RE: [Cal_Boats] Farlonne Islands MOB disaster, near MOB drowning at our docks Thursday.

I concur with Timm. I was knocked overboard during a race, it was blowing 34 knts with 11-14 ft seas. 12 miles off shore. Going, DDW at 7 knts. The boat was gone in seconds. I could see faces looking in my direction. When boats did come by looking for me. No matter how much I waved and blew that Stupid whistle, they went right by me. Some less than 5 boat lenghts. With gusty wind, slapping halyards and spray flying over the bow, no one saw me. I could see everyone on deck looking. But they were looking ahead. Not side to side. Eventually, it took the largest of waves for me to see the tips of everyones masts far-far away. 40 minutes went by before a County Sherifs helo came out. and then they were looking for me a mile away from where I was. When the helo left, a worker on an oil rig saw me go over and kept watching for me. They contacted the helo and turned it my way. The water was 54 degrees, I had little motor control in my legs and arms. I couldn't stand on my own. When I was rejoined with the crew, they said the last time they saw me was when the boom hit me, flinging me 10 meters me into the air. Respectfully ti… [at] ch2m.com wrote: There are very few good solutions.. other than do not leave the boat, unless it is tied to the dock. I tell my crew that if they leave the boat, they are dead. If I can save them, it will be an unexpected bonus. Picture using any solution, while the boat is doing 4-6+ knots, pitching in seas, in 40-50 degree water… after just a moment, all energy is completely gone from the immersed person, so you are lifting a 200-300 pound rag doll covered with slimy loose gear, over a 30” wire, 4 feet below you…. *´¨) ¸.· ´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·**¨) (¸.·´ (¸.·' ( ......….-_/) Timm Lessley

On 4/18/2012 7:11 PM, Randy wrote: > I concur with Timm. > > I was knocked overboard during a race, it was blowing 34 knts with 11-14 ft seas. 12 miles off shore. Going, DDW at 7 knts. > > The boat was gone in seconds. I could see faces looking in my direction. > > When boats did come by looking for me. No matter how much I waved and blew that Stupid whistle, they went right by me. Some less than 5 boat lenghts. With gusty wind, slapping halyards and spray flying over the bow, no one saw me. > > I could see everyone on deck looking. But they were looking ahead. Not side to side. Randy: I want to thank you for posting your account of being the MOB. I just forwarded it to three licensed captains that I sail with on different boats, because constant reminders of how things can go wrong is one way to be better prepared when they do. In the case of MOB issues especially, we're all guilty of making wildly over-optimistic assumptions. I am, at least. I usually assume I won't fall over, and if I do I'll be rescued quickly, and the PFD will work, and the water will be warm, and I will climb back aboard, and on and on. It's obvious from your account that you're aware of just how lucky you are that all the right things happened in your case. We all need to ponder how one little change in that scenario could have resulted in an obituary. /Sailing/ magazine's latest issue had a story about a couple's last sail aboard their boat before hauling and selling her. It had the usual comments about shedding a few tears at the loss. I just did a calculation. This summer will mark my 45th year of sailing on my other boat and maybe the 13th or 14th on the Cal 20. It would be heartbreaking to part with either. But I hope that when I part with my boats, it will be by way of a bill of sale and at a really advanced age. Chris Campbell > Eventually, it took the largest of waves for me to see the tips of everyones masts far-far away. > > 40 minutes went by before a County Sherifs helo came out. and then they were looking for me a mile away from where I was. > > When the helo left, a worker on an oil rig saw me go over and kept watching for me. They contacted the helo and turned it my way. > > The water was 54 degrees, I had little motor control in my legs and arms. I couldn't stand on my own. > > When I was rejoined with the crew, they said the last time they saw me was when the boom hit me, flinging me 10 meters me into the air. > > Respectfully > > > Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G > > ti… [at] ch2m.com wrote: > > There are very few good solutions.. other than do not leave the boat, unless it is tied to the dock. > > > > I tell my crew that if they leave the boat, they are dead. If I can save them, it will be an unexpected bonus. > > > > Picture using any solution, while the boat is doing 4-6+ knots, pitching in seas, in 40-50 degree water… > > > > after just a moment, all energy is completely gone from the immersed person, > > > > so you are lifting a 200-300 pound rag doll covered with slimy loose gear, over a 30” wire, 4 feet below you…. > > > > *´¨) > ¸.· ´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·**¨) > (¸.·´ (¸.·' ( ......….-_/) > > > > Timm Lessley > > > >