MOB ideas&tips

[deepblueme]

Here is a thread I found intresting from a searchers point of view.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/gen...oint-view.html

[Freesail99]

Well, that's great if you have a scuba tank on and all your gear. But if I fell off my boat, how does it help ?

[swadiver]

Deep,

That was an interesting article. I do a lot of solo sailing and I allways wear a PFD with a strobe and a personal EPIRB. Did not think of a signal mirror and dye pack. I will add those to one of the pockets. Thanks.

Scott -
Namaste, Catalina 30 Tall Rig

[SVAuspicious]

MOB is an important subject, and discussion is valuable. You might want to look at earlier discussions on the SSCA, Cruisers Forum, and Renegades boards. I'm sure there are more.

Oh -- no substitute for drills. Make it fun and do it regularly.

[Giulietta]

The best cure for MOB is NO MOB...

If you are in risk of MOB, tie yourself to the boat...prevention is better than the cure.

[sailingdog]

Best idea is prevention... STAY ON THE DAMN BOAT... practicing MOB drills is a worthy cause, and well worth doing, but the reality is that MOBs are far harder to spot and retrieve, even with significant practice. Tethers and jacklines are good start... as is having a boat that doesn't heel and is 18' wide with foot-high bulwarks along the outside of the amas.

A friend of mine who teaches sailing has a example where he pitches a painted coconut overboard... The coconut is not that different in size from a human head and is about what you'd see if a person went overboard without a good inflatable PFD.... Spotting and retrieving the coconut is a lot harder than you'd expect. Add 5-7' seas and 20 knots of wind and you might as well forget even trying.

He also does a much more advanced retrieval test where they heave a weighted dummy in a PFD overboard... the PFD is a Type I bright orange vest. It is still amazing how difficult it is to keep track of the dummy. The dummy weighs about 135 lbs... and hauling it aboard most boats is pretty difficult as well.

The PFDs on my boat have strobes, rigging knives and whistles attached to them, as well as having retroreflective tape patches on them. Personally, I try to keep people aboard, rather than trying to find them after they go over the side.

The best piece of gear for MOB recoveries I have on board is a Lifesling. The thing just works... Be aware that getting the MOB back aboard can be really tough, depending on what boat you're on. On my friend's C&C 38, it is almost impossible...since the boat has a lot of freeboard. On my little 28' trimaran it is relatively easy to do, since the ama decks give you a lot of space to work with, as well as relatively little freeboard to hoist them over. The easiest place to pull them aboard is probably the aft end of the ama deck—between the ama and the main hull.

[Giulietta]

A friend of mine, ate the coconut........

[sailingdog]

I'm not surprised, especially since you like the brains best...with a good Chianti

[Giulietta]

slurp....slurp.....slurp....

[TwentySeven]

I used to only take precautions when the conditions advise to do so. But two recent stories from people that I know made me realise you should practically allways wear the tethers and jacklines, even when it looks like nothing could happen.

In the first one, and acquaintance of mine was sailing with a friend, bright sun, calm seas, slow wind, so the boat not moving faster than 2 or 3 knots. His friend was in the bow doing something with the genoa and he stood up at the aft for a leak. He slid down and fell to the calm and warm mediterranean water. His friend didn't notice right away, so the boat kept sailing slowly away from him. Not really big deal: in such calm water you can spend the full day swiming while they come after you, and his friend would have definately found him (one of those days when you can see any object floating a mile away, not to mention if it is someone waving at you). So he was not in real danger, but the vision of the aft of the boat leaving him behind made him freak out and had a heart attack. His friend then noticed, turned around and sailed back to him in just a few minutes. Managed to get him onboard (which was really hard as he couldn't cooperate much) and took him to the hospital. He survived and seems to be recovering fine. But he could have died the silliest way.

The other story happened to a neighbour in my Marina. We sometimes talk about security measures when sailing solo and I can tell he is a prudent man. One day, in similar conditions, sailing very slow in almost flat waters he was in the bow arranging the genoa and a sudden movement of the boat (maybe caused by the wake of a distant ship) throw him oberboard. He grasped the rail with both hands and remained hunging outside the boat like crucified upside down for some time. Suddenly, another movement of the boat allowed him to get back onboard.

We have all heard stories of things happening under heavy weather, but to me these two stories, that happened last summer and I heard directly from the person involved, made me realise that the danger is always around when you are out there sailing. Even more so when it doesn't look like it (because you don't take precautions then). So now I try to be diligent to get the tethers and jackline no matter how calm and safe everything looks. Even when it seems an exagerated measure. And I hope I won't relax after some time without hearing these kind of stories... so I don't end up being the star of the next one.