MOB

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Neeves

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There have been a number of threads recently on MOB. It seems to be a sensitive topic for which some prepare and have kit dedicated to the task - always at hand.

I wondered in terms of ones sailing career - how often have members had a MOB?

The question goes with sinking and life rafts, fire extinguishers and fires, use of flares and EPIRBs.


The other two items that are 'contentious' are rigging failures and sail drive gaskets.

I'm not going to mention dragging of modern anchors - leave that for another day.

Jonathan
 
Never under way, but I did have a Tom & Jerry moment between the dinghy and the boat that resulted in an unscheduled swim. It taught me the importance of being able to get the boarding ladder down from in the water. I couldn't, and it could have been very unpleasant if the water had been colder or I'd been alone, and I'm a good swimmer, at ease in the water.
 
I once slipped between the boat and the pontoon when coming along side. Only a small boat and I managed to stop myself going fully in by holding onto the pontoon and boat so only wet up to my waist.

Eldest child (about 8 years old) went in when cleaning the hull from the pontoon. Didn't realise that the bow was further away...

Had one MOB when at work (in a previous role). Crewman boarding a fishing vessesl slipped on the ladder between rib and FV. Luckily cleared all nets and props and picked up within a couple of mins by the rib.

Never had an unintentional one (touch wood) underway in a yacht.
 
I'm waiting for the numbers to increase

There are copious articles on MOB drills and threads on Forum, suggesting that MOB incidents are quite common. Practising MOB drills are de rigour - but I don't see articles on jackstays, hard points, tethers and harnesses - and hammering home the idea of staying on board merits as much attention as the consequences of falling overboard.

Reading Tranona's post No 33 Singlehanded: EPIRB or PLB? - suggests that MOB is very unlikely (so maybe the lesson is well known - stay on board and everyone wears a harness, tether etc etc) -

Maybe in a future life I could be a PBO or YM junior editor :)

Jonathan
 
Picked up one who'd fallen from another boat in our race, breezy Solent off Cowes. Full crew, picked him up under sail after dropping spi, two had to help him up First 38 boarding ladder.

Picked up a diver who'd got separated from his dive boat in fog off Swanage. He was very lucky that I happened to notice him (I was off watch), no problem recovering with full crew and no boarding ladder on a CO32. Ungrateful git as it turned out.

Two from 'our' boat while racing, both after broaches but they managed to hang onto things and were got back as the boat was righting.

I was involved in one from our midstream pontoon. Crew from another boat fell, bounced from the pontoon into the water. We got hold of them and my assessment was that she may well have broken stuff (hell of a bang), so mustered more help and one chap went into the water to support her better using a big sail bag to cradle her. I'd called the Hamble lifeboat etc, and while waiting got a club rib to come over. Plan A was obviously leave it to the pros, but an option was to drift her alongside the rib to the slipway where the ambulance crew (who'd come out on the rib) could get a stretcher under her more easily. As it worked out the lifeboat crew made a great job of getting a stretcher under her in the current and getting her out. Late summer evening water quite warm, but it must've been 20 minutes or more for in the water. Among other things they had a broken pelvis, so quite pleased that I'd stopped to think.

Both kids have fallen in next to the boat from quayside and boarding plank. Followed one in to keep her company... That boat had an 'adequate' ladder. We always towed a dinghy (captive oars on) with a bucket sea anchor on its painter. Plan was Mum to get in the dinghy to get the child mob, I'd sort the boat and come back.

I've been mob twice. Had to be hauled out both times. In the first case every boarding ladder I drifted by was either too short or lashed up, the boat I was hanging on to had just too much freeboard, no ladder. I didn't notice that each Hamble midstream pontoon there had a decent ladder. I know for next time.

Second one, the boat I'd fallen from's ladder went about 18" into the water from a swim platform, but no hand holds above. My inflated lifejacket made me very awkward to hoist, so much so that I binned the lj afterwards. The thought process at the time was a) deflate it and climb out, or b) no way I want to deflate it.

That last one has made me think. Those particular pontoon ladders are all aligned with the current. The boat in the last example was moored and the current was holding me off the ladder whereas the reverse would have made things even more difficult with snagging on clothes/lj. Maybe something else to bear in mind as you drift past transoms - take the downstream ones.

Edit to add.

I don't know how the first one came to fall from his boat, but only two of the cases above (the broach ones) could have involved harnesses/tethers, the rest were all while mooring. In the case of the broaches, well, yes maybe they could have been wearing them. We were young, strong and hence invincible. I know one had an lj on, I think the second did.
 
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MOB. Only dinghy/beach cat racing, which are completely different (it's part of the sport). I've leaned on a tether hundreds of times while testing or working.

Fire. A PO wiring stupid once caused an incipient fire offshore (no real damamge--we caught it at the very start). That was an eye-opener.

Thru-hull failure during delivery. Someone took the speed wheel out during a survey, put it back in wrong, cracking the housing and loosing the O-ring. They slathered it full of grease, so it didn't leak until we were underway for a while. Then it leaked a lot.

Bent rudder from hitting submerged tree. Can you steer without a rudder? We have two, so I just disconnected the jammed one.
 
Neeves said:
There have been a number of threads recently on MOB. It seems to be a sensitive topic for which some prepare and have kit dedicated to the task - always at hand.

I wondered in terms of ones sailing career - how often have members had a MOB?

The question goes with sinking and life rafts, fire extinguishers and fires, use of flares and EPIRBs......
Click to expand...

In terms of "risk assessment", these are all low frequency/high consequence, and possibly fatal, events. So they should have a lot of attention.
 
I have found two cracked fittings during routine walk-arounds that would have resulted in dismasting within months at most. Bent toggles, both times.

Falling of the dock or similar really depends on the situation. In warm weather without a boat poised to crush you, it may be a non-serious thing worthy of nothing more than a laugh, which is why you were careless. Winter is completely different.

Seriousness depends on the situation. In the case of a rock climber, is falling serious?
  • 4-feet off the ground, just bouldering. Not really.
  • Top-roping, with a simple yet bullet proof rig. Not really, if you follow simple rules.
  • Leading in and alpine environment, far above manky gear. As my partner would say, "You need to know when not to fall."
And perhaps this comes to a concept that is useful in this thread. Climbers often criticize beginners for use "psychological protection," referring to anchors and rigging that makes them feel better, but in fact is poorly conceived, weak, and untested. They are often safer with out such gear, because then they will either move more carefully (and not fall) or recognize the danger and stay safely on the ground. Safety gear that is not tested and practiced with can be a hazard.

A common case in point is throw lines and Lifeslings. They are often improperly packed at the factory (a neat coil, not properly flaked). Jacklines that will allow a sailor over the edge. Emergency boarding ladders that are difficult to climb in the best of conditions.
 
thinwater said:
I have found two cracked fittings during routine walk-arounds that would have resulted in dismasting within months at most. Bent toggles, both times.

Falling of the dock or similar really depends on the situation. In warm weather without a boat poised to crush you, it may be a non-serious thing worthy of nothing more than a laugh, which is why you were careless. Winter is completely different.

Seriousness depends on the situation. In the case of a rock climber, is falling serious?
  • 4-feet off the ground, just bouldering. Not really.
  • Top-roping, with a simple yet bullet proof rig. Not really, if you follow simple rules.
  • Leading in and alpine environment, far above manky gear. As my partner would say, "You need to know when not to fall."
And perhaps this comes to a concept that is useful in this thread. Climbers often criticize beginners for use "psychological protection," referring to anchors and rigging that makes them feel better, but in fact is poorly conceived, weak, and untested. They are often safer with out such gear, because then they will either move more carefully (and not fall) or recognize the danger and stay safely on the ground. Safety gear that is not tested and practiced with can be a hazard.

A common case in point is throw lines and Lifeslings. They are often improperly packed at the factory (a neat coil, not properly flaked). Jacklines that will allow a sailor over the edge. Emergency boarding ladders that are difficult to climb in the best of conditions.
Click to expand...
In my time I've discovered a good many badly packed throwlines that travel about three metres then fall in a tangle. Takes a while to repack them though!
 
Back to the OP's question. How often do MOBs things happen?

Several months ago I ran an MOB poll on a Corsair/Farrier trimaran forum. Because they are aggressively raced in-shore, MOBs are not that rare. I was asking not only if they had experienced MOBs, but how did the person fall off, and from where. The poll did not include capsizes, of which >90% occurred while racing inshore and were the unapologetic result of pushing too damn hard. The result was this:

Percentage Location and Activity

50 Working on the bow nets or center bow while launching or recovering a spinnaker.

Note: The bow nets are safety nets, not intended to be walked on like a trampoline. They shouldn’t have been there.

20 Steering from rear beam, outside the cockpit.

10 Coming back in from the windward hull, across the tramp.

10 UV damage caused forward safety net to fail (not main trampolines).

10 Sitting out on tramp in severe conditions.

0 From cockpit.



Note: Some of these steering positions (rear beam or tramp) seem unnecessary, but a clear view of the lee ama bow is vital to safety when reaching fast in strong winds and the cabin of some of the larger F-boats blocks this view from the windward side of the cockpit.

Note that NONE of the MOBs were from the cockpit or parts of the deck that even exist on monohulls.

The reason I made the poll was self-interest. I was in the process of upgrading jacklines and lifelines and wanted to protect against the things that actually happen, vs. those I feared, but most likely won't happen. Falling off a Corsair can be eliminated by:
  • Maintaining the tramps.
  • Adding a lifeline across the aft cross beam (aka). I did that.
  • Staying in the cockpit as much as practical.
  • Staying off the tramps when you go forward. The jacklines run along the edges of the main hull, far from the edge of the tramp.
----

Thus, I would evaluated where people fall in from:
  • At anchor, dock, or fooling around in fair weather. Get a boarding ladder that can be deployed from the water.
  • Off the bow fighting with a head sail. Get a good roller furling system and maintain it. Reef early.
  • From the top of the cabin, caused by an acidental jibe. Don't hang out there. In all the cases I am aware of, it was a crewman doing nothing in heavy weather.
  • Failed lifelines while hiking. Maintain the lifelines. Don't hike against the lifelines, hanging outboard.
  • Knockdowns. A tether is the only workable solution. Practice in moderate weather and tune the system until it works seamlessly.
  • Leaning outboard to adjust or fix something, probably in moderate weather. Several during Volvo race. Use a tether, you numbskull, if only for the task.
And then there is the matter of clothing and cold water. If there is some risk of falling in that cannot be eliminated, wear a dry suit. Common kayaking and in sportboat and dinghies, but I sometimes wear one cruising in nasty weather, particually inshore or singlehanding inshore, where it may make the risk of skipping the tether acceptable, because falling in is so much more survivable. But again, I tailor the practice to the risks, hazards, and whether it would actually help.
 
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