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Two amazing videos about crew-overboard situations (all filmed on an E38)

footrope

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
I enjoyed both videos. It sounds like you have a pretty good grip on reality regarding your double-handed situation.

I really liked your comment about a water side release for the transom ladder. I've been thinking about this for some time afterall. When we are at anchor, our ladder is down and in the water shortly after the engine is shutdown after setting the hook. It stays down all night because sometimes I get up and wander around checking things or staring at the moon or ogling the luminescence. Or a passing swimmer might need to rest.

But in the marina, either at our home base or when we are a guest, we generally don't deploy it. In our home marina we have no self-rescue ladders. Well, we have one, but the guy that installed it (during a rant about the marina not supplying any) ties his dink in front of it so it's hard to see or use from the water. I think having a velcro release strap for the stowed ladder is a good idea. Maybe you could post of picture of yours?

Cheers,
Craig
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Really well done video's.
A veritable boat load of wisdom about MOB situations.

Thank You!
:egrin:

Loren
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
In our home marina we have no self-rescue ladders

We don't either. It seems a big oversight, esp. since they are owned by County of Los Angeles.
 

alcodiesel

Bill McLean
No self rescue ladders here either. I just thought it was because this is a broken down po' man's marina. Hey @ $6. a foot I'm not complaining.
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
Really well-done! For short-handed sailors, it really demonstrates the importance of not falling off the boat!

It's still interesting to think of some sort of trailing line that could depower the boat when yanked, but no real practical way of doing that comes to mind so far. Maybe something that hasn't been invented yet, like an electronic proximity tag wired to the autopilot?

I used to do live-boat scuba diving 12-months a year in the San Juan Islands, and a couple of times somehow got "lost" by the boat. It is pretty demoralizing to see the boat searching back and forth in the distance, as the current sweeps you in the opposite direction. I had to self-rescue once by swimming to a nearby island. Submersible VHF (e.g. "Nautilus")would have been the ticket, I suppose, but didn't exist back then and still seems pretty pricey. Neither did the "safety sausages" that you can inflate to increase visibility. Something like that might be a good addition to a life vest pack.

I'm not sure where you're going with the contest to tag other sailors YouTube channels... Some of those guys have done episodes on their MOB drills and safety briefings, in years past. I haven't seen one as informative as yours though.
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
No self rescue ladders here either. I just thought it was because this is a broken down po' man's marina. Hey @ $6. a foot I'm not complaining.

You know, I'm pretty sure that we used to have more ladders than we do now. I think some of them were removed as part of the campaign to stop kids from swimming in the marina. (Freshwater marina - electric shock drowning hazard.) May be partly my fault. It always used to be a pretty happy party down there until I told one of the parents about ESD. Now we have grumpy "no swimming" signs everywhere.
 

bgary

Advanced Beginner
Blogs Author
It's still interesting to think of some sort of trailing line that could depower the boat when yanked, but no real practical way of doing that comes to mind so far.

I used to do this when I was doing (solo) deliveries back in the Dark Ages. 150 feet of poly-pro line, with a fender tied to the end, trailing the boat. had it configured so that any load on it pulled the throttle lever to idle. Never had to use it "for real" but in testing (local waters, good weather) I verified that I could at least get back to the boat.

Of course I was 18 and indestructible then. So, since I almost exclusively single-hand, would love a better solution.
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
I used to do this when I was doing (solo) deliveries back in the Dark Ages. 150 feet of poly-pro line, with a fender tied to the end, trailing the boat. had it configured so that any load on it pulled the throttle lever to idle. Never had to use it "for real" but in testing (local waters, good weather) I verified that I could at least get back to the boat.

Of course I was 18 and indestructible then. So, since I almost exclusively single-hand, would love a better solution.

Hmm... I might have targeted the gear shift lever. Under sail: the way my jib sheets fit into the clam cleats, the slightest tug on the line would blow them. The mainsheet wouldn't quite work that way though. But itt would be a real pain to re-rig the safety line on every tack, so it wouldn't get done.
 
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