however, that the risk of being thrown or washed overboard is, for keelboat sailors, far greater than the risk of having your boatâs keel break off. Even when capsized the boat will generally bob back upright, bringing to the surface a properly tethered sailor.
Consider also the assumption that a crew overboard will be rescued by sailors still on board. (Obviously this doesnât apply to singlehanders, as weâll see in Chapter 10 .) Most offshore sailors do wear a PFDâat least sometimesâand have attached to it a strobe light or whistle to make it easier to be found. PLBs are also being used more frequently. Chartplotters almost universally have a crew-overboard button to instantly record the location where someone goes overboard. And most offshore racing and rally rules require carrying a tall crew-overboard pole to be thrown overboard to help mark the location.
All of this may give the impression that if someone goes over itâs simply a matter of turning the boat to pick them up.
How safe is it to assume that?
While this book was being written in 2012, one of the worst American sailing disasters in recent decades occurred during the Farallones Race off San Francisco. An unexpectedly large wave struck a 38-foot boat, sweeping six of the eight crew overboard. Winds were about 25 knots, not unusual for the area, and certainly not storm conditions. All were wearing PFDs. The two still on board immediately focused on getting the others back on the boat when another large wave struck, sending one of them overboard and knocking the boat out of control. Waves soon swept it onto nearby rocks. Immediately an emergency call was made and a Coast Guard rescue effort began. A helicopter rescued three crew and recovered one body.
An extensive search continued the rest of the afternoon, through the night, and all the next day for the four who were still missing. When there was no longer the slightest hope that they could have survived that long in the frigid water, the Coast Guard discontinued the search after it became obvious no more survivors would be found.
Several weeks later one of the three survivors wrote a personal account of the disaster to correct inaccuracies in news reports, and he concluded with thoughtful reflections about the importance of using a tether. Like the others, he had not been clipped in and his time in the water had been terrifying. But tethering shouldnât be a personal choice, he argued, because even one person overboard puts the whole crew at risk when they have to act to attempt a rescue.
Three months after the incident, the investigation team of U.S. Sailing published its report. Two of the safety issues cited were a âfailure of seamanship in negotiating shoal waters on a lee shoreâ and âinadequate safety gear for offshore conditions,â including the use of appropriate PFDs and tethers. It quoted the U.S. Sailing Prescription recommendation in the ISAF Offshore Special Regulations that tethers should âbe employed whenever conditions warrant, and always in rough weather, on cold water, or at night, or under conditions of reduced visibility or when sailing short-handed.â
CHAPTER 3
A Good Dayâs Sail Goes Bad
F or most sailors, sailing in a good wind on a day with good weather is one of the great joys in life. Youâre out in the natural world, feeling the warmth of the sun over the cool of the water, feeling the breeze on your face and the boatâs responses to natural forces, enjoying time away from land and all that entails, enjoying a time either social or solitaryâand often feeling a great peacefulness. You may also thrill to the adrenaline of a race or simply the challenge of controlling your boat through continually changing circumstances. There may be as many ways to enjoy sailing as there are sailors; we all have our own experiences and joys. But in the back of our minds we must remember that water is not humansâ
Consider also the assumption that a crew overboard will be rescued by sailors still on board. (Obviously this doesnât apply to singlehanders, as weâll see in Chapter 10 .) Most offshore sailors do wear a PFDâat least sometimesâand have attached to it a strobe light or whistle to make it easier to be found. PLBs are also being used more frequently. Chartplotters almost universally have a crew-overboard button to instantly record the location where someone goes overboard. And most offshore racing and rally rules require carrying a tall crew-overboard pole to be thrown overboard to help mark the location.
All of this may give the impression that if someone goes over itâs simply a matter of turning the boat to pick them up.
How safe is it to assume that?
While this book was being written in 2012, one of the worst American sailing disasters in recent decades occurred during the Farallones Race off San Francisco. An unexpectedly large wave struck a 38-foot boat, sweeping six of the eight crew overboard. Winds were about 25 knots, not unusual for the area, and certainly not storm conditions. All were wearing PFDs. The two still on board immediately focused on getting the others back on the boat when another large wave struck, sending one of them overboard and knocking the boat out of control. Waves soon swept it onto nearby rocks. Immediately an emergency call was made and a Coast Guard rescue effort began. A helicopter rescued three crew and recovered one body.
An extensive search continued the rest of the afternoon, through the night, and all the next day for the four who were still missing. When there was no longer the slightest hope that they could have survived that long in the frigid water, the Coast Guard discontinued the search after it became obvious no more survivors would be found.
Several weeks later one of the three survivors wrote a personal account of the disaster to correct inaccuracies in news reports, and he concluded with thoughtful reflections about the importance of using a tether. Like the others, he had not been clipped in and his time in the water had been terrifying. But tethering shouldnât be a personal choice, he argued, because even one person overboard puts the whole crew at risk when they have to act to attempt a rescue.
Three months after the incident, the investigation team of U.S. Sailing published its report. Two of the safety issues cited were a âfailure of seamanship in negotiating shoal waters on a lee shoreâ and âinadequate safety gear for offshore conditions,â including the use of appropriate PFDs and tethers. It quoted the U.S. Sailing Prescription recommendation in the ISAF Offshore Special Regulations that tethers should âbe employed whenever conditions warrant, and always in rough weather, on cold water, or at night, or under conditions of reduced visibility or when sailing short-handed.â
CHAPTER 3
A Good Dayâs Sail Goes Bad
F or most sailors, sailing in a good wind on a day with good weather is one of the great joys in life. Youâre out in the natural world, feeling the warmth of the sun over the cool of the water, feeling the breeze on your face and the boatâs responses to natural forces, enjoying time away from land and all that entails, enjoying a time either social or solitaryâand often feeling a great peacefulness. You may also thrill to the adrenaline of a race or simply the challenge of controlling your boat through continually changing circumstances. There may be as many ways to enjoy sailing as there are sailors; we all have our own experiences and joys. But in the back of our minds we must remember that water is not humansâ
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