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The RYA Training Department has asked its sail cruising schools to put more emphasis on recovering an MOB back on board after we have successfully stopped the boat alongside that familiar fender and bucket! There is no one method of getting a disabled or partly disabled person back on board but we all know that it is certainly not an easy task.
I was about to discard an old working jib but decided to experiment with it as an improvised “scoop”. I asked my sailmaker to put some eyelets along the foot of the jib but he persuaded me that sewing on tapes with shackles would make for a stronger attachment to the toerail.
The victims of these experiments (3 clients on separate courses) were led to believe that they were indeed the first to try it out and I was impressed by the amount of faith they put in their fellow crew members on the halyard! Each experiment led to minor adjustments such as how far forward or aft to attach the foot of the scoop to the toe rail and whether to have the clew of the scoop forward or aft. It is now a dedicated item of safety equipment on Westbound Adventurer and is stowed with the liferaft as this has a dedicated and instantly accessable locker in the cockpit. It does take several minutes to set this system up but the exercise assumes that the MOB is securley tied alongside but unable to climb the boarding ladder with assistance.
The important issue is to have a plan then rehearse your plan to iron out at least some of the difficulties. The tools used are only a means to an end. In a real MOB situation the only correct method is the method which works!
IMPROVISING A SEA ANCHOR
A sea anchor is an important item for most blue water cruising folk but many would consider it “over the top” for coastal and offshore cruising. I would tend to agree that it is over the top for coastal and much offshore sailing but Westbound Adventurer does not lie hove-to particularly well in lively conditions so I decided to conduct 3 experiments with old headsails.
The first experiment used a pre-rigged headsail with 3 lines from head, tack and clew joined at a swivel then connected to 5 metres of chain with a shackle on the end of the chain. This is stowed in a bag ready for connection to a long warp before deployment. A fender was attached to the tack and one to the clew to help the sail take up shape when submerged. It was deployed from the bow and a second line attached to the warp about 30 metres from the inboard end. This second line came inboard at the quarter and was secured to a cockpit winch. This simulated the Pardey bridal method so that the sea is taken about 50 or 60 degrees off the bow and a slick created. This is model A in the results.
The second experiment used the same equipment but with a larger old No.2 furling genoa to see if the size of the sail made any significant difference. This is model B in the results.
The third experiment attached the tack and clew of the old No.2 genoa to either end of the spinnaker pole with the pole bridal attached to a long warp deployed from the bow and a second warp attached to the head of the sail deployed from the quarter. This is model C in the results.
Results of experiments to date:
One hour drift in 15 to 18 knots of true wind as measured by GPS:
Hove-to: 1-4 miles
Sea anchor A: 0-48 miles
Sea Anchor B: 0-32 miles
Sea Anchor C: 0-60 miles
As a result of these experiments I now have model B permanently rigged as a dedicated sea anchor. I await suitable conditions to test it in a real blow but by experimenting in light to moderate seas I have already have ironed out some snags with deployment and retrieval.
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