[C320-list] Crew Overboard!

[Chris Burti]

plenty of time if we don't procrastinate.


On Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 12:55 PM, Dean Vermeire <dean at vermeire.us> wrote:
>  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)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
>



-- 
Chris Burti Farmville, NC