Transfer to a ship at sea.

[Pelagic]

Hopefully you never need to transfer to a ship at sea.

Just remember the quality of , "Seamanship and Communications" can vary dramatically as this Portuguese Pilot observes.

WATCH: Sketchy Pilot Transfer Arrangement – gCaptain

Comments on how to manage your own safety is the intent of this thread

[boatman61]

Yup.. the swells on Portugal's West coast can get pretty big..

[markpierce]

Coming to pick up the pilot after leaving Victoria, BC:

[DefinitelyMe]

We transferred a young boy, his mother and his uncle to a ship last year about 100 miles SE of the Gambier Islands. Conditions were excellent - glassy sea and only a 0.6m swell. It went very smoothly. The transfer was done via the ship's tender, which was a steel launch with an inboard diesel. They put plenty of tires between us and them and the guy driving the tender was excellent. Nevertheless I had to accept that damage to our topsides was likely. If conditions had been moderate, never mind heavy, it would have been an impossible task without sustaining heavy damage to the yacht.

The skill of the guys that do this every day is worthy of considerable respect. Twice I've been aboard a tallship (3 masts, 170+lines. Basically, bits of wood and steel and string everywhere) twice during helicopter evac. simulations directly from the deck. Once it was with the US Coast Guard and once with the Royal Navy. They lowered one of their own men to the deck of the ship, he got out of his harness, back into it and then they lifted him back up again. We were sailing both times. It was very, very cool.

[tkeithlu]

My father-in-law took me on an inbound pilot job at Corpus Christi once. Obviously, he chose a good day. Even so, the timing necessary to get from the pilot boat to the ladder was due respect. The side of a ship looks like a steel cliff and the pilot boat bounces in every direction while the ship does not. He retired at 61 after two incidents. First, he fell fifteen feet onto the pilot boat and got away with non life threatening but nasty injuries. Then a friend fell in the Panama Canal (a real mill pond) and died of a heart attack while being rescued. He said it was a young man's career, and I believe him. I can't imagine doing that transfer in rough weather. I think DefinitelyMe was very fortunate that the ship Captain launched a smaller boat to do the pickup, and as described, it was tricky even so.

[Pelagic]

The scenario worth discussing is more like DefinitelyMe where you are offshore in Trade Wind weather and a large containership has answered your Mayday for your 45 ft sailboat (mono or cat).

First thing to realize is that you are still responsible for saving your crew, so don't automatically defer decisions to Ship's Master because they are professionals and much bigger than you..

The Portuguese pilot above recognized that today's captains get a lot less ship handlling practice because of Port regulations calling for pilots, who in turn, order 3 times the Tug horsepower needed to dock ships.

So they are also probably hoping for some guidance

Now in those 25 knot Trades, boat slowly sinking and 4 m swells, how would you manage the situation and inform the Ship Captain how you would like to conduct the transfer?

[roland stockham]

It is impossible to bring a yacht alongside a ship at sea without a very high likelihood of dis-masting the yacht or worse, the swell will throw the mast against the hull. Also if the ship is moving at all (which it needs to be in order to maintain any steerage) where is a strong suction under the aft quarter which will suck you into the side if you get within 10m. You will basically loose all control as you do the final approach. The only safe way to transfer crew is either via a launch or breaches bouy. There are records of people have transferring alongside but I have not heard one where the yacht survived! If I had to do it I think I would use the life raft. If you have to pick up a line my suggestion would be to get the ship to trail a light line on a float so that you can pick it up off the quarter. Trying to fire or throw a line gets you to close and stands a good chance of the line getting hung up in the rigging.

[Dave22q]

I agree that direct transfer is very dangerous and should only be a last resort. Safest way is for the pick up boat to trail a line on floats at dead slow speed. Use dinghy to pick up line. After line attached the pickup boat to cut engine and pull dinghy to ladder or hoist well forward of his stern. Only after passenger is aboard should dinghy cut loose and when clear the pick up boat can proceed. Hopefully the dinghy will not be so damaged that a return to your boat is still possible. Bottom line, if just 2 aboard, you have to balance abandoning your boat vs. risk of losing the captain and possibly the departing passenger. Its a whole lot easier if it's a helicopter pick up from a dinghy on a long line but that still entails an unattended vessel in possibly heavy seas while the rescue takes place and the need to reboard your vessel.

[El Pinguino]

Some thoughts.... the making of a decent lee on a big ship is something of an art. In my experience the sea should be about 10 degrees on the bow and the ship should be making best speed... ie the best speed the smaller ship/boat/yacht can manage. Remember... a stopped ship is a rolling ship.

Avoid if you can any ro-ro ships with heavy sponsons and also try and avoid 'gunport' doors if any rolling is involved as shown in the vid... if you are halfway through that when the ship takes a heavy roll it will do you all sorts of injury.

While most shipmasters may not have much pilotage/berthing experience they do have a lot of experience in making a lee to pick up a pilot. Short sea traders doing their own pilotage may have very little experience in that area.

If the ship has an 'accident boat'....( this sort of thing http://previews.123rf.com/images/unk...tock-Photo.jpg) .. best it is used to come and get you. Sadly most ships only have a pair of fully enclosed lifeboats ( this sort of thing http://www.featurepics.com/StockImag...ture-63167.jpg) these days and they are not even remotely suitable for this sort of work.

[Pelagic]

Great thoughts and input of how ships normally make a Lee for pilot underway and 10 degrees off the bow.

In this case we don't have a choice in rescuer..and we are out of Heli range

It is an ultra large containership.
The Master says it is too rough to launch their rescue boat.
You do have a balasted liferaft
you do have a 10 ft Rib tender

To further define 5 crew on board 1 ten year old.

Would the tender survive 4m seas ?
What speed would a containership need in order to maintain steerageway in those conditions?

Further thoughts?

[El Pinguino]

OK.... hypotheticals... lets throw in a St Bernard and a monkey... mustn't forget the monkey.....

A good case study is is the queen's birthday storm The 1994 Queen's birthday storm | Pangolin
People rescued by coming alongside.... utilising their liferaft and getting hauled across by line from their recuer....... and the use of Monowai's rib to take people off their yachts. 4 metre sea??? phfffft......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FddHsVTLbqE

That out of the way.... and back to normal programing..
'It is an ultra large containership.
The Master says it is too rough to launch their rescue boat.
You do have a balasted liferaft
you do have a 10 ft Rib tender '

Stand by until the weather moderates or a more suitable ship turns up or the yacht sinks and they all die......

Back to the OP.... the vid implies the master was a nong and couldn't handle his ship... it could well be that the ship's load condition was such that she was going to roll like a pig in poo regardless of her heading. I would only take a pilot a few times each year, 4 check pilots and the occasional run to dry dock. Trips to D/D were undertaken light ship and rolling like that was not unknown...

[Pelagic]

Lol...Trouble with hypotheticals is that somone always wants to throw a monkey into the review

I actual chose real scenarios, not storm conditions, where a 4m swell in Trade conditions due to counteracting currents is normal

So it isn't going to get better and your boat is sinking or becoming awash due to a structural failure.

Steerageway on a ship in those conditions is about 5 knots, so Master has no choice but to try and hold probably with stern quarter to wind depending on ships natural cargo aspect when drifting with minimal astern propulsion.

Now back to setting up the transfer, what would you do?

[El Pinguino]

Break out Schermuly Line throwing kit.... manouver(sp!) ship so yacht is close down wind from gunport door.
Set up line from gunport door to upper deck.
Fire line across yacht from upper deck.... in my experience this may take 3 or 4 goes.
Once connection made send heavier line across and drop line down to gunport door.
Secure yacht to line to ship so she doesn't blow away.
Set up endless whip.
inflate yacht's life raft ... secure raft to endless whip.
Embark monkey in raft, then women , children and dog, haul away...
Repeat as required...
Job done.

[Pelagic]

Lol Pinguino, you seem in a hurry, maybe the monkey is getting to you [emoji1]

OK, I'll give it a go.

1 Thank Master for attending, give him details and advise you have fragile crew.

2 Ask him to test position upwind, stern to weather in an aspect he is comfortable with, so we can assess drift.

3 Once tested advise that all crew are already prepared with life vests and clip on harness.

4 That you will deploy your small life raft as a backup and probable transfer vehicle, but it is not to commercial standards and prefer that he deploys his own liferaft from its boom.

5. Once raft is deployed, ask that ship sends down the life raft painter a small rope cargo net with attached floats as an emergency means of crew hoist.

6. Ship Attaches extension line to ships Liferaft painter and drift down towards yacht

7. Decision made on which life raft yacht crew initially transfers to based on their behavior empty before abandoning your yacht

8. Transfer is made and both Liferafts and cargo net are slowly hauled back to a safe standby position in whatever Lee the ship can provide

9. On ship's life raft boom, ask that thier large Quick release launch mechanism is replaced with normal safety hook and a long line with pick up float is deployed with hook towards Standby position.

Now you have 3 choices depending on crew condition and how much the ship is rolling.

10. If rolling a lot... Switch to Ships raft.
.....yacht crew align openings and Bowse together, so crew can safely transfer to larger life raft


11. Then with maximum boom out and shackle attached to ships life raft, yacht life raft and cargo net is drifted clear on a long pickup line at least twice the ships freeboard

12. Yacht Crew are now protected inside Ships life raft, when ready...

13. Ask ship crew to " Quickly Boom Up and Bowse lifraft along hull as they slowly winch in" (This minimizes pendulum swings and shock as ship rolls.

My Reasons
By using their life raft, the browsing lines are already in place to secure their life raft at deck level to known procedures and fastening points, which Crew should have practised and trained for to get their certifications.

The cargo net and your Liferafts are really backups if something breaks or someone goes in the water......

14. Some forethought on setting both backups up for retrieval before switching to ships liferaft should be done.

15. Always tell captain that you will pay for servicing of their life raft and keep a portable VHF with you.

[El Pinguino]

I fear you are forgetting who is the rescuer and who is the rescuee.....

For some reason this comes to mind ... 'Don't tell me how to do my job. I don't come to your workplace and tell you how to sweep up'

The head rescuee will be too busy dealing with hysterical women folk and crying children ... not to mention that the monkey will be going ape...

Not to mention that the average rescuee has not a clue about how things work on big ships.......