[C320-list] Crew Overboard!

[Chris Burti]

Dean,
Can we use this for our next Mainsheet article?

On Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 11:31 AM, Dean Vermeire <dean at vermeire.us> wrote:
>  Hi All,
>
> Everybody is fine, so no need to panic.  We had a dog, followed by the first
> mate, go overboard this weekend.  I thought I'd describe what happened and
> how we executed the rescue, just so some can learn from what I did right and
> what I did wrong.  I could also learn from your comments.
>
> I've told our two beagles, Holly and Noel, to always go up the windward
> side, but Noel must not have been paying attention.  As we were sailing on a
> broad reach in about 12 knots of breeze on beautiful Perry Lake, here in
> Kansas, Noel decided to go up to the foredeck.  When she was just past the
> genoa car, the jib sheet, which had been slack, went taught.  The jib sheet
> pushed the dog overboard.  Actually, she had her hind legs on the deck just
> long enough for me to run up there, but not quite long enough for me to grab
> her.
>
> I immediately ran back to the helm with the intention of diving in after the
> dog.  However, my lovely bride was already jumping in by that point.  I
> grabbed the throwable life ring and handed it to my 20-year-old daughter.
>  She threw the life ring to my wife as I turned the boat to begin a figure
> eight to retrieve my wife and dog.  I also handed my daughter the throwing
> bag / heaving line.  She pulled a bunch of line out of the pouch, thinking
> that she was to hang on to the pouch and throw the line.  I had her pull the
> line back in from the water, since it was likely to foul the rudder and
> prop.
>
> By this time, my wife had the life ring and the dog.  I began maneuvering to
> pick them up.  My daughter grabbed the boat hook, and I released the jib
> sheet.  Another sailboat, a Venture 22 with an outboard motor, started
> sailing towards my wife.  I don't know why he thought he, sailing
> single-handed, would have a better chance of retrieving my wife and dog then
> we would, with a two aboard and a walk-through transom.  None the less, he
> was in the way, and I yelled at him to clear out.  This messed up our
> approach.  So, I fired up the engine and motored upwind to my wife.  Just as
> we came alongside, I killed the engine, jumped back on the transom, and
> grabbed my wife's hand.  She then grabbed the ladder, and I grabbed the dog.
>  I helped my wife onto the boat and then grabbed the wheel.  Successful
> rescue.
>
> I'm glad we were sailing on a lake in Kansas.  Even though there was a
> pretty good breeze with occasional white caps, the waves were fairly small.
>
> Although things went pretty well with the rescue, there are some big
> mistakes made and some changes I will make.
>
> Mistakes:
> 1.  The dogs did not have their life jackets on.
> 2.  The humans did not have life jackets or automatic inflatable jackets on.
> 3.  The dogs were able to go up to the foredeck.
> 4.  We were not paying close attention, since we were leisurely sailing
> downwind.
> 5.  My daughter had not been instructed on how to use the heaving line.
> 6.  My wife did not take the life ring with her as she jumped in to save her
> dog.
> 7.  I did not have a secondary throwable close at hand.  I should have
> thrown life jackets, etc.
> 8.  It took me too long to think about grabbing the boat hook.  It was just
> inside the cabin, standing vertical by the companionway stairs, within easy
> reach of the cockpit.
> 9.  Sail handling was not good.  Getting at the jibsheet and mainsheet was
> cumbersome.  Dropping the main would have been difficult and time consuming.
> 10.  I should probably have started the engine sooner.  If my wife had not
> been able to get both the lifering and the dog, things could have been
> worse.
>
> Things that went right:
> 1.  We saved the dog and the wife without any injury.
> 2.  I knew what to do.
> 3.  We had the proper equipment.
>
> Things I will change:
> 1.  I will make the lifering easier to deploy.
> 2.  I will instruct the crew better on the use of the life ring and the
> heaving line.
> 3.  I will add another throwable with a connecting line, such as a life
> sling, within reach of the crew.
> 4.  I will keep the boat hook within reach of the helm.
> 5.  I will put netting from a stanchion to the cabin top to prevent dogs
> from going up to the foredeck!!!
> 6.  I will put a laminated overboard procedures card in the cockpit for
> guests to read.
>
> I'm sure I have already learned more lessons from this, but feel free to
> contribute.
>
> Dean Vermeire
> Moonstruck II (#847)
>
>
>
>
>



-- 
Chris Burti Farmville, NC