast-diminishing dark head
in the broad white wake, tossed about by the swells and clearly struggling
to stay afloat. Now what?

Happily, this was just one of literally hundreds of tests we carried out
this summer during the Crew Overboard Symposium on San Francisco Bay. An
elite group of sailors, powerboaters and concerned boating experts had
gathered to evaluate better ways and better equipment for dealing with these
situations, and our "victim" was really a strong and capable scuba diver.

After four days of exhaustive testing and re-testing of rescue methods and
equipment, I learned one lesson that had been drilled in time after time
until it became a mantra that I chanted as I toppled into bed each night:
Don't fall overboard.

The Crew Overboard Symposium (COB) was sponsored and organized by several
safety-minded groups and spearheaded by marine supplier West Marine, along
with Modern Sailing Academy, a sailing school based in Sausalito,
California. These two had collaborated in the 1990s on a similar man
overboard program, when they discovered several safe and innovative ways for
sailboats to retrieve overboard crewmembers that are now accepted worldwide.
Funding for this event came from the Bonnell Cove Foundation, a nonprofit
arm of the Cruising Club of America dedicated to improving boating safety,
with additional support from BoatU.S., North Sails and the Sailing
Foundation of Seattle.

An expert committee headed the COB, including Chuck Hawley of West Marine,
John Connolly of Modern Sailing Academy, Ruth Wood of BoatU.S. Foundation
for Boating Safety, Karen Prioleau of Orange Coast College Sailing, and John
Rousmaniere, author of The Annapolis Book of Seamanship and a former
Yachting editor.

During the four days, more than 115 volunteers took part, and 40 different
rescue devices were tested in conditions ranging from smooth water and light
winds up to choppy seas and 36-knot gusts. Perhaps more amazing was the
large group of volunteer "victims": experienced divers willing to brave the
icy waters and turbulent currents of San Francisco Bay in a quest for
knowledge. They jumped overboard more than 400 times, which sets a new
standard both for stamina and sheer foolishness.

Fifteen different boats ranging from 21 to 53 feet participated, including a
dozen sailboats and three powerboats, making this the largest ever crew
overboard/rescue trial with a representative range of American boats. A
formal report will be issued after all the facts and statistics have been
merged with the input from the nightly debriefing sessions. As it turned
out, I learned enough to fill a book even without the report.

First, the sailboat testing pretty much proved that sailors are better
prepared than powerboaters for a man-overboard crisis. The very nature of
sailboats, with sails and booms and lots of foot-tripping gear on deck,
makes going overboard a real possibility. Sailors have developed
well-established methods and equipment for handling such a situation.

Powerboaters, on the other hand, generally live in an it-can't-happen-to-me
world. Cosseted by comfy seats and surrounded by rails, most powerboaters
simply aren't prepared for someone falling overboard. Nearly every sailboat
has some sort of throwable rescue device near the cockpit; very few
powerboats have such an item. So when someone does go ass-over-teakettle
into the drink, the powerboaters look pretty incompetent.

I spent my time on the water aboard Five Star, a Grand Banks 42 loaned and
skippered by Gerry Ramsey, who didn't flinch as we dragged lines, gear and
"victims" across his immaculate varnishwork. It was an eye-opening
experience and it added a corollary to my mantra: If you have to fall
overboard, don't fall from a powerboat.

Humor aside, there are really five parts to a man overboard recovery. A
breakdown in any part doesn't bode well for the person in the water, so each
needs to be understood clearly. Even more important, the man-overboard
procedure should be practiced and practiced, which is something I'll return
to later.

The five segments of a recovery are as follows:

Getting buoyancy to the victim.
Keeping the victim in sight.
Returning to the victim.
Connecting the victim to the boat.
Retrieving the victim on board.
Getting buoyancy to a victim is essential. It's unlikely he's wearing a
lifejacket and trying to keep one's head above water even in a slight chop
can be exhausting. In big seas, it's deadly.

The U.S. Coast Guard regulations require a type IV throwable device to be
immediately available aboard nearly every boat larger than 16 feet. For most
boats, that's the ubiquitous square life cushion that often ends up buried
uselessly in a cockpit locker. So get that cushion near the helm and keep it
there! Even better is to insist that everyone on deck wear flotation. An
unobtrusive and comfortable life vest that inflates automatically costs
between $100 and $200. It's good insurance.

Before any of the tests were tried on a living volunteer, we practiced by
using Oscar, a foam-headed mannequin that was weighted to resemble a person
in the water. Once again, there was a revelation: A bobbing head is damned
hard to see even in nearly smooth water. Oscar was Styrofoam white, so he
should have easily been visible against the gray-blue Bay waters, but
several times we found ourselves looking around: "Where'd Oscar go?"
Swimmers were even more difficult to spot. Aboard the Grand Banks, our
swimmer was Dr. Page Read, whose dark hair made him tough to see until he
pulled up his bright orange jacket hood.

The key to keeping track of the victim is to have one person
never-never!-take his eyes off the swimmer. The spotter should hang onto the
boat with one hand and point at the swimmer with the other so that the
skipper has a ready visual indication of the swimmer's location even if he
can't communicate with the spotter. When practicing a man-overboard
procedure, give everyone a chance at being the spotter, because it's more
difficult than you'd think.

If there is a "man overboard" button on your GPS, now is the time to punch
it. On some units, it gives a return course to the swimmer; on others it
gives a graphic display of his location.

The first two segments-getting the victim buoyancy and having a
spotter-should be done both immediately and concurrently, while the skipper
quickly decides how best to return to the victim. It's here that we found
some variables. First, you have to know your boat and, once again, that
comes only with practice. For some powerboats, the fastest way to get back
to the victim in the water is to spin the steering wheel hard over before
you even touch the throttles. On other boats, you may want to chop the
throttles and then spin the wheel. You can figure this out by throwing that
life cushion over and seeing which method works best on your boat.

While doing your tests, remember to turn the boat in each direction, because
some boats may turn better to port than starboard. Aboard Five Star, we
found that chopping the throttles and then spinning the wheel made for the
smallest turning circle, perhaps because the long keel wanted to go straight
at higher speeds. We also turned to starboard, not because it was faster,
but because both upper and lower helm positions were offset to starboard, so
the skipper had a better view of the victim in the water.

Theoretically, you should be able to simply drive back to your victim, stop
upwind and drift down gently on the victim while you throw him a line. In
real life, a powerboat rolling in lumpy seas can be dangerous to the victim
in the water, so the skipper needs to judge the situation and decide on
approaching from leeward or on either side.

One danger posed by powerboats is the propellers. Without use of the
engines, the boat can't maneuver, but, on the other hand, having someone in
the water, with propellers turning nearby, is asking for trouble. Our
solution was to kill the engine on the side nearest the swimmer, which left
us with limited maneuverability and more safety. A requirement of the
skipper, however, is what fighter pilots call "situational awareness." He
needs to know that, for whatever reason, the victim hasn't been moved around
to the side with the live engine and, if so, he should kill that engine as
well.

Once you've returned to the swimmer's area, you need to connect him to the
boat. That can be as simple as heaving a line to the victim, throwing one of
the line-toss devices that improve accuracy or pulling a line past the
swimmer.

Without putting too fine a point on it, most boaters can toss a dockline to
the pier but have no idea how to heave a coiled line 40 or 50 feet with
accuracy. For that reason, a throw-rope bag works well. This is basically a
cloth bag with a handle, filled with neatly coiled line. You hang onto the
end of line protruding from the bag and, with a gentle underhand toss (like
horseshoes), you can lob the bag up to 70 feet with accuracy.

I think the best powerboat solution for connecting with the victim, and one
that we proved again on San Francisco Bay, is the Lifesling. This is a
horseshoe-shaped buoy at the end of a length of line. By tossing the
Lifesling over the stern, you turn the boat in a circle around the victim.
Just as with a waterski tow rope, the Lifesling line will cross the swimmer,
who can slide down to the end. There, he puts the padded horseshoe around
his back and under his arms.

Lifeslings are available in either a solid or an inflatable version, and
both worked well. One strength of the Lifesling is that it allows a
powerboat to use its maneuverability to deliver the line to the swimmer,
rather than trying to throw a line. Furthermore, it also keeps the swimmer
well away from the props until connected and, last, it's a good solution for
singlehandedly recovering a man overboard.

Sadly enough, simply connecting the swimmer to the boat isn't the end of the
crisis. There have been several tragic situations where a lone crewmember
aboard was able to get a line to the victim, but couldn't get him aboard
before hypothermia set in with fatal results. The high freeboard of most
powerboats makes them a Mt. Everest to the swimmer. "No problem," you say.
"I'll just use the swim platform at water level to retrieve the victim."

Maybe not. Unless the water is nearly calm (and who falls overboard in calm
water?), the pitching of a powerboat in swells can turn the swim platform
into a deadly hammer that can smash down on an unwary swimmer. No, the swim
platform is probably the last place you want to use to retrieve your
swimmer. We tried several different methods on the Grand Banks, starting
with the basic Lifesling. As we expected, we could get the victim up to the
hull side, but none of us could lift the deadweight of a soggy man three or
four feet into the cockpit.



The lifesling in action.


Our Grand Banks was equipped with a davit on the boat deck and, since the
Lifesling can be used for hoisting, we gave that a try and it worked well.
Once hooked, a touch of the button and our victim was standing on the aft
deck.

If you don't have a handy davit, a padeye can be installed high on the cabin
side or even a radar arch so you can use a 5-1 hoisting tackle to achieve
the same result. With the tackle, a 200-pound man could be hoisted by a
woman without needing to pull more than 40 pounds and, in the adrenaline of
the moment, that should be no problem.

In one of the debriefings, Dan Rugg, Sailing Master of the U.S. Naval
Academy, Grand Banks owner Gerry Ramsey and I were discussing how we might
deal with a shorthanded retrieval aboard his boat. We would have the
throwable Lifesling at the flying-bridge helm (where Gerry normally runs the
boat) but attached to the lower cockpit. Thus he could throw the Lifesling
into the water, drag it past the victim, and then shut down the engines. Mov
ing to the lower deck, he could bring the victim alongside and secure him
temporarily while he hooked up the davit and then hoisted him aboard. It was
a plan that was not just feasible, but one whose elements we'd already
tested.

We also tried various types of ladders to help a victim climb up the
topsides into the cockpit. Several were of such flimsy netting that they
twisted up from the water motion and were more likely to tangle the victim
than help him aboard. The one that we all liked was the Markus Rescue Net, a
Finnish invention made of heavy webbing (www.markuslifenet.com). It
resembled the cargo nets that WWII troops used to climb down into landing
craft, and it's proven very successful with Scandinavian fishing fleets. We
liked it because it was stiff enough to stay in place, deep enough that our
victim could get his feet on it in the water and easily attached to the
handrails aft.

Of course, a victim suffering from hypothermia, exhaustion or even
unconsciousness isn't going to be climbing nimbly up the cargo net. In that
situation, the Markus net can be used to "roll" them up the hull. By
bringing the net under a victim lying horizontally in the water, the net can
be hoisted either by manpower or a tackle and the victim is brought to deck
level. An unconscious victim may get bonked occasionally on the hull as the
boat rolls but, hey, the alternative isn't really that good. Page Read, our
victim, said that it was surprisingly comfortable and would work well with
hypothermia victims, who should be lifted in the prone position.

One intriguing piece of equipment was the Alert Man-Overboard Alarm
(www.alert2.com) that combines several functions into one package. A
water-activated transmitter, about the size of a mini-flashlight, is clipped
to each crewmember. Once overboard, it transmits a radio signal to a
receiver on board, which sets off a very loud alarm, alerting the entire
crew.

Then, using the Alert Direction Finder, the boat can home in on the victim
from as far away as one mile. In testing, the loud horn and red LED on the
direction finder pointed us directly back within feet of the victim.

So far, I've talked about what the rescuers should do, but what about the
victim? First of all, as I said earlier, don't fall overboard. If you must,
be sure you're wearing flotation.

Once you're in the water, make yourself visible. Splash the water around
you, or pull up a bright-colored hood. Don't try to swim after the boat:
Save your strength to swim to the flotation device. Keep your clothing on
and trap air inside, but get rid of non-buoyant items like boots. Shouting
doesn't carry as far as you think, but a whistle (on that life vest you're
wearing) carries a really long way upwind.

If the water is cold and hypothermia is a danger, assume the Heat Escape
Lessening Posture (HELP). Cover your head with a hat or hood, keep your head
out of the water as much as possible, and keep your arms at your sides and
across your chest. Your lower legs should be crossed with the knees together
and, if the sea conditions permit, raised.


Designated victim Dr. Page Read demonstrates an alert 2 module, which clips
to crew members and emits a shrieking alarm if one goes overboard.
Photo: Steve Pereira
You can improve your visibility in lumpy seas with a rescue streamer, which
drifts out behind you like a brightly colored arrow pointing to your
location, or with a signaling mirror that can put out a flash of light to
your rescuers even on an overcast day.

Other miscellaneous lessons from the Crew Overboard Symposium included the
following:

Everyone on board must know how to use the radio to communicate effectively
in an emergency. Murphy's Law says that if only one person knows how to use
the radio, that's the person who will go overboard. In several cases, lives
have been lost because the crew re-maining aboard didn't know how to call.
Speaking of calling the Coast Guard, the cell phone is proving to be an
effective lifesaver, but only if you know the phone number for the local
Coast Guard base. Simply dialing 911 will get you the state police, who may
or may not be able to transfer you to the Coast Guard. One suggestion is to
program the local Coast Guard number into your cell phone, putting it at the
top of the list by naming it something like A-Coastguard. Of course, be sure
that everyone knows that's only one of the ways to reach the Coasties.
Aboard a powerboat maneuvering near a victim, it's easy to lose sight of the
swimmer. Like the trucks that have signs reading "If you can't see my
mirrors, I can't see you," skippers need to take extra care when the swimmer
is close aboard. Having the spotter call out the range ("ten feet, eight
feet, right alongside") is helpful.
Don't lose track of your transmissions. In the hectic moments as you near
the victim, it's very easy to forget that the starboard engine is still
ticking over in reverse. First, make sure your crew knows that shouting
isn't helpful and, second, regularly check where the shift levers are
positioned.
Whatever rescue gear you put on board, whether it's just a length of line
and a throwable cushion or a Lifesling or something more sophisticated like
the Alert2 system, you must practice using it.
There is probably a core group aboard your boat that cruises with you
regularly. Make sure they know how to use the rescue gear, call for help on
the radio and act as spotters.
Here's one final piece of advice that you were probably expecting: Don't
fall overboard!
Chuck Hawley of West Marine and Daren Prioleau of Orange Coast College
Sailing field questions.
Photo: Steve Pereira
Swimming for an inflated lifesling.
Photo: Steve Pereira
An array of night lights
Photo: Steve Pereira
Oscar the "crash-test dummy" proved difficult to spot.
Photo: Steve Pereira
Wiggling into a survival suit.
Photo: Steve Pereira
A cargo-net style recovery system, used to roll up a hypothermic victim.
Photo: Steve Pereira

In article t,
Bob Crantz wrote:
Man Overboard

The Crew Overboard Symposium (COB) was sponsored and organized by several
safety-minded groups and spearheaded by marine supplier West Marine, along
with Modern Sailing Academy, a sailing school based in Sausalito,
California. These two had collaborated in the 1990s on a similar man
overboard program, when they discovered several safe and innovative ways for
sailboats to retrieve overboard crewmembers that are now accepted worldwide.
Funding for this event came from the Bonnell Cove Foundation, a nonprofit
arm of the Cruising Club of America dedicated to improving boating safety,
with additional support from BoatU.S., North Sails and the Sailing
Foundation of Seattle.

Yup. It was a great event. I used to rent boats from Modern, which is
a great place to do that, btw.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com