Man Overboard write up and pics

Marmalade

Marmalade

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I'll leave others to write about their experiences. The sense from the participants I took was that (as previously found) getting someone back on board was harder than anticipated.

Anyway - here's some pics... I've put them in a Flickr album as the pic uploader here is always a little fickle for me!

https://www.flickr.com/gp/79387246@N05/95h181
 
Excellent!! Did they go to the next phase, and all jump overboard and get into the liferaft? Or even step into it as though the flames were licking their asses, or the gunnels were about to disappear under the waves?
 
Thank you Simon for all the help you gave us all. And thanks too to Roger for organising it.

My observations (as one of the victims!)
Get a tether on the MOB as soon as you can.
A lifejacket gets in the way of the harness - I could not find the loop to clip the lifting strop onto, because it was under the inflated LJ. It may be helpful to partially deflate the LJ, provided the MOB is secured to the boat, of course. If the MOB cannot secure him/herself to the lifting strop, or get into the other recovery things, then it is going to be close to impossible for those on board to help.
4:1 tackles on a halyard or the boom end work OK as long as the lead to the winch is at the right angle.
The "elevator" technique was hopeless for us, because the strong current did not allow me to get my feet under me - it may work if there is no current.
We didn't have a sail or similar for that technique, but it looks promising.
The tide at Marconi was too strong for me to swim against, and I am a reasonably strong swimmer. Being towed against it was unpleasant, so being towed behind a boat underway would be be a lot worse than unpleasant!
If you do this again, then the MOBs need drysuits not just wetsuits - I was close to hypothermia after three rescues - and find somewhere with less tide, if possible.
The life raft demo was interesting and there was a lot of useful stuff in it - consider being present when yours is serviced to see what is in it and where. But you really don't want to be in one in a rough sea.

Moral
Don't fall in!
Get a mayday call out immediately if someone does fall in.
Fix jack stays so that someone clipped to them cannot fall in - ours are on the centreline of the boat, not the side decks.
Only abandon to a lift raft if you have no alternative.

We did wear LJs all the way back to Fambridge today, though, which we would not usually have done - a rough, but very fast sail. I hope everyone else got back easily.
 
Another 'victim' here ....

I wore a dry suit, and was warm and comfy. I could have happily stayed overboard for much longer.

So lesson number 1: don a decent drysuit before falling in.

I was being rescued to 'Laurin' (a Contest 32 ketch). We spent some while discussing, and trying, various ideas on deck before settling on one to try seriously (much to AJ's disappointment, who was just a bit too keen on throwing me in as soon as I stepped aboard).

We found that, with me sitting on the cockpit sole, a 4:1 mainsheet was not powerful enough to lift my deadweight. I weigh 12 stone (70 Kg), without wearing the gear. Using a mainsheet halyard to top up the main boom may have worked.

We dismissed this 'mainsheet' type approach' though, partly as others were already doing just that (so we might as well try something different), and we also thought it would probably be unworkable in a real MOB scenario, because:

- it would be troublesome to set up, particularly if shorthanded, and the mainsail were set.

- attaching the victim would be difficult, with any sea running, and with high freeboard.

We also dismissed the use of the transom ladder, perhaps with the victim being assisted by a lift from the mizzen boom. It would only work with a reasonably, fit, conscious victim, and only then in calm conditions. I would certainly not want to be at the stern if it were even just slightly choppy.

So .... we set about testing a method that I've played with before.

Pat and Karen had a Dragon genoa onboard, that they use as a mizzen staysail.

We lashed the foot along the toerail (it needs to be very taut).

The head was attached to the spinnaker halyard.

As Simon's photos show, I was pulled into the bight of the sail, then the halyard pulled up.

It's a very effective, and very comfortable way of being pulled aboard.

Unlike various harness and hoop type gadgets that I've tried, which are quite painful, the sail method is very comfortable indeed. There's no crushing or pressure, and it feels very safe and reassuring. I could easily have nodded off.

I think it is probably the only method that would stand any chance of success with an unconscious MOB.

I'm also sure I read somewhere that there are potential medical benefits to being lifted horizontally.

The system we used would definitely need refining along the following lines:

- a Dragon genoa is far bigger than needed

- a few fishing weights would assist in getting the bight of the sail to sink

- plastic tubing attached along the luff and leech would help to hold the bight open, to facilitate pulling the victim in

- a few drainage holes are required

There was discussion onboard 'Laurin', as to how it might be possible to make up something that could be rigged up quickly and easily. There are, of course, several commercially made systems available, though they seem somewhat coy about their prices: for example http://www.jasonscradle.co.uk/commercial.php

Anyway .....

It was a really enjoyable, convivial, and worthwhile weekend.

Special thanks: to Roger for making it happen, to Robin for being a consummate host, to those who attended to the BBQ, to Bru for that great version of 'Black Velvet' band, and to Marconi SC for letting us use their fantastic clubhouse.

We had a cracking sail back this afternoon.

Despite an unfashionably luxuriant lady garden, 'Aileen' regularly hit 8.5 knots (gps) across the Rays'n and up the Crouch.

Finally: DON'T FALL IN!
 
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On Kerrin, we found the 4:1 main sheet from the boom, with the topping lift re-enforced with the main halyard to be effective for a conscious MOB. However, rigging this up single handed would be difficult in rough seas as the boom would be flying all over the place before the MOB was attached. From this, I will strengthen the mainsheet fittings for this purpose.

We didn't find a way to get an unconscious person on board.


The transom ladder was fine in calm water, not sure about rough water. However, I have changed the way the ladder is secured so that single handed, the MOB can deploy the ladder from the water.

The technique of standing on a line attached from the bow to the genoa winch was not successful. I ended jamming my toes between the line and the hull as the line was being winched in and had to stop at that stage.

Being lifted out by a simple plastimo harness was very painful on the ribs, however being lifted by a proper life jacket harness with leg straps was fine.

We did notice that with the jack stays along the sides of the deck, and with a standard length lifeline, you would end up suspended in mid air if going overboard. This needs some thought on what needs to be changed to prevent this.

I wore a full wetsuit with neoprene boots and didn't suffer to much from the cold. However, I would not fancy sailing all day in a wetsuit.

Moral of the experience has to be; Don't fall overboard.

Finally, I have ended up with two practice lifejackets. I am not sure who they belong to. Please PM me so that I can arrange for their return.
 
Gitane said:
........... being lifted by a proper life jacket harness with leg straps was fine.
Click to expand...

Thanks, you've reminded me of something.

When I was lifted with a combined lifejacket/harness, both crutch strap buckles pinged open, so the lifejacket rode my body.

It was an old Spinlock jacket (I think), and the buckles did look more flimsy than on the modern lifejackets. In fact, it was very easy to just pull the buckle apart by hand.

Something that we could all quickly and easily test on our own gear.
 
Another key thing about this was the time taken to get the equipment from its normal location, and then sort it out before being able to deploy it. Sadly, in cold water you would have had a hypothermic casualty or worse.
I have a note of where everything is on Full Circle, but it took my nearly 5 minutes to locate my emergency Billy tackle, and I was not in the boat being used for MOB, so not under mental pressure.
Also, my tackle was made to fit Full Circle (Jeanneau SO35), and gave winch angle issues (riding turns)when we tried to use it on Gitane (Westerly Griffon). However, I have just added a sprayhood to my boat for the first time, and my own tackle would no longer fit. Something that hadn't occurred to me while concentrating on Bimini/Sprayhood design and installation.
The Billy was also underpowered and oversize on line. I had used 14mm Lewmar turning blocks with Braid on Braid, and a 85mm snap shackle at the end to secure the MOB. Problem is no float on the snap shackle end so it won't float to the MOB, and also, the string loop to assist opening the shackle is not big enough to aid a cold MOB to be able to use it if their ability to close their fingers is impaired.
The underpowered lift will need to be addressed so that the single line leading from the winch forward to mast base and back to the end of the boom will now need to be a higher ratio 4:1 triple turning blocks from boom to MOB end shackle, and the snap shackle on a separate becket and line about 30cm long. It can't be longer as when you raise the MOB, the size of the tackles and the strop line to MOB will limit the total height you can get the person out of the water.

I do have a Storm Jib, and I am going to add a modification kit to the MOB bag. I will add some fishing weights on a line to match the piston hanks on the luff These can be installed permanently and removed quickly if the need to use it as a Storm Jib arises (you will have a bit more time to prepare Storm Jib for it's intended use rather than as an MOB recovery). As the Storm Jib already has sheets permanently attached, I only need to rig a snap shackle line from the head to reach forward to the cleat.

Observations:
The Topping Lift gets to be used as the primary line to hold the boom up. You should either have a heavier topping lift that could double as a spare Main halyard (Full Circle has this) or drop the main and use the Main Halyard attached to the boom end, or if you have a spare forward halyard, bring that back for second line safety and some support.
A Gybe Preventing line to control the boom swing out may also be a good idea.

Harness points on Lifejackets are not easily accessible when inflated. A cold panicky MOB could not be relied upon deflate a jacket. I am going to add a 15cm loop of webbing to the harness points on all my jackets. This will need to be done at me local sailmaker, as my old sewing machine wont cope with 2 thicknesses of 25mm webbing.
I saw a lot of Harness lines, a lot were 2m long which would leave you in the water if you fell overboard, which would be difficult to recover from single handed. You should be using max 1m lines so you stand a chance of swinging your leg back over the toe rail if......

Full Circles ladder is both excellent and useless. It is held by a restraining clip and not available to an MOB. I will change this for a Velcro loop with a floating line and float ball . I also installed a stainless grab handle come step about 3 inches above the water line on the centre line(this also helps with dinghy docking to mothership and getting on and off dinghy).

Liferaft:

Nearly everyone was expecting the Liferaft to inflate with a quick tug on the painter. It is 30ft long and therefore the raft is a long way off the back of the boat by the time it is ready to board. The design of liferafts is such that they have little drogue pockets sewn to the underside of the floor to slow down movement. This made it difficult to get the raft back alongside after inflation, as we were pulling against a 2 knot tide and F3 wind. In big winds, this will need to be winched. You will also need to think carefully about your crew embarkation point, as the raft will need to be positioned correctly to get the crew off the disabled boat with minimum fuss and delay.
I didn't see a laminated detailed instruction sheet (in the liferaft) to get other parts of the raft correctly setup like the boarding ladder (separate firing) and lighting, main drogue deployment etc). I am going to contact my Liferaft supplier for a sheet to use in the safety training brief, and also a copy for the grab bag.


Thanks to Simon and Marconi SC for the welcome, and for Roger to get it together for us.
 
Thanks all for all these pictures and comments. It sounds as though some of these 'little' details could make the ultimate difference. Really need to try this on the context of my own boat.
 
nice pictures....

did this a few years ago in the medina cowes....

key points don't fall in in the first place..... its the initial shock that gets you.
 
Thanks all for publishing your valuable learning experiences, makes me regret even more that we couldn't fit it in.

Fascinated to learn that the "spare sail" recovery system seemed to work best - we don't carry any appropriate spare sail so should consider a purpose built recovery cloth.

Slightly surprised that 4:1 main sheet barely sufficient to lift MOB - hope that our 6:1 will serve.

Didn't expect the problems posed by the current, but it's fairly obvious once you think about it. I guess when boat is not tethered to a mooring buoy, boat and MOB will both drift with current neutralising this effect. However, this emphasises the importance of bringing the boat to a STOP alongside the MOB.

Thanks again for sharing.

Peter
 
PeterWright said:
Slightly surprised that 4:1 main sheet barely sufficient to lift MOB - hope that our 6:1 will serve.
Click to expand...

Very easy to test it, of course, without the need for anyone to get even slightly damp.

Important to make sure that you test with the heaviest crew member being hoisted by the weakest.

I wonder whether super low friction racing blocks, would make much difference compared to the typical MAB-style gear we've got on 'Aileen'?
 
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Good to see more boats there this time. Instructive as ever.

On the liferaft front there was a problem finding the knife to cut the tether. It must have taken 5 mins and that was on land. Way too long if the boat was sinking. Know where it is or take one with you.

Thanks to Marconi SC and Simon.
 
Alchemist V274 said:
Don't forget how much extra weight wet clothes, fleece, etc, foulie jacket & trousers. Probably 10kg? Just a thought!
Click to expand...

Indeed ..... but it's quite an eye opener to realise how much physical effort is required just to lift a dry person and their gear.

Pat, on 'Laurin', looks pretty fit and, certainly compared to me, is a young whipper-snapper in his prime, yet he struggled to haul me off the cockpit sole using a 4:1 mainsheet.

It's definitely worth trying it dry, before getting wet.
 
Sorry could not make it. Scary stuff will rearrange my MOB procedures in light of your experience.

Interesting that the liferaft worked. I gave it to Roger a couple of years ago as it had been condemmed!!!
 
Interesting pics and a brilliant idea with the sail, I have an old storm sail that i can use for this so will look into it. Out of interest does anyone know what the rnli using their larger boats do to get casualties onboard? Their website suggests all the things you tried.
 
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I'd like to add the observations we made with Ron's lifejacket - it inflated quickly and fully but the bladder was contorted for some reason and needed Ron to tug it to make it inflate evenly. He couldn't see it because it behind his ear. He also said it was uncomfortable and he need to deflate it a little to be able to do anything.

re the 4 to 1 mainsheet method - this worked very well for me. I was able to hoist Ron right out of the water up to the level that he got get his leg over the guard rail. Of course, it relied on him being able to clip himself on.

It was an excellent, interesting and worthwhile day, followed by an excellent evening ashore. Thanks everyone.
 
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