[C320-list] Crew Overboard!

[Dean Vermeire]

  I'd like to clean it up a bit, but we can do that.  When?

On 9/14/2010 10:45 AM, Chris Burti wrote:
> 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)
>>
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