Safety & Crew Overboard Recovery

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I sail the Great Lakes where the water often averages 40-60 degrees and I often sail single-handed or with inexperienced crew. At these temperatures, a swimmer quickly loses the ability to think clearly or assist in a Crew Overboard (COB) recovery. Coast Guard incident reports provided on the US Sailing website indicates many COB are not recovered alive or without some injury. Reading about “worst case” events can be very instructive. A common result is death by hyperthermia. Other causes of death/injury mentioned are the COB being drowned or injured during the recovery.

My guess is that only a small portion of successful COB recoveries are reported so you probably get an overly pessimistic view of the actual COB survival rate from reading these reports. That said, my personal observations indicate some sailors have not received COB training and/or practice COB recovery. I think this is especially true for small boat sailors, many of whom are new to sailing and who have not taken a formal keelboat course that covers COB recovery.  

How to improve the odds? 
1. Training and practice. Training from an accredited sailing school is a good investment. I sail with many of the same people, so at the beginning of the season we practice COB recovery using all the tools and techniques we have learned. 

Copy of sospenders.jpg (12049 bytes)2. Wearing a PFD greatly increases the odds of a successful recovery. The average PFD is very comfortable. I sometimes forget I'm wearing it and once walked into a Buger King wearing mine. I always wear an inflatable PFD/harness with whistle while underway. Even if the COB is wearing a PFD it is very hard to see a swimmer except in very calm water so a strobe and or light stick is good insurance. The type III sport vest is very comfortable and I recommend it to my crew as another option. 

3. Other safety equipment. Coast Guard requirements vary by boat size so it's best to look up the required and recommended equipment for your category vessel. In addition to a PFD for each crew, a throwable PFD, a fire extinguisher and Visual Distress Signal are minimum requirements. I also carry a VHF aboard my boat. For more detailed information, go to the Coast Guard boating safety website here. 

In addition to the above, sometimes we also wear the very comfortable Mustang Survival float jacket MJ6214 . This is a great product, the extra insulation is welcome during Spring and Fall - it's just to warm to wear any other time. 

The Lifesling
lifesling3.jpg (45182 bytes)A recent Crew-Over-Board study conducted in San Francisco Bay gives valuable information on equipment and techniques for recovery of crew (Click here for the final report). This study gives high marks to the Lifesling for COB recovery. A quick tug on the lifesling flap and it's deployed directly off the stern. You sail/motor in circles around the COB until he reaches the sling and puts it around his waist. The disadvantages of the lifesling is that the recovery may require one or more jibes before you make contact and the COB has to cooperate in the recovery. For more information on this device, Practical Sailor covered the Lifesling in their November & December 2005 issues and its use was discussed in recent issues of Sailing, Sail and other magazines. The Lifesling system has been tested and recommended by the US Coast Guard, the Naval Academy, and a number of sailing organizations. More on this and other related subjects here.

throwbag2.gif (13137 bytes)Retrieval Linesfrisbouy.jpg (15001 bytes)
Copy of heaving-line.jpg (4201 bytes)In addition to the Lifesling, there are a number of other methods for getting a line to the COB. I prefer something simple. There are many versions of the Throw Bag. This device is simple, reliable and uncomplicated. The heaving line/ball is a device used by the Coast Guard. A more recent development is the Frisby type device that can reach the swimmer as much as 100 feet away. Search the internet for Frisbouy, Res-Q-Disc, or Personal Retriever. To be honest, this device requires some practice, but once you get the hang of it, it works well.

Getting the MOB aboard cob-recovery4.jpg (28267 bytes)
Getting to the vicinity of the COB quickly is critical. Many sailing schools teach the figure 8 method or the quick turn. A variation of these two methods is the "Deep Beam Reach". This COB recovery technique returns the boat back upwind of the victim in the most direct method possible. I've found this method much easier to learn and execute and requires only two vs. three points of sail. For more information on this technique see Sail Magazine Dec 2005, pg 35,  http://www.sailmagazine.com. You may be able to get a reprint of this article from the magazine or click here for a more detailed summary of this technique. On my boat, the most obvious way to recover the COB is over the "sugar scoop" stern.

There are several possible methods for getting the COB aboard and it is worth thinking this part of the recovery through in advance. For example, how a would a 125lb woman recover a semi-conscious 200lb man?  

Bottom line: Too much can go wrong, and you have to have a lot of luck to successfully recover a COB. Practice and having the right equipment can improve your chances.