Chinese circumnavigator lost off Hawaii

MissFitz said:
"The search for a Chinese sailor who went missing in the Pacific while trying to set a world record has been suspended, the US Coast Guard said."

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-37784569
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Yes very sad.

If shore team "lost contact" on Tuesday, and search already called off on Thursday (am US time?) ........ so how long do the US coastguard maintain searches for even in what sounds like warm water?
 
dunedin said:
Yes very sad.

If shore team "lost contact" on Tuesday, and search already called off on Thursday (am US time?) ........ so how long do the US coastguard maintain searches for even in what sounds like warm water?
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How long, even in those temperatures, would someone last without a life jacket?

Rescuers boarded his drifting yacht and confirmed he was not there but found his life jacket.
 
The 70 foot tri sailed by the Chinese man has been found by a US coastguard plane in his last reported position with a torn mainsail in the sea, a ship was sent out but he wasn't on board and a search for his body failed. The sail could indicate he got hit by some serious bad weather.
 
Top sailors still go over the side, just at Top Pilots still loop too low.

All the rest of us can do is try to honour their memory by not repeating the mistake.

Re harnesses on boats, I always thought the ' Latchway ' system promoted after the '79 Fastnet should have been much wider adopted, maybe even enforced in racing rules for a start - it consists of a clever little job one clips one's harness line onto, it can climb over attachment points at stanchions etc on jackstays the length of a boat.

It was a bit expensive when introduced, but nothing by boat standards - and is now widely used in the construction industry - builders wiser than yachtsmen ?

A tip for people with boats around the 22-24' ish size or smaller; harness eyes at the foot of the mast ( so relatively helpfully inboard ) are within reach of a standard harness line from the cockpit, also allowing one to reach the stem for headsail changes etc.

I found - quite by accident I admit ! - I can leave a harness line clipped to one of these points by the mast, and transfer onto it before leaving the cockpit.
 
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Man Overboard, singlehanding...

This is of course the subject of a million threads and bar chats, as it should be.

Another tip I came across, as well as harness points by the mast; when singlehanding on autopilot I am extremely aware that if I go over, the last thing I'll ever see is my beloved boat merrily trundling away.

If crossing Poole Bay or anywhere outside the Solent I trail a 2mm line about 100 metres long with a foam key float on the end -the other end is led over the pushpit to the ram of the autohelm; a pull on it dislodges the autopilot, so the boat will round up, giving me a chance to get back.

This is no way ideal as it doesn't adjust the throttle if motoring, and getting back aboard even my low freeboard 22 footer is another major task ( I have a folding step on the transom and on long trips a flexible ladder within reach from the water ) but it's a start.

Just thoughts in case they help somebody sometime.
 
JumbleDuck said:
Rescuers boarded his drifting yacht and confirmed he was not there but found his life jacket.
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Doesn't that mean that they found a lifejacket on board rather than proving that he wasn't wearing an LJ? If I was a long distance solo sailor I would be sure to carry more than one LJ - just in case one got damaged by whatever reason.
 
Also one would carry spare lifejackets incase of people coming aboard, visitors or even people the singlehander has rescued; for the same reason singlehanded racers are required to carry lifebuoys, it's not ' to throw to themselves ', it's in case they come across someone in bother.

While it doesn't look good for this chap I often feel rescue services are too cost driven and give up too soon, there are some incredible survival stories.
 
nigelmercier said:
Haha. Wait ... You are joking?

I've removed my jackstays, bloody stupid idea. Plenty of inboard attachment points going forward.
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I think this is a great idea and it appears that this is the way that current thinking is heading. What I have read on the matter is that moving from secure point to secure point is far safer with some sailors even having dedicated harness lines attached to say the past position strong point. You can get to that position with your own harness line which is now reached its extent, pick up the mast harness line and clip it on and leaving your other one secured at a convenient point for the return trip i.e. at no point is one disconnected at any time. Of course there are limits and some thought on the placement of suitable fixed points to consider, but the strong point concept appear to be gaining ground over jackstays. Another advantage that you can't get swept along the deck.
 
What I have read on the matter is that moving from secure point to secure point is far safer
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I very strongly disagree with this idea. When ever you design a system you have to take human behavior into account. Think of doing a very small thing at the bow, like skirting the jib or connecting on a hank that you missed or putting the spinnaker guy through the pole clamp when launching the spinnaker. Are you really going to go through the process with your tether of clip off the cockpit, clip on the mast, clip off the mast, clip on the bow, clip off the bow, clip on the mast, clip off the mast, clip on the cockpit as you move forward and back for that one tiny job??? It's just normal human behavior that you won't bother. And what about changing headsails where you have to move back and forth from the cockpit to the bow a few times? You won't do it then either.

Any one of those times when you are not clipped on is the exact second where you are vulnerable. A jackline where you can easily move from the cockpit to the bow is the only way. I do this every time I go sailing, so I've got a lot of experience with it.
 
Seajet said:
Man Overboard, singlehanding...

This is of course the subject of a million threads and bar chats, as it should be.

Another tip I came across, as well as harness points by the mast; when singlehanding on autopilot I am extremely aware that if I go over, the last thing I'll ever see is my beloved boat merrily trundling away.

If crossing Poole Bay or anywhere outside the Solent I trail a 2mm line about 100 metres long with a foam key float on the end -the other end is led over the pushpit to the ram of the autohelm; a pull on it dislodges the autopilot, so the boat will round up, giving me a chance to get back.

This is no way ideal as it doesn't adjust the throttle if motoring, and getting back aboard even my low freeboard 22 footer is another major task ( I have a folding step on the transom and on long trips a flexible ladder within reach from the water ) but it's a start.

Just thoughts in case they help somebody sometime.
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nigelmercier said:
Haha. Wait ... You are joking? .
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Indeed, this summer we went for a swim off hayling Island in nil wind, the sea breeze eventually filled and with about 4 knots of wind and with bare poles only the boat was starting to become a bit challenging to catch up with. I would not have fancied my chances with the sails up nor with the engine on anything much beyond tick over.

Also what happens if somebody passes within 100 Meters behind you?
 
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As I said, I trail the line when outside the Solent; it's only like tailing a long log line, and a lot of us here grew up doing that.

Yes one has to keep it in mind and take the line in before doing any close quarters manouvering, especially motor in reverse, but that hasn't been a problem for the first 38 years with either the log or this autohelm line.

You'd have a much better chance of catching your boat if she's luffed up.

Try reading before posting.
 
Foolish Muse said:
Are you really going to go through the process with your tether of clip off the cockpit, clip on the mast, clip off the mast, clip on the bow, clip off the bow, clip on the mast, clip off the mast, clip on the cockpit as you move forward and back for that one tiny job?
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As an ex-climber I do. Therefore it might depend on how you were taught to use, as we call it in rock climbing, protection. Climbers work on the matra three points of contact for the rock, one to move. Sailors don't have that luxury as they often need to work with only two points of contact - both hands are involved in a task and I suggest that because of this that the level of protection needs to be greater.

Foolish Muse said:
A jackline where you can easily move from the cockpit to the bow is the only way. I do this every time I go sailing, so I've got a lot of experience with it.
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A few questions are raised about this that I would like to explore:

Do you single hand?

How many times has the jack line saved you from going over the side?

Is there a heart stopping second or two before the tether goes taught and you feel your fall arrested?

Is there a risk of a repeat of the Lion1 fatality, with slack jack lines of you being dragged along the side of the hull at 5 knots unable to move due to the pressure of water. I know the skipper was only tethered to the boat in this incident, but can foresee extra slack in the system causing the same problem.

Are there any improvements can you suggest to a simple jack line running along the side deck?

With the current set up of crusing boats, where everything is lead back to the cockpit, how much time do we actually need to spend on the foredeck? Personally, I avoid going forward unless absolutely necessary, but did spend a fantastic hour sorting out a problem in the pulpit during the summer of 2015. The mug of tea that greeted my on my return to the cockpit was very welcome, thankfully crewed that day. Following that incident I sat down and re-engineered the set up in the pulpit so I won't need to repeat that task again. Racing boats might be different, but they usually sail in a fleet and are crewed.

Those of us who single hand are aware of the risks of "involuntary stepping off the boat" as I like to call it and take our own decisions about how we reduce, as Dougal Haston called it, the "Calculated Risk2" of having a great voyage against not coming home for tea and crumpet, an interesting book for a dark winters night by the fire.

1. [https://www.gov.uk/maib-reports/per...acht-lion-off-selsey-bill-west-sussex-england]

2. Haston, Dougal (1979). Calculated Risk. London: Diadem Books. ISBN 0-906371-45-7
 
>I was a long distance solo sailor I would be sure to carry more than one LJ - just in case one got damaged by whatever reason.

When long distance sailing we viewed life jackets as something you put on when you get in the liferaft. The whole point is not to go overboard so we used to clip on always at night and in bad weather, a short tether was used to go forward to the mast on hands and knees and the long tether put around the mast to stop falling back.
 
Torp said:
Bit rude. Try swimming after a wayward boat before dismissing a valid concern.
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Torp,

Little Grebe has taken lately to automatically having a go at me, without reading what I've said.

If one dislodges the autohelm from any normal sailing boat, she will luff up; normally staying stalled just off head to wind - if she tacks the headsail will be aback, so hove to.

I have indeed tried swimming after boats - I used to tow people around, and them tow me, from my Scorpion and Osprey dinghies - and every experienced dinghy racer I know has had the experience, on windy days, where after the odd capsize the halliard tails go through the self bailers; more than once I have grabbed this halliard as it went past, stopping the boat via my drag turning it into wind - whether via a gybe doesn't really matter, and with a dinghy a capsize stops it.

I have swum after a lot of boats in my time, not always for fun; I rate my Dart 18 cat' as the worst to try to catch, as it managed a fair rate even on its side in a strong breeze, due to the windage of the trampoline and uphill hull.

This trailing halliards thing is probably what gave me the idea.

I said it wasn't perfect, but offered it as an aid for people to consider - anything is better than taking no precautions and waving your boat goodbye as she departs the scene with a fully functioning autopilot.
 
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