Saturday, May 14, 2016

Crew overboard recovery

Earlier this spring I was part of a crew overboard recovery exercise with the Simply Sailing team of instructors.

We worked on the end but, after you have returned back to your friend who fell into the ocean, you have to get them back on board.

We used a 100 something lb dummy, which made for some interesting complications.  We  tried several variations on getting a halyard around the COB and hauling them up.  We tried working from the dingy alongside, then hoist up on a Halyard and loop a line around the COB from on deck and then haul them up.  The biggest problem seemed to be getting the line looped around the person.

It seems that I need to rethink my plan for retrieving a COB with the gear that is typically aboard a small boat.  I thank that the plan used for the Vancouver Sailing School's boats has some good merits, but I haven't got to try it yet.  They have a dedicated line that lives on the stern of each boat.  You reach down and loop the line under the COB, and then tie it in a long bowline.  This is then hauled up via a halyard or something else.

The thought for improvements on board the Simply Sailing cruising boats is to purchase a COB recovery sling.  This device makes it much easier to get the person into the sling and then get them back on board.  I will report further when I have more to tell on this topic.

Here is video I took and have shared with Chris at Simply Sailing: