Getting POB back on the boat.

Salty John

Salty John

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Following on from Bav34's interesting thread on persons overboard, has everyone given some thought to how to get the MOB back on board? Many years ago I was sailing on the Vaal Dam in South Africa when I was hailed by some people in the water around an anchored Jeanneau Fantasia. I found two blokes in the water, unable to get back on their own boat! They did not have a ladder deployed and the freeboard was such that they simply couldn't haul themselves back aboard. They were not in serious trouble because they could have swum ashore, but on all my boats since that time I have ensured that there is a permanent boarding ladder, easily deployable. As for getting an injured or unconcious person back on board, this is a difficult task, especially if the remaining crew is relatively weak. On Adriana we carried a hard dinghy on the fordeck so we were used to hauling a heavy object aboard. Our halyards were external and we had two masthead blocks that were fully articulating so it was no problem to hoist alongside. I wonder if others have considered this problem?
 
We usually sail as a couple, and have to recognise that, for all our fender and bucket expertise, for one person to come alongside and successfully bring in an unconscious person is verging on the doubtful. I also am somewhat heavier than Mme Sgeir.

In that situation, we could quickly reverse our mainsheet and use it as a crane. The mainsheet is attached to the boom and the traveller with two screwgate karabiners, and they can be reversed in seconds. In theory, the onboard person would attempt to hold the floating person with a boat hook, and clip the krab of the reversed mainsheet into the harness, and then haul up.

In reality, I ha'e ma doo'ts.
 
Having had several methods demonstrated/described, my own preference is for the Australian MOB Recovery Technique: -

Heave-to as quickly as possible, whilst assembling all remaining crew in the cockpit.
Once the whole company are assembled, you point in unision to a spot in the water somewhere behind the casualty and scream SHARK! whereupon the casualty can usually be relied upon to swiftly return and reboard without the need for outside assistance or expensive safety equipment
 
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That's more or less how I used to get my daughter out of the water when she was little! Her brother later refined the technique by imitating the theme from Jaws.
 
A boarding ladder is essental on any boat!I found myself in the water in St Tropez port! and there would have been no way to get out other than a very very long swim around the pontoons to the key.
As it happend we were haveing a bar bar Q party with our boats on three moorings and the boat next to mine put down his boarding ladder and we all climed aboard,I bought a ladder (secondhand ex riva wood) the same afternoon.

If it had been winter then there would have been no way out but a long long swim!!

All boats must have a boarding ladder!!
 
We've practised hauling each other out of the dinghy alongside the boat, pretending disabled MOB. Good value.

We use our redundant topping lift (Legend, innit) with a carabina on the end of it. This process drags poor victim up the side of the boat and over the guardrails but is easily do-able by each one of us on the winch.


Pops
 
We had this in reality a few years back, but with a jet-skier.

He had run out of petrol - was quite large - without a lifejacket (we subsequently found he had stolen the PWB!)

We dropped the sails and started the motor - there wasn't much wind as we were 200m off Helensburgh shore.

We threw a lifejacke to him - but he didn't know how to put it on - and he ended up falling into the water. These things are dreadfully unstable when stopped.

Bye bye lifejacket....

He swam to the stern of our Jeanneau Rush (no bathing step) and we dropped the ladder. He grabbed the ladder and folded his legs under the boat and around the rudder. I killed the engine. We were therefore helpless and heading for the shore.

Our boarding ladder was too short. It only had one rung below the water (and that was with his weight on it) He didn't have the strength to hoist himself up. I got a rope round his waist and tied a bowline and trid to pull him up but no way did I have the strength. He was hefty and was only wearing shorts and t-shirt - so no excess clothing.

I considered using the mainsheet - but ruled it out. It wouldn't have had enough purchase.

In the end we called up Clyde CG and they sent out the inshore boat. It took three crew to hoist him aboard the inshore inflatable.

We were told later (by the rnli) that we did the right thing - a husband and wife would have little chance without proper lifting gear.

The next weekend we purchased the Plastimo ladder that can clip to the toerail - another lifejacket to replace the one that just blew away - and at the end of that season sent the boarding ladder away to get 3 extra rungs added.

Note that this was in benign conditions and a nice sunny afternoon. A tired, helpless, non-swimmer would have been in extreme difficulty in these conditions. Our rubber dinghy was defalted in a locker. Even so - I dont think the casualty would have been able to get into it from the water.

This all took about 15 minutes from start to finish - arrival of the lifeboat.

Cause for concern.

Dont go in the water!!

Donald
 
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All boats must have a boarding ladder!!

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Or a rudder close to the waterline. I've been in twice [once singlehanded - but still attached to the boat with a long strop] and I have had crew in twice, in each case we have always got a foot on top of the rudder and used that as a step and hauled ourselves up on the pushpit. I have been fortunate that no-one has been unconscious, but the time I did it singlehanded I must admit I was buggered by the time I got aboard with three feet of freeboard and two feet of pushpit. The hardest bit was getting the boat to roundup.
 
Boat is 37ft pre-War gaff cutter, freeboard is from 60ins to 30 ins.

We carry a rigid dinghy on deck; this weighs 90 lbs and we use the staysail halyard hooked by the lower block onto the bow ring and a handy billy hooked to a transom ring to handle it.

Subject to the known risk of giving the casualty a heart attack by picking them up vertically, I would try to clip the staysail halyard to his/her lifejacket harness (and hope they's done up the crutch straps! The halyard is a 4:1 and could be led to the windlass warping drum, if, which heaven forbid, more power was needed.
 
We carry out dinghy in davits and plan A is to drop it onto the water then either the person would be able to get in unassisted or the other could climb into the dinghy and then help to roll them in.
It works in practice on decent warm sunny days.
Like Sgeir and Donald its almost always just the two of us so if it does happen on a windy day in big seas we acknowledge we would have a major problem. Sometimes that means that assessing the risk means staying put.
 
Good plan with an inflated inflatable.

Thinking further, the very obvious thought has just struck me (I'm a bit slow!) that the bosun's chair on the end of the halyard would be quite an improvement. I've kept the bosun's chair in the wet locker for years simply because its a handly place to put it, so it would not take long to grab it and clip it on (most of my halyards end in blocks with Wichard hooks on them)
 
When I began operating as a sea-school I gave this a lot of thought and practice: not just with bucket and fender, which is fine for teaching rapid-return to a casualty, but does not address the recovery problem. Like Sgeir, I have mainsheet attached by screw-karabiners; but also on the topping lift with an extended fall run close to the geared jib haliard winch.
I prefer to use that for recovery, since it allows the yacht to be stopped hove-to under a very tight main: not possible if you use the mainsheet.
Given the high risk of heart failure following a straight lift, the best lift is in the feotal position using a purpose-made long double sling (kept readily accessible of course, with the rapid-deployment rescue ladder). OR a long length of rope, doubled and knotted as a l-o-n-g bowline (or bowline-on-bight, if you really know your knots). The trick is to get one loop under the armpits, the other behind the knees while the casualty is still in the water. The rescuer usually has to be down close to waterline to achieve it, and that is the best use for a ladder: -- over the lee side, NOT at the stern. A bathing-ladder is better than nothing, but in a seaway a pitching stern is as likely to kill as to save a casualty. Use a proper rescue-ladder. Along-side is also the best place from which to lift by winching.
I used to have ONE of my trainees recover another (inert!) from the dinghy that way.
As soon as the lift begins, a person inevetaby folds into the feotal position, and since the lower limbs account for almost half the total, the stress on armpits and torso is greatly reduced. The casualty is compact and can be swung over the cockpit and, with a long enough top-lift (extend it!), straight down the hatch on to a berth. It is important to get a soaked, shocked casualty out of a cold wind fast!
 
Mast steps bolted to rudder

I have a raked transom with rudder attached so I thought i would fit two or three pairs of fold-out aluminium mast steps to it. A couple of boats at my yard have done this and it seems to work. The drag under sail would be minimal. In fact I posted about this a few months ago. Job is scheduled for spring. Of course it wouoldn't work in a big sea or if you are hurt/unconscious. But most accidents happen in benign conditions and as i often sail solo I think this might be a good plan. Any thoughts?
 
Re: Mast steps bolted to rudder

Of course you're right. But I spend a lot of time at anchor in lonely places and that's when accidents also happen, when your guard is down. If you can't get aboard in calm water what chance do you have in a lop?
 
Re: Mast steps bolted to rudder

Steps, even fold-out ones, may well spoil the laminar flow over the rudder and induce stalling, degrading efficiency much more than you think. I would not do it!

Put it this way: The rudder is my primary control of where the yacht is going: when the weather is hard, the sea lumpy, and the nearest hazard, be it rock, harbour wall or other vessel, is already too damn close, the last thing I want is a stalling rudder!
Single-handing, I would have my MOB (sorry, POB) rescue ladder (or a net) secured on one quarter, rolled up and fastened by a quick-release line long enough to trail.
 
As you can see from my avatar I spend quite a bit of time in the 'Oggin. Mostly, I jump in on purpose, but I have fallen out of dinghies (I fly a Laser as well as cruising the Pentland) from time to time.

We have a set of wooden boarding steps which only just reach the water. I find I can get a knee on the bottom step and then climb up. Couldn't do it with basic boarding or rope ladder. Might be a bit harder if I was suffering from Hypothermia.
 
Depending on the health and age of the casualty and weather/sea conditions and temperature You probably have up to 10/15 minutes to get the MOB back on baord before they loose their 'Grab Reflex' and wont be able to help themselves out and 'Hydrostatic Pull' becomes a concern, after 15 minutes in the water a concious casualty should not be lifted vertically but horizantally otherwise the shock may kill them (which is one of the reasons why the rescue helicopters use a double strop), therefore, when sailing short handed all practice drills should take this time factor into consideration.
If you are this concerend about potencial MOB situations may I suggest as well as practicing and getting the mechanics of getting them out the best way for you, you should consider some first aid at sea training which will provide you with basic knowlege on how to treat a casualty whilst in and after they have been rescued from the water.

Mari
 
[ QUOTE ]
straight down the hatch on to a berth. It is important to get a soaked, shocked casualty out of a cold wind fast!

[/ QUOTE ]

A casualty suffering from cold exposure/possibly hypothermia should move SLOWLY as they may have an irregular and agitated heart rhythm and any quick, jerky movements may make it worse or put them into shock as they walk (part of post rescue collapse), once exposed to the air immediately cover them in anything that will prevent evaporation and Follow guidelines for shock/hypothermia treatment whilst at sea.

Mari
 
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