1. Using the Lifesling to save your mate.

2. History Many documented deaths in Crew Over Board (COB) situations. Common factors The Sailing Foundation of Seattle designs a dedicated COB rescue system – the Lifesling

3. Problem Solution VisibilityQuickstop FlotationLifesling RetrievalLifesling

4. Lifesling design Flexible horseshoe float with 20 lbs. buoyancy. 125’-150’ floating line Draws closed around COB for hoisting Soft case, hard case and inflatable versions

5. Crew Over Board!

6. Crew Overboard! The overriding priority: keep the COB in sight. Throw a cushion or another buoyant object. Alert crew, if any; designate COB “watcher”. Push GPS “MOB” button STOP THE BOAT!

7. Quickstop -- 1

8. Stop the Boat: Quickstop Maneuver 1. Head to windward, luffing the sails and stopping the boat. 2. Deploy Lifesling (making sure it is attached to the boat). 3. Turn through the eye of the wind, without tacking the jib sheets. 4. If the mainsheet is run out, pull it in to a close-hauled position 5. Sail past COB, gybing as necessary.

9. Quickstop -- 2

10. Stop the Boat: Quickstop Maneuver 6. Circle the COB, without touching the sheets 7. Watch the Lifesling line –don’t run over it! 8. Watch the COB – don’t run over him! 9. Circle until the COB has the Lifesling.

11. Quickstop --3

12. Quickstop – after making contact with the COB STOP THE BOAT by heading into the wind (towing the COB is very dangerous). As soon as the COB has the Lifesling over his head, drop the sails. Jib first – keeps boat head to wind. If hanked-on, tie it down to keep it from jumping up the forestay. Then drop the main. Keep lines out of the water

13. Securing the COB Pull the COB in with the Lifesling line. Pull to the windward side—this is rougher on the COB but the boom and mainsail will be out of the way. Pull the COB as close as possible to a midship or cockpit cleat, and cleat off the line. The most critical part of the rescue is over!

14. Recovering the COB Get out the hoisting tackle. Attach the lower end temporarily to a lifeline, or directly onto the loop at the end of the Lifesling line. Identify a free halyard—most commonly the main halyard— and attach the fall end of the tackle. Run the fall through a genoa sheet lead block to a sheet winch. Hoist the halyard at least 10’ off the deck and cleat it off. Attach the lower end to the Lifesling line loop (if not already attached). Undo the cleated Lifesling line and hoist the COB aboard.

15. Recovering the COB: Caveats You have the time to work safely, as the immediate danger of drowning or hypothermia is past. Make sure the tackle’s fall comes from the upper block. Make sure the hoist is led outside the lifelines. Hoist the upper block at least 10’ off the deck so the COB will clear the lifelines.

16. Quickstop --4

31. coffee break (10 minutes) After the break, please follow Bryan to the hanger for the hoisting demonstration. Can you hoist your partner with a 3:1 purchase tackle? 4:1?

32. questions? Is your Lifesling securely tied and seized to the boat? Do you have a readily accessable tackle with enough line to go from near the water to 10’ off the deck, and lead fairly to a winch? What problems do you foresee using these techniques on your boat?

33. Preparing in advance Read literature, watch the video, take a class Get the gear on the boat, correctly installed Dock exercise: with a MOB in the water or in the bottom of a dinghy alongside, hoist and drop the sails, rig the tackle, and hoist the MOB aboard. At sea: practice MOB routine with a dummy (a fender tied to a bucket). Practice with a live MOB only under safely controlled conditions.

34. Preparing in advance Read literature, watch the video, take a class Get the gear on the boat, correctly installed Dock exercise: with a MOB in the water or in the bottom of a dinghy alongside, hoist and drop the sails, rig the tackle, and hoist the MOB aboard. At sea: practice MOB routine with a dummy (a fender tied to a bucket). Practice with a live MOB only under safely controlled conditions.

35. Preparation checklist: Lifesling and retrieval line in sound condition. Line tied and seized to a hard point, with UV protection. At Lifesling end, line tied in a loop long enough to go from the water to the rail, securely knotted and seized. Lifesling packed correctly. Hoisting tackle handy, long enough to extend from the water to 10’ off the deck, with the fall leading fair to a winch. Every crewmember must practice annually.

36. Tradewinds Sailing Quickstop Many of the case studies are from reaching on inland waters such as Puget S0und, San Francisco Bay, etc. But tradewind cruisers are likely to be in different conditions: Sailing a broad reach or dead downwind 20-30 kn. of wind, 5-15’ seas Gybe preventer on the boom Genoa on the spinnaker pole, possibly wing-and- wing, or a spinnaker flying

37. Downwind Problems big seas Steering is locked by AP or a windvane gybe preventer rigged to boom genoa on a pole

38. Downwind Quickstop Problem: Solution: big seas steering is locked by AP or windvane gybe preventer rigged to boom genoa on a pole Quickstop! unlock steering release preventer after starting turn to windward release genoa sheet as soon as sail starts to backwind

39. Downwind Quickstop sequence: 1. Push MOB button, throw floating objects 2. Disengage windvane or AP steering. 3. Start turn to windward. 4. Cast off genoa sheet as it starts to backwind. 5. Cast off gybe preventer as main starts to backwind.

41. Downwind Quickstop, cont’d 5. Cast off gybe preventer as main starts to backwind. 6. Deploy Lifesling.

45. Downwind Quickstop, cont’d The boat will now be in irons, downwind and off to one side of the COB. With most of the jib rolled in, continue the turn and sail close-hauled toward the COB. Steer to pass upwind of the COB, then fall off and gybe. Steer tight circles until the COB has the float.

46. Downwind Quickstop Questions? What would be different on your boat?

47. Staying attached to the boat!

48. Jacklines Run from bow to 6’ from stern. Should keep COB from going more than waist deep. Should have moderate stretch to minimize peak loads. Strong enough to handle 4000lb. tether load

49. Jackline layout

50. jacklines on Sequoia

52. cockpit jacklines

53. Jackline materials MaterialProsCons 3/16 th “ 1x19 316 wire rope Easy to use No UV degradation Required by ISAF Very low stretch Rolls underfoot Swages can corrode ½” dacron double-braidInexpensive Easy to rig Good UV resistance Rolls underfoot Other lines may be mistaken for it Spectra or Dyneema Tubular webbing High strength OK UV resistance Lays flat on deck Expensive Very low stretch Requires stitched loops 1’ polyester tubular webbing Lays flat on deck Moderate stretch OK UV resistance Requires stitched loops

54. Jackline material no-nos Material: Cons: Nylon tubular webbing Polypropylene webbing or rope Weak (3600 lb. ) Too stretchy Poor UV resistance Weaker than nylon Very poor UV resistance

55. Chest Harnesses Available in plain harness or as part of inflatable vest Must be comfortable Tether must attach to both D-rings on harness Best with whistle, light, and reflective tape

56. Tethers 6’ long max., 4000 lb. min. breaking strength. Boat-end clip should be safety type (Kong clip or Wichard Safety clip). Chest end must be releasable under load (snap shackle).

57. The most likely proximate cause of drowning.

58. Hypothermia Defined as a core temperature less than 95 ° F. Loss of consciousness begins at 90 ° F. Death occurs when core temperature drops below 86 ° F.

60. Hypothermia from Immersion

61. Minimizing hypothermia in the water Layer of fleece, wool, jackets, hats, gloves all help Foul weather gear (traps air, minimizes “pumping”). Wet suit or survival suit (the best choice). Keep your extremities out of the water. Minimize exertion.

62. What you can do if you find yourself in the water: 1. Inflate vest, if worn. Cinch up any straps at wrists, legs, waist, or hood. 2. Minimize exertion. Don’t try to swim to shore. 3. Get onto overturned boat or any flotsam. 4. Assume HELP position in water.

63. Treating hypothermia DO DON’T Get victim into dry clothing or blankets. Heat from core: Warm, sweet drinks if conscious. Breath steam (100-110 ° F). Heat pads or hot water bottles to chest area. Keep victim horizontal, quiet Call for medical aid if victim is unconscious or confused. Don’t assume victim is thinking clearly Don’t apply heat to the extremities. NEVER GIVE ALCOHOL! Don’t move victim.

64. Severe hypothermia Requires hospitalization for best chance of recovery. When checking pulse, check for at least 40 seconds as heartbeat may be very slow. Mouth –to-mouth breathing may be used to assist victim’s own breathing.

65. Drowning from hypothermia Clear lungs and airways If no respiration or heartbeat, begin CPR. Rescue breathing will add warmth to victim’s core. Warm victim slowly. Remember, the victim isn’t dead until he is WARM and dead!

66. How to search for a missing crew when you have lost contact with them.

67. Search Options 1. GPS Man Overboard function. 2. GPS track back option. 3. Spiral search pattern

68. Search Options 1. GPS Man Overboard function. For typical marine GPS, hold down mark button. This creates a mark labeled “MOB.” GPS then shows a heading back to COB.

69. Search Options 2. GPS back track. If plotter is making a track record, turn and follow back along the track Useful even if you don’t know when the crew went overboard. Usefulness impaired by long track interval, strong winds or current.

70. Search Options 3. Spiral search: A course of 90 ° turns that traces a path with a constant distance between adjacent legs. The longer the search continues, the larger an area it covers.

71. spiral search pattern 1. go 1 unit, turn right. 2. Repeat 3. Go 2 units, turn right. 4. Repeat. 5. Go 3 units, turn right. 6. Repeat. 7. Continue pattern. 8. Each unit is a constant distance or time based on visibility. Estimated position of COB 1 1 2 3 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 etc. 7 START

72. Spiral search example: Say that certain visibility is about 25 yards. Twice this (or 50 yards) becomes 1 unit of distance. 5 knots = 2.8 yards per second. (1 nm/hr=0.56 yd/sec) One unit of time will be 50/2.8 = 18 seconds. For simplicity, let one unit= 15 seconds, or slow down a little and let one unit = 20 seconds. So go 20 sec. N, 20 sec. E, 40 sec. S, 40 sec. W, 60 sec. N, 60 sec. E, 1:20 S, 1:20 W, etc.

73. Search tips Try to make one search unit no more than the distance between swells. Furl the sails and motor (after checking for lines in the water!). Search slowly enough to allow a careful scan. If your plotter is convenient to the helm, turn on tracking with a very short interval (10 seconds) to make a reasonable record of the search. In less than full sun, have a spotlight handy, particularly if the COB has any reflective strips on his clothing.

74. Stay attached to the boat!

75. SIYC Summer Safety Cruises COB Hoist and Cruise August 1-2 Hadley’s Landing Theme: Tropical Treats Host: Ed and Sarah, S/V Hokuloa Come check out your Lifesling gear and practice hoisting a real, live wet sailor aboard! Astoria Cruise and COB Boathandling Practice August 15-16 Tongue Pt. lagoon Theme: Cruiser’s Potluck Host: volunteer needed Take a longer cruise down to Astoria and try out your Quickstop under controlled conditions. This will be an anchoring cruise with excellent kayaking and shoreside exploration.