Who has fallen off their boat?

[tuffr2]

I fell off a small runabout boat once at the dock on a windy day. I really was not doing anything really stupid - just a little stupid.
Wind blowing the boat away from the dock. I grab the dock and over I went.

So now thinking of buying a pocket cruiser or Ranger Tug. It seems to me these will be easier to fall off of than being pulled out of a runabout.

Falling off in a few areas would not be a problem as I can easily swim back to the boat and get back on.

But a few of the places I want to go, 1,000 island area has a strong current. I guess need to be extra careful.

I would like to hear other people's stories of falling off their boat.

[Manateeman]

Natalie Wood fell off and lost her life. No one heard her. She had no way to get back onboard. Look around at the sterns of boats at your marina, boatyard, and boat shows. This is a serious subject. I don’t think the proper way to discuss it is by asking for stories because it tends to become less serious as those who survive often hide or downplay the traumatic experience.
There is a lot of discussions on person overboard recovery but it’s just as easy to drown in an Anchorage. Cold water. Night. Alone. Not something boat sales people talk to you about.
Mark

[Allied39]

Best advice is.....dont.

I know when offshore by myself that if I part company with my boat that will likely be the end of me. So I take it very seriously.

This does not mean I am harnessed, this does not mean all lines run aft, this does not mean I never leave the cockpit. There are reasons for all this, too bothersome to explain.

BUT...I do take remaining onboard very seriously and it is something that is forefront in my mind when offshore.

I believe thats when the accidents occur, when the thought process stops.

But accidents will always happen, like car accidents, drug overdoses etc etc etc etc.

It's a road we all travel.

Not interested in agueing or dealing with trolls, just giving an opinion that was asked for.

[valhalla360]

Make sure you can easily deploy the swim ladder from the water and make sure the ladder is easy to climb. A few years back came across an elderly gentleman who fell off and couldn't get back on. This was Michigan in the spring so hypothermia was a problem and he was too big for me to pull out. Luckily, CG were over at the fuel dock, so my wife ran and got them but even with two strapping young men struggled to get him out because he was losing strength due to the cold and couldn't help by that time.

While you should always be aware of your surroundings, larger boats are less of an issue as they tend to move more slowly. A little 16ft runabout, the gunnel may drop 12 inches when you step on and do it quickly. A 35ft boat may only drop 3-4 inches and do it more slowly.

Now on to more fun stories:
- Had a beagle who would with some regularity get his front feet on the dock and his back feet on the gunnel and then stop...then the boat would drift away...and down he goes. We did make a point of having him on the leash so we could drag him to the swim platform and pull him out.
- Flipflops are not great dock footwear. Tammy caught the flop on the dock and face planted on the dock...she then slid back into the water, nice green mucky water. I grab the boathook to help drag her around to the swim platform and she starts swatting at it , yelling at me not to use the boat hook to try and drown her.

[danstanford]

Originally Posted by Manateeman

This is a serious subject. I don’t think the proper way to discuss it is by asking for stories because it tends to become less serious as those who survive often hide or downplay the traumatic experience.

Mark

The other way to look at this is that discussion of stories leads to examination of our current processes and potentially safer practices. I know that stories of people getting dragged on a jackline have impacted my thinking and would cause me to carefully consider the length and anchor points prior to using one.

I have 2 Commercial Airline pilots and a retired Paramedic on my race team and I love how careful and thoughtful they are about safety.

[sail sfbay]

Never fell off any of my sail and powerboats in 40 years of boating.

Consider installing jacklines from bow to stern, wear a life jacket with built-in safety harness (or life jacket and separate safety harness) tethered to a pad eye, installed at bow and stern, or to the jack line. This is what we use when sailing off-shore.

[Bellinghamster]

A good friends 20yr old daughter fell off their boat stepping to the dock in in Alaska this summer (big step.. it's an 86ft Nordhaven). She hit her head on the way down and was knocked unconscious. Incredibly fortunate they saw it happen and were able to pull her out of the water, but it could have very easily been a fatal event. You can't realistically "move" that boat by pushing or pulling (~200T displacement), so getting crushed between the dock and boat if you end up in between is also a possibility. She got away with "just" a concussion, loose front teeth a split chin, possibly fractured jaw and a black eye.

Please be careful!

[Bill Seal]

When I now climb up on the coach roof to raise the main, I put on a belt with a very short lanyard, clipped to a jackline, so if i fall down, I'll just skin up my knees and not make it even close to the life lines.mb
A couple of weeks ago, when climbing out of the dink, it moved away from the dock and I tore up my shin on the nasty old planking. Lots of blood in the water, but I found out I could climb out using out the (short) swim ladder.

[rwidman]

I have fallen off my swim platform into the water once while trying to step onto the dock and once having just stepped onto the dock.

It's a matter of paying attention to what you are doing and each time, I wasn't. I was also carrying the puppy and a bunch of other stuff. I don't carry more than what I can carry in one hand any more and I keep the other hand on the boat's railing until I'm safely on the dock.

My boat has a swim ladder on the swim platform that can be deployed from the water and that's how I got back onto the boat. Even if you don't plan to swim off your swim platform, having some sort of ladder that can be deployed from the water is pretty important as a safety device.

If you don't have one, consider installing one.

[Jackg]

I fell off my boat while singlehanding across the Atlantic in the OSTAR. The mast had come down. While trying to recover the mast in a heavy sea it was trying to snag my safety harness as it (a wooden mast) bobbed in the sea, so I removed that. It's the only time I did not have a harness on at sea in decades of sailing.



Later, while working on the foredeck a big sea came along and catapulted me overboard. The motion of a mastless boat is unbelievable. Very cold water at 50 north at night. Barely made it back aboard. That boat did not have a swim ladder so I tied bowlines in a trailing line (lots of trailing lines when a rig comes down!) and climbed those.



On our current boat we rig the swim ladder with a homemade release. A person in the water can pull a lanyard on the ladder and the ladder deploys.

[Sam Woodbridge]

Last month I fell off of my sailboat. I was anchored. Had the swim deck platform unfolded. I was deflating my dingy and placing it back into its bag when I lost balance and completely went under the water. It was a eye opener needless to say. And something I don’t like to admit. I asked God about it and what came to mind was “you did that not me” You would also have to google a Oceania 38.1 and see how the transom is with the walk out swim platform.

I’m a solo sailor too and falling over board got my attention!

[skipmac]

Have fallen off boats twice.

Once from my sailboat when it was on the hard. Multiple rib fractures and assorted minor injuries. Recommend if you must fall off a boat you do it in the water.

Second time was walking to the bow on a large power boat to handle the dock lines. Right as I a passed the only section on the side deck with no hand holds and was just balanced the captain shifted from neutral to reverse and the jerk tossed me into the water between the boat and the dock. I was fine but scared the stuff out of the captain.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Jackg

I fell off my boat while singlehanding across the Atlantic in the OSTAR. The mast had come down. While trying to recover the mast in a heavy sea it was trying to snag my safety harness as it (a wooden mast) bobbed in the sea, so I removed that. It's the only time I did not have a harness on at sea in decades of sailing.



Later, while working on the foredeck a big sea came along and catapulted me overboard. The motion of a mastless boat is unbelievable. Very cold water at 50 north at night. Barely made it back aboard. That boat did not have a swim ladder so I tied bowlines in a trailing line (lots of trailing lines when a rig comes down!) and climbed those.



On our current boat we rig the swim ladder with a homemade release. A person in the water can pull a lanyard on the ladder and the ladder deploys.

You win the Cruisers Forum today. That is one heck of an MOB story.

[Tetepare]

Not fell, but launched. Does this count?

Three of us piled on the aft of a Hobie 16 and launched in 40 knot winds. Two minutes later we pitchpoled, and we all went airborne.

Aside from that, never.

[tuffr2]

I will add a bit of humor to my falling out of my open bow runabout. I was wearing a straw hat. When I went over I went under water but the hat did not. Just a straw hat floating on the water. Again I was launching solo on an inland lake. I was amazed how fast it happened. Probably 10 - 15 mile an hour constant wind. I knew to be extra careful but somehow ended up out of the boat. Other people at the launch area had a good laugh.

I had be boating 25 years previous to this in small runabout open bow type boats on in-land lakes in warm(ish) water.

I do not plan of being in cold water or on the ocean. MOB would be catastrophic in either of those situations.

Oh, I have been in water 42 degrees with a dry suit and it was still very cold in my younger days as a waterskier.