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Grim MO in Maine
An experienced sailor went overboard from his 41 foot ketch on a trip
from Rockland ME to Rye NH for haul out. His 20 year old son was the only crew member and spent from last Saturday till yesterday (Thursday) drifting from off Boothbay Harbor to near Cape Cod. A Coast Guard jet spotted the boat with sails down and apparently abandoned after an extensive search and had a nearby fishing boat go over for a look. The son jumped overboard immediately when he saw the fishing boat and swam to it. He was then airlifted by chopper from the fishing boat to Cape Cod. By all accounts and what can be determined from a newspaper photo, the boat was capable and well equipped. No hint yet why the son was not able to start the engines or use the radios. You can bet I'll be giving my family another round of more intensive training next spring. -- Roger Long |
Grim MO in Maine
Roger Long wrote:
An experienced sailor went overboard from his 41 foot ketch on a trip from Rockland ME to Rye NH for haul out. His 20 year old son was the only crew member and spent from last Saturday till yesterday (Thursday) drifting from off Boothbay Harbor to near Cape Cod. A Coast Guard jet spotted the boat with sails down and apparently abandoned after an extensive search and had a nearby fishing boat go over for a look. The son jumped overboard immediately when he saw the fishing boat and swam to it. He was then airlifted by chopper from the fishing boat to Cape Cod. By all accounts and what can be determined from a newspaper photo, the boat was capable and well equipped. No hint yet why the son was not able to start the engines or use the radios. You can bet I'll be giving my family another round of more intensive training next spring. You bet. As a minimum, they should be able to use the VHF. |
Grim MO in Maine
Don White wrote:
Roger Long wrote: An experienced sailor went overboard from his 41 foot ketch on a trip from Rockland ME to Rye NH for haul out. His 20 year old son was the only crew member and spent from last Saturday till yesterday (Thursday) drifting from off Boothbay Harbor to near Cape Cod. A Coast Guard jet spotted the boat with sails down and apparently abandoned after an extensive search and had a nearby fishing boat go over for a look. The son jumped overboard immediately when he saw the fishing boat and swam to it. He was then airlifted by chopper from the fishing boat to Cape Cod. By all accounts and what can be determined from a newspaper photo, the boat was capable and well equipped. No hint yet why the son was not able to start the engines or use the radios. You can bet I'll be giving my family another round of more intensive training next spring. You bet. As a minimum, they should be able to use the VHF. Something like this happened to a man in the Bahamas and his wife couldn't turn off the autopilot or use the VHF either. She called for help on the SSB which happened to be tuned to a weather forecaster in the Virgin Islands, and he relayed the message to BASRA. It turned out that she had once been able to do those things, but she had Alzheimer's. grandma Rosalie |
Grim MO in Maine
I also leave the GPS running on the display with the Lat Long and make
sure they know the button that pages to it. I told them to read those numbers in their Mayday either on the radio or the cell phone which reaches most areas where we sail. -- Roger Long |
Grim MO in Maine
Someone once suggested to me pretending like the freeboard was 1000
feet and then thinking how your would approach deckwork. I'll admit to being rather casual on this point but I'm really thinking about this. -- Roger Long |
Grim MO in Maine
Roger Long wrote:
An experienced sailor went overboard from his 41 foot ketch on a trip from Rockland ME to Rye NH for haul out. His 20 year old son was the only crew member and spent from last Saturday till yesterday (Thursday) drifting from off Boothbay Harbor to near Cape Cod. A Coast Guard jet spotted the boat with sails down and apparently abandoned after an extensive search and had a nearby fishing boat go over for a look. The son jumped overboard immediately when he saw the fishing boat and swam to it. He was then airlifted by chopper from the fishing boat to Cape Cod. By all accounts and what can be determined from a newspaper photo, the boat was capable and well equipped. No hint yet why the son was not able to start the engines or use the radios. You can bet I'll be giving my family another round of more intensive training next spring. I misread the post as "2-year-old son". Surely a 20-year-old would have taken more notice of the boat's systems and how they operate? Granted he may not have been on the boat before, but all the more reason for the father to give him a thorough work-thru before leaving? Dennis. |
Grim MO in Maine
That's an interesting way to look at it. I usually have a somewhat similar
discussion when I'm teaching people on our 30 footer... asking what would it feel like to fall off the boat head first onto the dock. If you don't like that idea, don't jump! -- "j" ganz @@ www.sailnow.com "Roger Long" wrote in message ... Someone once suggested to me pretending like the freeboard was 1000 feet and then thinking how your would approach deckwork. I'll admit to being rather casual on this point but I'm really thinking about this. -- Roger Long |
Grim MO in Maine
In article ,
"Roger Long" wrote: I also leave the GPS running on the display with the Lat Long and make sure they know the button that pages to it. I told them to read those numbers in their Mayday either on the radio or the cell phone which reaches most areas where we sail. Crew Training is the responcability of the Skipper, and I, for one, go over the MayDay Card that is Posted by the radio with each, and every, person who boards my vessel, BEFORE we untie the lines..... Every time...... Me |
Grim MO in Maine
The new VHF radios have a nice red 16 button, and if you are out of
range for the VHF, IMHO: EPRBs are expensive, but should be high on the list if necessary equipment. It is a very sad and heart wrenching story. John S/V Pangea |
Grim MO in Maine
Roger Long wrote:
Someone once suggested to me pretending like the freeboard was 1000 feet and then thinking how your would approach deckwork. I'll admit to being rather casual on this point but I'm really thinking about this. My wife and I discussed this when offshore cruising. Our thought was that either of us fell overboard at night with the other sleeping, you're dead. Simple as that. Always wore our harnesses and clipped on to the jackline when leaving the cockpit. Never slipped or had an incident but you should take it seriously. We look upon lost hats overboard as improptu man overboard drills and usually recover them in about 2-4 minutes. But they are easy to miss and hard to see. A floating hat is similar to a head in the water. Makes you appreciate the usefulness of a Dan Buoy. Evan Gatehouse |
Grim MO in Maine
In Evan Gatehouse writes:
Roger Long wrote: Someone once suggested to me pretending like the freeboard was 1000 feet and then thinking how your would approach deckwork. I'll admit to being rather casual on this point but I'm really thinking about this. My wife and I discussed this when offshore cruising. Our thought was that either of us fell overboard at night with the other sleeping, you're dead. Simple as that. Always wore our harnesses and clipped on to the jackline when leaving the cockpit. Never slipped or had an incident but you should take it seriously. We look upon lost hats overboard as improptu man overboard drills and usually recover them in about 2-4 minutes. But they are easy to miss and hard to see. A floating hat is similar to a head in the water. Makes you appreciate the usefulness of a Dan Buoy. There is a minor difference in recovering a lost hat than recovering a adult human being. Your recovery time of 2-4 minutes are for sure close to unofficial world records, and I am afraid that even you might not match the times if either of you were in the water and the other one in the boat. Anyway this is not the issue, but there are several cases where the crew aboard had had trouble of getting the ones swimming back aboard. After a few minutes in the water, that is quite a cold in the northern and southern seas, the ability to catch and hold on to the rope is limited and to hoist a person even if you get hold of him/her is not as easy as some armchairsailors might think. There was a case some ten years ago here in Baltic, where the captain fell into the sea, and even though his vife and daughter and son in law got a rope to him and under his arms, they could not hoist him to the boat soon enough, to prevent him from dying in hypothermia. It was mid Jyly and the weather was reasonabl gentle. - Lauri Tarkkonen |
Grim MO in Maine
On Fri, 21 Oct 2005 11:21:25 GMT, "Roger Long"
wrote: Snippage You can bet I'll be giving my family another round of more intensive training next spring. You could try the "Captain for a day" rotation amoung your family. You would retain oversight powers and of coarse be there for advise. :o) They'll learn a lot and have fun being in charge for a day once in a while. As they get older/more profecient you could expand their duties into voyage planning for their day as Captain. Mark E. Williams |
Grim MO in Maine
Lauri Tarkkonen wrote:
In Evan Gatehouse writes: Roger Long wrote: Someone once suggested to me pretending like the freeboard was 1000 feet and then thinking how your would approach deckwork. I'll admit to being rather casual on this point but I'm really thinking about this. My wife and I discussed this when offshore cruising. Our thought was that either of us fell overboard at night with the other sleeping, you're dead. Simple as that. Always wore our harnesses and clipped on to the jackline when leaving the cockpit. Never slipped or had an incident but you should take it seriously. We look upon lost hats overboard as improptu man overboard drills and usually recover them in about 2-4 minutes. But they are easy to miss and hard to see. A floating hat is similar to a head in the water. Makes you appreciate the usefulness of a Dan Buoy. There is a minor difference in recovering a lost hat than recovering a adult human being. Your recovery time of 2-4 minutes are for sure close to unofficial world records, and I am afraid that even you might not match the times if either of you were in the water and the other one in the boat. Anyway this is not the issue, but there are several cases where the crew aboard had had trouble of getting the ones swimming back aboard. After a few minutes in the water, that is quite a cold in the northern and southern seas, the ability to catch and hold on to the rope is limited and to hoist a person even if you get hold of him/her is not as easy as some armchairsailors might think. There was a case some ten years ago here in Baltic, where the captain fell into the sea, and even though his vife and daughter and son in law got a rope to him and under his arms, they could not hoist him to the boat soon enough, to prevent him from dying in hypothermia. It was mid Jyly and the weather was reasonabl gentle. - Lauri Tarkkonen What's that little saying.... 50% of the people will last 50 minutes in 50 deg (F)water. They taught us to make a 'bowline on a bight' knot to help in this case....and if the boat is big enough, attach the main halyard to the boom end...the bight from aft end of boom to victim. Use winches to raise boom end (with victim secured) and swing over rail into boat. Could be tough to do in heavy seas. |
Grim MO in Maine
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Grim MO in Maine
The possibility of finding the person in the dark will be greatly enhanced
if you have a strobe that is water activated. For an offshore, short-handed journey, it's a small investment. -- "j" ganz @@ www.sailnow.com "Evan Gatehouse" wrote in message ... Roger Long wrote: Someone once suggested to me pretending like the freeboard was 1000 feet and then thinking how your would approach deckwork. I'll admit to being rather casual on this point but I'm really thinking about this. My wife and I discussed this when offshore cruising. Our thought was that either of us fell overboard at night with the other sleeping, you're dead. Simple as that. Always wore our harnesses and clipped on to the jackline when leaving the cockpit. Never slipped or had an incident but you should take it seriously. We look upon lost hats overboard as improptu man overboard drills and usually recover them in about 2-4 minutes. But they are easy to miss and hard to see. A floating hat is similar to a head in the water. Makes you appreciate the usefulness of a Dan Buoy. Evan Gatehouse |
Grim MO in Maine
Evan Gatehouse wrote:
My wife and I discussed this when offshore cruising. Our thought was that either of us fell overboard at night with the other sleeping, you're dead. Simple as that. MOB at night is not necessarily the end if are lucky enough to do it in the tropics in a major shipping lane. When my wife and I were off the coast of Panama in the shipping lanes we heard a call around 7am from a Ukrainian crewed freighter about a MOB. A crewman had gone overboard at around 1am, and the freighter was, for some reason, leaving the area. We were very close to the MOB position the freighter gave, and so we started moving towards it, though we didn't think the guy would be near there anymore since there was a 1-2 kt current. A Panamax container ship also heard the call and came charging to the scene (its interesting to have container ship pass 50 yards away going full speed) and, incredibly, spotted the guy within about 20 minutes about 5 miles down current from where he went overboard. By the time the Panamax managed to turn around and come to a stop 100 yards from the MOB we had caught up. The Panamax had to talk us to his position because we couldn't see him until we got within less than 100 feet, even though conditions were not particularly rough. We recovered him in using our dinghy (much easier than trying to pull him directly on board, which may have been impossible). The Ukrainian freighter came back for him, and we handed him over an hour later. What I learned from this is that its almost impossible to see someone's head from the deck of a sailboat if there is any chop at all, but that if you can get a large vessel involved in the search, even hours later, your odds improve immensely. Andy |
Grim MO in Maine
On Fri, 21 Oct 2005 15:38:28 GMT, "Roger Long"
wrote: Someone once suggested to me pretending like the freeboard was 1000 feet and then thinking how your would approach deckwork. I'll admit to being rather casual on this point but I'm really thinking about this. My four-year-old is getting a regular indoctrination on the concept of "one hand for the boat". We don't generally sail in rough enough weather to demand jacklines, but I can rig them if necessary. I installed preventers (as in big beefy one fixed on both sides with lines back to the cockpit) on the boom this year, as one of the prime ways sailors get knocked overboard around here is getting slapped in an unexpected gybe. The preventers act like "super vangs" and I use them instead of the mainsheet to do main gybes in heavy air. There's a lot less noise and fuss and possiblity of getting bonked. R. |
Grim MO in Maine
rhys wrote:
On Fri, 21 Oct 2005 15:38:28 GMT, "Roger Long" wrote: Someone once suggested to me pretending like the freeboard was 1000 feet and then thinking how your would approach deckwork. I'll admit to being rather casual on this point but I'm really thinking about this. My four-year-old is getting a regular indoctrination on the concept of "one hand for the boat". We don't generally sail in rough enough weather to demand jacklines, but I can rig them if necessary. I installed preventers (as in big beefy one fixed on both sides with lines back to the cockpit) on the boom this year, as one of the prime ways sailors get knocked overboard around here is getting slapped in an unexpected gybe. The preventers act like "super vangs" and I use them instead of the mainsheet to do main gybes in heavy air. There's a lot less noise and fuss and possiblity of getting bonked. R. Good idea..As one sailer who has been smacked in the head by the boom, I can tell you it's no fun. |
Grim MO in Maine
On 22 Oct 2005 21:02:36 -0700, "Andy"
wrote: What I learned from this is that its almost impossible to see someone's head from the deck of a sailboat if there is any chop at all, but that if you can get a large vessel involved in the search, even hours later, your odds improve immensely. This was an educational story. Thanks for sharing it. R. |
Grim MO in Maine
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Grim MO in Maine
On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 02:41:44 -0400, rhys wrote:
My four-year-old is getting a regular indoctrination on the concept of "one hand for the boat". We don't generally sail in rough enough weather to demand jacklines, but I can rig them if necessary. Install the jacklines as another learning experience. I was amazed to see how many grownups didn't clip in on our offshore adventures on another boat. I put it up to lack of imagination... My jacklines were in place from July 1 to haulout. I used them. Waiting to rig may be the same sort of thing as not reefing soon enough. It's really good to have jacklines already rigged when dousing sail and reefing. Ryk |
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