Correct MOB retrieval

[thinwater]

That is good to a point:

• The person in the water is conscious and can grab hold of the sling; and
  
  
• does not recover the person into the boat

There are all sorts of kit designed to lift a person out of the 'oggin'*, to date I've not seen any of them tested in anything but a glassy calm.

I, like most people (you do don't you?), do a MOB drill every few times out on the water, even with lots of practice you mess it up from time to time in a moderate sea and in a rough one it is hard as 'Bob' keeps disappearing behind waves. On one boat I sail on is 30 metres with about 3 metres between the top of the capping rail and water level we always put somebody over the side to do a horizontal lift.

I understand the teaching about hydrostatic squeeze and the need to lift casualties horizontally comes as a result of winching a casualty from the sea into a helicopter. The length of time a casualty is in a strop, apart from being bloody uncomfortable in my experience, is much much longer than pulling somebody onto a 15 metre yacht.

Moving onto tethers does anybody know why the current standard does not have a locking karabiner on the lifejacket/harness end. I used them all the time when I climbed and am always very conscious that I could accidentally unclip my LifeJacket end on a dark and stormy night.

* the sea

Good stuff. Yes, it was just one exaple. The victim does need to be conscious (or you need a swimmer). They do sell accesory tackle kits and include halyard winching instructions. Yes, I have done this. Yes, a collar is uncomfortable. Also, you need to keep your elbows down or you can come out (people frequently reach up to help, which is a mistake).

The likelyhood of a non-locking carabiner coming loose unless clipped to a rigid point is very, very low. Climbers use them thousands of times a day. In favor of non-locking carabiners is that they are faster, considerably easier to use with stiff hands, and less prone to locking open due to corrosion. Climbers could use more locking carabiners, but depending on the situation, ease of use can trump a small increase in security. Speed and ease with stiff hands is VERY important. Either choice is a compromise.

 

[thinwater]

Clipper use a recovery person in a harness who is lowered into the water beside the MOB. The recovery person fits the lifting device and the crew raise the MOB out. It works for them, they have the kit and do the training, with large crew, capable of demarcation of jobs.

Getting to the victim was well done.

The rigging of the swimmer, in an inflated harness, was comical. He should have been in a kayak-style PFD and I would have let him swim free. Much easier, faster, and safer. But the only style point that matter are getting the victim back, and they passed that test.