March WNS

[TonyJones]

[quote(a) on night passages I always set the "leave a track" function on 2 plotters (for backup) at the max resolution, ie leaving a waypoint every 10metres or so, and clear the memory. Then, at least, and not allowing for tides, I can retrace my own steps perfectly if I need to go back and find a body.

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Sorry Jfm, I missed this bit. I feel that if I'd put a serviceable plotter in the scenario it would have made it too easy.

Best wishes
TJ

 

[TonyJones]

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"There’s now a F3/F4 on the nose against a 2kt flooding tide, it’s started to rain and the visibility is poor."

Perhaps then would have been a good time to all get below in the shelter of the saloon out of the weather before it gets even worse ,bit less rolly downstairs and bonus you could keep an eye on all the crew and areas they need to access ?

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I like this one.

Regards
TJ

 

[TonyJones]

Deborahan.

Always happy to have people point out that the skipper in the scenario has been unwise in allowing something to happen that shouldn't have, or got himself into a bad position through misjudgement - as you have here. And I'm sure readers will take note. But people do such things all the time.

But between you and me I don't understand why peeps get into incandescent rages about situations that THEY would have avoided. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Best wishes
TJ

 

[Wiggo]

[ QUOTE ]
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And do the theme assuming a competent skipper with a good plotter, instead of piling on unlikely scenarios like a busted plotter.

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Jfm

Thanks for your most helpful and thoughtful suggestions.

The reason I 'broke' the chartplotter is that many can lay down a trace of the boats passage is asked to do so. Back tracking in that situation presents no problems.

I originally set the turn in point at 1/2 mile, then realised that that wouldn't give much of a search problem either so changed it to 5 min at 20kt - and forget to change the original text. Doh. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Great to have you sticking with WNS. Your input makes getting hammered for my errors well worthwhile. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Best wishes
TJ

[/ QUOTE ]Breaking own rule of not posting in TJ's garbage WNS threads...

TJ, me old fruit, you just passed up on the best opportunity to highlight the over dependence on electronics at the expense of good seamanship. If Mr Overly-Dependent just retraced his plotter course, he would miss his casualty by definition (unless said son was still hanging on to the bathing ladder) as the plotter shows COG and would not allow for the tide sweeping his casualty sideways a bit.

 

[TonyJones]

Ladies and Gentlemen

Many thanks for all your input. A dodgy start thanks to me getting the turn-in point wrong but at least that was sorted out quite quickly. Would have been quicker if I hadn't been so busy on Thursday morning preparing for LIBS.

An excellent debate on MOB problems in general. For the magazine WNS I will simplify the scenario to make the reason for the boy going overboard.

Best wishes
TJ

 

[TonyJones]

Wiggo!

Continuing the established tradition of us not agreeing on ANYTHING (not true actually), I HAVEN'T missed the opportunity of pointing out possible over-reliance on electronics. I just pose the problem, leaving contributors to come up with that sort of thing - as you have done so in this case. Which is what it's all about.

Any chance of you rescinding your rule? Your input is always appreciated and you can be as rude about me as you like. Anyway, I've now found out where you are hiding....
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Best wishes
TJ

 

[Wiggo]

Bugger me, I wish I could make a living by asking daft questions and getting others to sort out the mess for me (I think that's what my boss does, mind you)...

The rule is not rescinded (apart from this post) and I will be moving my cave to a different part of Iraqistan.

Anyway, as a matter of principle I cannot agree with you that us not agreeing on anything is untrue.

 

[benjenbav]

At the risk of being constructive - not a characteristic I have shown so far in this thread, perhaps - we've turned the boat round (in the water) and back tracked.

Lo and behold we suddenly see the lad bobbing about. Now we need to position the boat to windward of him so as to drift down to him and get the engines into neutral before we get there to avoid chopping him up into little bits.

 

[jfm]

Hmm but no-one has a busted plotter Tony. We all have so many of the things that if one breaks you would look at another. And they dont break anyhow. Seriuosly, the whoke subject of what to do if you find someone missing, ie MOB and you don't know where they fell off, is a great subject. It is something I ponder about quite a bit, esp on long night passages with guests/inexperienced folks on board. And there is so much cheap equipment to help out these days, plus preventative steps you can take. Would be a good article. Though perhaps not WNS!

 

[hlb]

Oi, I've had a few times with busted plotters. Once cos the ariel packed in. Once cos the plug sort of fell out the back, then once cos it could not get a fix all day for some reason. Mostly it's cos the dog knocked the little plotters plug out of the cig lighter socket.. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Anyway it's no use switching another plotter on after the event. It's not going to tell you where it was before it was switched on.

My big plotter just says I'm in Wales. I dont think it likes Wales very much. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[JackBartlett]

Yet again, I seem to have misread WNS. My interpretation of the situation as described was that you were making 20kts towards the harbour. As you approach the fairway buoy, your son nips down to get the fenders out of the lazarette. Maybe he left his wife and kids up on the flybridge, maybe not (it's irrelevant). If dad told him not to go because it was too rough, he'd probably think the old man was going round the bend, given that he's been messing about in boats for the last thirty odd years.

A few seconds later, you pass the Fairway buoy, and slow down to the 6kt speed limit. A few minutes later (5 minutes @6kt = half a mile) you are right in the entrance, about where you would expect your son to be appearing with the fenders... but he is nowhere to be seen.

Maybe he was having a pee off the back when you slowed down, and the change of motion made him lose his footing. (It seems a more reasonable explanation, to me, than the prevailing assumption that he opened the transom gate as some devious route up onto the side decks!)

Having decided that he has probably gone OB, there is no point messing about putting waypoints at a spot where the MoB isn't: Job 1a is a Williamson turn to get back onto reciprocal course.
Job 1b (ideally at the same time) is a Mayday.

Resisting the temptation to accelerate, keep all eyes peeled for about three minutes to get back to the casualty's most probable position.

There are umpteen search options, but in this case we need something simple: I reckon an elongated expanding box would be favourite. No need to mess about "allowing for tide", because you and the MoB are on the same bit of water, you and he have both drifted the same distance and the same direction. Wind might be a problem, though: you will be sliding downwind faster than him, so he will probably be somewhere upwind of you.

The biggest, single problem will be avoiding panic -- not only for your own sake and your son's, but especially for the sake of your wife, daughter in law, and grandchildren.