Girl Overboard !

[Talbot]

LOts of good stuff about knowing someone is overboard, and practising the manoeuvre to get close to them.

However, this is not even half of the problem.

How many of you have actually tried to recover a body from the water - especially if they are so exhausted that they cannot assist.

This is the most difficut and the most crucial part of the process, yet it is not even thoght about by the sailing schools.

How many people know that if someone has been in the water for a long time, and is totally exhausted, that the safest way to bring them back onboard is keeping them horizontal. Winching them back vertical is a good way of initiating a heart attack

[cburger]

Crew should be wearing harness and clipped in at all times.

[boatman61]

So.... I presume if one off you guys was on board and came up to find me missing the reaction would be tsk tsk... shoulda worn his tether...
Then keep on sailing... guess no one knows how to navigate a reverse track.. prepping your storm sail as you go...

[s/v Beth]

Originally Posted by boatman61

So.... I presume if one off you guys was on board and came up to find me missing the reaction would be tsk tsk... shoulda worn his tether...
Then keep on sailing... guess no one knows how to navigate a reverse track.. prepping your storm sail as you go...

Well skipper did you teach your crew to come find you? Or to tsk tsk and look up your life insurance policy? :-)

[cburger]

Originally Posted by boatman61

So.... I presume if one off you guys was on board and came up to find me missing the reaction would be tsk tsk... shoulda worn his tether...
Then keep on sailing... guess no one knows how to navigate a reverse track.. prepping your storm sail as you go...

No one is expressing one should not know how to reverse navigate or any of the meriad of suggestions in the original post, however if you never leave the boat in the first place none of the other stuff is required.

[boatman61]

Last time I try to start something going...
I'll leave you coast hoppers to it... sort it when it happens boys.. don't forget the body bags...

[kjames]

I guess Boatie’s point is that you come up to the helm, and find person on watch is gone. No PLB/ Raymarine etc device. Plausible situation for sure. So, what then……..? Have to know how to do a reverse track. What else can be done??

[sohad111]

Wow..that was a fantastic posting....being a new sailor to the sea I am very nervous but all these postings help me greatly..
Thanks

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by sohad111

Wow..that was a fantastic posting....being a new sailor to the sea I am very nervous but all these postings help me greatly..
Thanks

Read the Scary Thread, Lots of info on there, Helps to be prepared, Just in case some thing does go wrong,

[Kettlewell]

The other thing to remember, trying to bring this back to reality, is that very few people fall overboard in the first place, and even fewer actually die. It is extremely rare. In the USA you can almost always count the fatalities, of all causes, aboard cruising sailboats for the year on one hand. Yes, most of them are simple falls overboard and a subsequent drowning, but I believe the majority of those occur at the dock or at anchor, and most are alcohol induced. We all must be doing something right to keep these numbers very, very low.

[sohad111]

My boyfriend just bought a beautiful boat and wants to sail from Beaufort to Bahamas and then St.Thomas...I am a bit scared to say the least....hoping i dont get seasick )

[Ozbullwinkle]

Originally Posted by kjames

I guess Boatie’s point is that you come up to the helm, and find person on watch is gone. No PLB/ Raymarine etc device. Plausible situation for sure. So, what then……..? Have to know how to do a reverse track. What else can be done??

As I said in my earlier posts the most important thing is to ensure that you don't go over the side in the first place.

But if you are doing say a 2 handed delivery then clear and definite safety rules should be established between the crew and adhered to during the voyage even in calm weather eg using tethers, wearing a Personal EPIRB & inflatable lifejacket at all times.

If you had established say a 3 hour watch system and came back on deck after your watch to find your crew mate missing, which should not happen if the rules mentioned above are adhered to, then of course you would go about and retrace your track but you would have no idea of when he went over the side as it could have been up to 3 hours ago and of course current would play a big part in their current location.

I always wear my Personal GPS equipped EPIRB, whats the use of having one if you don't, and if I went over the side assuming that I was conscious then it would be activated. Even if you were never rescued possibly due to being out of range of rescuers it would provide more piece of mind to family & friends instead of just dissappearing & never to be heard of again as a total mystery.

I would also like to see the electronics manufacturers incorporate a waterproof VHF into the Personal GPS equipped EPIRBS and for them to also have a digital readout of Long & Lat on them so that you could communicate this to any nearby vessels through the VHF while at the same time the EPIRB is sending out your position through the satellite system.

Yes, additional battery power would be required but I think that it would be an improvement which would save lives and definitely be worth looking at. It could be an optional model in their range. If you were only doing Coastal trips then the integrated VHF would probably not be required as the GPS EPIRB model alone would be suffucient as you would be in range of rescue boats, other vessels and helicopter rescue as well. For Ocean voyages then the VHF integrated model with digital readout would be more appropriate.

[Mr B]

When I went for my boat licence here in Victoria, We went out in a boat,

Had to throw a life raft out, and then come back and fish it out of the water,

Not the real thing, but it gave you an idea on what to do if some one went over the side,

Always come up on them on the down wind side, Stops the boat from Crushing down on the person in the water,

In a bad sea this could be impossible,

I dont know if it just me,

But I dont care if I break your leg or arm getting you back on board,

An injured live person on board is better than a dead person in the water,

[Kettlewell]

Beaufort to St. Thomas or the Bahamas can be a challenging offshore trip that is not for a beginner. You have to cross the Gulf Stream, which can be a challenge at times. Hopefully your boyfriend knows what he is doing and is going to go in the right season, etc. Having said that, many sailors do that trip and it is not a crazy proposition, assuming you have your ducks in a row.

[Thomashay]

This thread (or threads like it) is my reason for following this forum. Even old, it is timeless and energizing. Sure I enjoy the other less serious threads -- "skipper" vs "captain", jokes, attempts to define "blue-water" -- that are all about the community of sailing (my wife accuses me of looking at "sailing porn" when engrossed in these threads). But six years from now when we finally get to do our own serious sailing, discussions like this, and what we learn about seamanship here, will help make us more like sailors and less like vacationers.

Thanks to the forum leadership for making this site available and to those with real skills willing to share their thoughts with we who are hungry to learn. No telling how many lives will be saved by telling the story of one teenager's rescue.