"Larry" wrote in message
...

pruned

Jump overboard from your lofty helm perch and start frantically
screaming
and waving your arms in distress. Click the stopwatch on your
diver's
Rolex Oyster to time this event.

How long was it before they got her turned around and came
effortlessly
alongside your position to retrieve you, using the finest
navigation and
methods of retrieval?

As a matter of interest, do all US boats have boarding/bathing
ladders?

In the nice warm Mediterranean, most boats do. Easily the best and
quickest aid to getting someone aboard in most circumstances.

In the cold waters of UK, they're rare. Perverse? 'Blow up that
dinghy - Fast!'

JimB

"Peter HK" wrote in news:r2iDf.230844$V7.46418
@news-server.bigpond.net.au:

Surprisingly, I still go sailing with my brother.



This newsgroup could sure use a lot more stories like this than it gets....

Thanks, Peter!

sherwindu wrote in
:

Yes, it's another one of those monohulls going down to the bottom with
their heavy keels.

Sherwin D.



Er, ah, take off the catamaran glasses and read the article, again. The
boat SELF RIGHTED after they fell overboard....as the bilge pumps cleaned
out the mess above that heavy ol' keel.

Of course, he could have been upside down in a cat, gasping for air I
suppose.

He died of hypothermia, not monohullitis. If he'd not been thrown
overboard, he would have been below putting on dry clothes.

Barlows winches arrrrrrrrrrrrgh
I have scars across my eyebrow and forehead ( ~12 stitches) from a
Barlow that spun loose from the spindle. I was straining on the mast
mounted winch to reset halyard tension when it came off, the drum
travelled along the tailed, sheet hit my arm and the gyroscopic motion
of the drum kept it going as it then hit me squarely in the face/head..
It broke my good glass sunglasses, parted my eyebrow and knocked me out
for about 30-60 seconds. It was s sunny day with moderate winds so
therefore I had no harness on; but, my wife tellls me the lifeline
sling-shotted me back onto the sidedeck.where I pumped a lot of blood
onto the teak deck.

After that episode we develped a routine MOB drill for such
eventualities. By the way, instead of diving over the side to
retrieve the drum for the Balow, it threw it over the side as I
remembered how many times I had gone aloft the mast (58ft from the
water) hanging solely from this winch. Those damn 'push button'
release Barlows can kill you - If you have them, trash them and replace
with something 'safe'.

;-)

In article , Peter HK
wrote:

"Larry" wrote in message
...

Try this and see how you come out.....

Take out your usual crew of people, some partially sailors, some not,

Take her out in the harbor to a big open area with few boats you might
endanger.

Jump overboard from your lofty helm perch and start frantically screaming
and waving your arms in distress. Click the stopwatch on your diver's
Rolex Oyster to time this event.

Watch the reaction from back aboard by your crack crew of wife, kids,
friends, business associates and those still drinking your beer.

How long was it before they got her turned around and came effortlessly
alongside your position to retrieve you, using the finest navigation and
methods of retrieval?


I've actually experienced this scenario almost exactly, though it was my
crazy brother- not me- who dived off the boat unexpectedly, and it was not
in a "big open area with few boats"

We were heading out for a race, had just hoisted the mainsail when the winch
barrel on an old Barlow 16 winch popped of and rolled over the side (they
had a spring loaded retaining mechanism which was hopeless). The crew
consisted of my brother and myself (both with many years of racing and
cruising experience) and a friend who had been out sailing a couple of
times.

As the winch barrel rolled over, out of the corner of my eye, I saw my
brother dive in after it! We were in the middle of the channel leading out
of the boat harbour with maybe 10-12 other boats heading out to the start- a
few had to dodge him. He had actually grabbed it and was holding the winch
barrel aloft like a prize.

After the first few seconds of stunned disbelief, I explained to Graeme, my
inexperienced crewman, how to drop the mainsail, we dropped it, started the
diesel (there was no manoeuvring room in the channel to sail) and motored
back to get my idiot brother. Total time about 3 minutes.

I had been planning to replace that crappy old winch for some time, but,
because it was there, hadn't bothered. It would have been an ideal
opportunity- but it was still there when I sold the boat a couple of years
later.

Surprisingly, I still go sailing with my brother.

Peter HK

Thats an interesting comment.

I spent a lot of time in my youth in the Canadian maritimes and on the
'rock' Newfoundland. I asked the question in an outport of why the
women so outnumbered the men. The answer was - they all drowned.
Incredulous I then asked doesnt any know how to swim? The reply to
that was - no they didnt bother learn to swim because it was a waste of
time. A waste of time!!!! why is that so, if so many drowned?????
The next answer - the water is so cold that even the best swimmer could
only survive a few minutes anyway so why bother to go through all that
trouble and drown anyway.

The Titanic sunk off the Canadian maritimes and probably all that
drowned, suffered hypothermia first, then drowned.

Rich Hampel wrote:
Thats an interesting comment.

I spent a lot of time in my youth in the Canadian maritimes and on the
'rock' Newfoundland. I asked the question in an outport of why the
women so outnumbered the men. The answer was - they all drowned.
Incredulous I then asked doesnt any know how to swim? The reply to
that was - no they didnt bother learn to swim because it was a waste of
time. A waste of time!!!! why is that so, if so many drowned?????
The next answer - the water is so cold that even the best swimmer could
only survive a few minutes anyway so why bother to go through all that
trouble and drown anyway.

The Titanic sunk off the Canadian maritimes and probably all that
drowned, suffered hypothermia first, then drowned.

One of our cameramen went on a shoot up north half a dozen years ago.
He asked the Inuit fishermen (who weren't wearing lifejackets) what to
do if the boat sank. They said to drink lots of water on the way
down... in other words, don't prolong the agony.
It's not that bad in the Maritimes during the June-October period.
In some bays on the Atlantic side, the water reaches mid to high 60s.
On the Northumberland Straight, even higher.
What do they say... in 50 degree water, half the people could last half
an hour. We all know that sailors are more rugged than most!

News f2s wrote:
"Larry" wrote in message
...

pruned

Jump overboard from your lofty helm perch and start frantically
screaming
and waving your arms in distress. Click the stopwatch on your
diver's
Rolex Oyster to time this event.


How long was it before they got her turned around and came
effortlessly
alongside your position to retrieve you, using the finest
navigation and
methods of retrieval?


As a matter of interest, do all US boats have boarding/bathing
ladders?

In the nice warm Mediterranean, most boats do. Easily the best and
quickest aid to getting someone aboard in most circumstances.

In the cold waters of UK, they're rare. Perverse? 'Blow up that
dinghy - Fast!'

JimB



In Canada a re-boarding device is a requirement on boats 6 metres or
over with a freeboard in excess of .5 metre.
http://boating.ncf.ca/equipment.html

"Don White" wrote in message
news:abqDf.3902$VV4.103038@ursa-
As a matter of interest, do all US boats have boarding/bathing
ladders?

In the nice warm Mediterranean, most boats do. Easily the best
and quickest aid to getting someone aboard in most
circumstances.

In the cold waters of UK, they're rare. Perverse? 'Blow up that
dinghy - Fast!'

JimB



In Canada a re-boarding device is a requirement on boats 6
metres or over with a freeboard in excess of .5 metre.
http://boating.ncf.ca/equipment.html

Interesting. But in my opinion the reboarding device has to be
permanently mounted in such a way that a person in the water (as -
falling into the sea while boarding, a common event, even at the
dockside) can immediately swim round to it, drop the ladder and
climb back aboard.

JimB

"News f2s" wrote in message
...

"Larry" wrote in message
...

pruned

Jump overboard from your lofty helm perch and start frantically screaming
and waving your arms in distress. Click the stopwatch on your diver's
Rolex Oyster to time this event.

How long was it before they got her turned around and came effortlessly
alongside your position to retrieve you, using the finest navigation and
methods of retrieval?

As a matter of interest, do all US boats have boarding/bathing ladders?

In the nice warm Mediterranean, most boats do. Easily the best and
quickest aid to getting someone aboard in most circumstances.

In the cold waters of UK, they're rare. Perverse? 'Blow up that dinghy -
Fast!'

JimB

I think and most experts agree that boarding from the stern is a bad idea in
all but the most benign conditions. Certainly there are times in the Med
when it's fine, but other times are not ok. Warm water isn't the only
critieria.

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

...that boarding from the stern is a bad idea...

Jonathan... Can you elaborate on the aforementioned statement?

I think you and/or some others have before... but please refresh
my memory.

Tnx for the tutorial...

Bill