Roll Over and MOB.........the recovery!

[David_Old_Jersey]

Ok, following on from the previous thread (Capsize / MOB challenge) ........after the 360 rollover a quick scan does reveal your mate bobbing around 50 feet away, just too far to easily throw a line - given the wind conditions.

Vessel: Blue water well found yacht (say 42 ft mono) with all the usual equipment necessary for safe passage making.....and this time you can use all the equipment you would normally carry onboard, but only if you would expect it to have a reasonable chance of surviving the rollover (yer get to write your own problems ).....the mast is however hanging over the side, but the good news is that it is mid morning (so plenty of daylight to play with!)........so, how do you save your mate?

Crew: you and your best friend. Both wearing the safety gear you would usually wear onboard.

Location: Southern Ocean, about halfway between NZ and Cape Horn around S46.

Weather: bad enough to have rolled whatever well found boat you are on.


Won't be any sudden surprise handicaps from me. (apart from maybe an alien attack - if we get to page 3 )......as am off to bed.

Zzzzzzzzzz

[Pelagic]

First of all, I am wearing a wet suit as sailing in those latitude storm conditions makes it the only practical thing to keep you warm…. (God I stink!)

When I can’t heave the line far enough into the winds and the space is opening up….. I quickly tie a long line to my waist, (secure other end to boat) grab the fins/mask/snorkel and dive in after him.

First thing I notice is how warm the sea feels compared to the air temp.

How do I know this? …….. well that’s another story

[Tellie]

Ok I'm with Pelagic, though I'd set the boarding ladder over first and tie the line to my saftey harness I should be wearing.

The lower half of my wet suit would have been pre-warmed during the roll over.

[easterly]

I pick up my spear gun and shoot a line over my mates head. If I miss I hope it is just a minor flesh wound and I can just reel them in.

[easterly]

Originally Posted by easterly

I pick up my spear gun and shoot a line over my mates head. If I miss I hope it is just a minor flesh wound and I can just reel them in.

Wait that should read, If I don't miss....

[Ex-Calif]

Well as I only made a cursory check around the boat before I started tidying up and making tea I probably wouldn't notice my guy (MidLandOne) but if I did I would grab his life vest, hold it high over my head and shout, "I bet to hell you wish you had this thing on now, baby!"

Then I'd sling it as far as I could toward him (who says I'm not compassionate) and get back to seeing about my own survival.

---------------------

Ah, but seriously this is a very tough pick up. There is debris all around the boat etc. Getting myself in the water would be low on my priority list but if it came to that I would also don my swim fins.

Before that I would evaluate

1/ Could I sling a smaller lead line with a floating winch handle on it for weight? He's a small target and the lead line is also small - low chance for success
2/ Is he upwind/upcurrent? If downwind / down current could I get something with windage and hope to sling it / float it to him.
3/ Is he conscious? If unconscious I am probably in the water. In this case I might deploy the raft, tie it to the boat and paddle to him.

If I deployed the raft I'd go with the attitude that I am not coming back. Who knows what happens next. The mother ship rolls again and I am tied to it? Not good. The line breaks, cleat fails whatever now two people are in the water separated fromthe boat. If we make it back great but be prepared, I guess.

Once back at the boat we have to get back on board. I would have seen to that before launching. I think rigging the ladder amidships might be better, especially if the boat is pitching. No need to get smacked by the bow or stern at this point.

If he is unconscious I may have to winch him over the rail. Without a boom this is going to be pretty tough. May need two winches. One around the chest and one around the waist to get him horizontal raise him to the rail and then try to roll him in.

Not a fun day on the water for sure...

[Pelagic]

Well thought out Dan (Your last post that is)

I actually have a commercial type heaving line which has a heavy leather pouch filled with lead pellets and a flexible waxed line.

I could swing that 100 feet into a gale but I didn’t want to spoil the fun

[Eleven]

Same as before initially. Throw everything (that floats) in the cockpit into the water. Take a hand compass bearing on his position, write it down.
Maybe something will get near enough to him to grab hold of and at least the location is marked, if I get under way I'll know when I'm in the right area.
'From last exercise' switch on the GPS and do MOB button.
Hold on the EPIRB, it's too slow, I should be able to save him, it's about the only chance he's got.
Liferaft if he's downwind, with a droque of some sort and the longest rope in the cockpit locker. His best chance of saving himself. (I might need it tomorrow but he needs it now.)
50 ft is so close but he's drifting away even tho he's still swimming. What else. Boats OK for a few minutes at least, water below but not serious, check again, looks to be less than a foot. Mast is bumping the hull occasionally but is also downwind.
Got to get the boat to him. Start the engine and hope the prop doesn't tangle, if I reverse most of the debris will stay clear.
Where is he? Can't see him, hand compass. Bloody hell he's a fair way off now, just in sight over waves. We're moving at a couple of knots but the rudders taking a hammering but the mast is now trailing ahead of us so no more impacts. Hand compass on his position, not changed much, write it down, and the GPS position and press the MOB.
What else. He's waving, I wave back, not knowing if it's a goodbye.

The liferaft took off in the wind, snapped the weak link. Gone. But there's still all the rigging, just had to get close enough with anything for him to reach.
Once he'd got hold it was doing things carefully. In the lee of the boat he'd recovered enough to look for damage and assess the rig and mast. I wanted to wait 'till the storm settles a bit but he wanted back on board. With another rope he jury rigged a bosuns chair to wrap around him and I hauled him in on a winch.
Five minutes later he's back on board, fit, relieved, cold. Chocolate and brandy for cold and shock. I'll let him have some too.
The only damage he's got is from getting back on board.
We're still in slow astern, means hand steering but it feels like we've got some control over how we present to the wind and waves. That mast is going to be a hell of a job but it'll wait half an hour now it's streaming out behind us. Lifelines on. Cockpit secure, Cabin next, what a mess. A tot of brandy for Neptune, lousy sense of humour. He's got some bruises though, but all four limbs still work.

[imagine2frolic]

easterly,

It's a good thing I had already swallowed my coffee. I think I would have sprayed the keyboard, and screen with it!!!!!!!!!....JUST REEL HIM IN

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Ok, following on from the previous thread (Capsize / MOB challenge) ........after the 360 rollover a quick scan does reveal your mate bobbing around 50 feet away, just too far to easily throw a line - given the wind conditions.

......

Hmm... I missed this new post.

Anyway, given the info, I would throw the line "hard" as throwing easily didn't work. .

Other ideas: depends on which mate it is, for some I would hold up a $50 dollar note, for others, a bottle of rum, for some (including DOJ I suspect), a picture of Pirate Girl would do the trick.

Asuming he is conscious waving etc.

If he is upwind, I would deploy the para-anchor ASAP and hope to slow the drift of the boat so he drifts towards it.

If downwind, first try deploying liferaft towards him, might lose it, might not.

If he neither up or down wind or if he's unconscious, haul in as much of the lines and stays as quickly possible, secure them to anything, start the donk (in neutral), engage slow astern, watch very carefully for lines etc suddenly disappearing overboard (pray to one's respective Deity) and back up until he is much closer.

Engine in neutral, secure him along side, engine off, have a cuppa and then get him to promise to pay back that 50 quid he owes you from a year back.

[David_Old_Jersey]

I like the Easterly approach of harpooning the MOB Are you Japanese?

But as a poor swimmer (and with experiance of being in trouble in the water with someone else - and knowing how hard it can be) jumping in would not be my first choice, so speargun is an idea I had not considered. could be worth a shot (pun intended ).

Had also not thought of starting the engine and going astern (or praying to a deity ).

All goes into the pot.........of things I hope never to need

[easterly]

They do make line guns for just this purpose. To shoot a line to another boat, or to someone in the water.

[Pelagic]

Guys! 50 ft! .... ten strokes at most with a 200ft polly coiling out behind you....No need to over engineer a problem....just do it!

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Guys! 50 ft! .... ten strokes at most with a 200ft polly coiling out behind you....No need to over engineer a problem....just do it!

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ance-6404.html

I tried.

[Pelagic]

“Mad dogs and Englishmen!”…David……

Sorry! You tried nothing that your Bar soaked, youthful mindset probably makes you wince at these days...

The fact that you developed a paranoia about jumping in the water has nothing to do with the solution of saving someone who thru no fault of their own…is only 50 ft from you.

Just remember to tie on that line!...