[Public-List] going solo

Tue Jun 5 17:43:17 PDT 2012

Well I guess I have to tell my story ... but first.

If you are sailing solo - slow down! People get in trouble when they hurry and do not prepare things.

Always have an anchor rigged, as this will be the tool of last resort, when the engine does not start, you are on a lee shore, and ...

Also, remember the boat will behave if you need to go down below or get something done. The sails might be making noise, but I have found the boat to do just fine if I let things loose. Also learn how to heave to, as this is a good way to get make sure the boat stays pretty much in one place if you have something to do. I do not have an autopilot, so I rely on these more perhaps.

My Jack Line - when I run one, goes from the bow around the stern back to the bow again. It is adjusted so that in addition to the the pennant on the harness it would put me at the stern if I went over the side. Also, if I need to go down below, it is long enough for me to run downstairs and get a sail or food. I have an old style boat, so beverages are always handy on deck :)

My ladder is on the stern - which is the best place for it if you fall over the side, which brings me to my story...

I was coming up the Bay, with the wind 15 - 20 from the south. I had full main and a 170, poled out on a long whisker pole. Rigged this way, and in this wind, the boat is perfectly balanced, and for an Alberg really ploughing (or plowing) along. We were towing an inflatable and one of the ours had come unshipped from its holder. No problem, just step into the dingy, grab the our and get it aboard. I pulled the  dongy alongside so that I could get into it from the aft end of the cockpit. The moment I stepped onto the dingy, I knew this was a mistake - my weight altered thehydrodynamic characteristics of the inflatable so much that it became unstable. I had three choices: 1) allow myself to fall and hold onto the boat; 2) try and jump into the dingy; and 3) fall into the water and grab onto the dingy painter. I did the third choice. So with the boat moving this fast it is not hard to pull yourself up a line, and with the ladder on the stern, it was not
 hard to pull myself up.

What was interesting was that Lynne - who was at the helm, did not see or hear me go over. The moment she saw what was happening (through me shouting) she turned around and stood on the lazarette. This really scared me, as all it would take would be a jibe, and people could get hurt, so I was shouting for her to get back in the cockpit and steer the boat  It was one of those - what is that daft woman thinking about, just because I am dragging back here at 6+ knots, she thinks she can just let go of the tiller. It was unlikely to happen as the boat was perfectly balanced and really was not going to change course. When I got back aboard, my hat was still dry.

So I guess that is the last comment on soloing - little stupid things, can become big ones, so rule #1 - slow down :)

>________________________________
> From: "Meinhold, Michael J." <MICHAEL.J.MEINHOLD at saic.com>
>To: Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all <public-list at lists.alberg30.org> 
>Sent: Tuesday, June 5, 2012 5:21 PM
>Subject: Re: [Public-List] going solo
> 
>I guess I have a different image of what goes on in this solo-sailor
>overboard scenario.
>I  would be in my harness, in a PFD, with  4' line.   If I pitched off
>the leeward bow ( I did this racing once), I would expect to banging
>along the side of the boat, not trailing behind. I don't picture that I
>have to work to go forward, just to go UP.   I think this would be the
>case unless I fell of the transom .
>
>That said, climbing up can be challenging enough, but just a little heel
>makes it more than doable. 
>
>So now for my story....we were racing my boat back from Queenstown, MD,
>with 3 - me, my daughter and another Alberger.  I was doing foredeck,
>Rachel main and Ray was steering. We had a moderate breeze and a
>moderate reach and I put the spinnaker up, but neglected to secure the
>bag. As it rolled overboard I grabbed at it and somersaulted into the
>water.  I would guess we were going at least 4 knots. I think reached
>for the rail as I went in , because I was holding on to it when I came
>up. I grabbed the leeward forward lower, and slung one leg up then the
>other, actually helped by the boat speed. Rachel and Ray did not know I
>had gone in and didn't know why I was lying on the leeward rail dripping
>wet.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: public-list-bounces at lists.alberg30.org
>[mailto:public-list-bounces at lists.alberg30.org] On Behalf Of
>richard.hazlegrove at wellsfargo.com
>Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2012 4:43 PM
>To: public-list at lists.alberg30.org
>Subject: Re: [Public-List] going solo
>
>To Chris's comment about how fast the boat must go before it becomes
>impossible to re-board;  I recall some years ago that one of the sailing
>magazines - Practical Sailor? - performed a series of tests with strong
>swimmers and Coast Guard supervision. They determined that the maximum
>boat speed was very low for these swimmers to pull their way back to the
>transom using a line dragging in the water. If I recall correctly, at
>anything above about two knots, one had to be in very good shape to do
>this.  Above three knots these athletic swimmers could not do it. I
>concluded that this was not much of a strategy in anything other than
>light air sailing.  Certainly not in conditions that had made me want to
>drag a line.  Better to figure out a way to disengage the autopilot and
>hope the boat rounds up.  
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Kris Coward [mailto:kris at melon.org] 
>Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2012 1:13 PM
>To: Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all
>Subject: Re: [Public-List] going solo
>
>
>Why take chances? It's not that hard to tie a bowline around the arm of
>a tiller pilot, lead it through a snatch block clipped on to the nearest
>stanchion, and tie a float to the end of it. It's only a little trickier
>to set something up that's triggered by tension on your jacklines. And
>having a handheld VHF on a good lanyard; that doesn't require any
>special rigging at all.
>
>As for the relative perils of being tethered to a moving boat vs. being
>boatless, I think the only way to settle this is for each of us to
>tether ourselves to our boats (in warm water, with someone capable and
>trustworthy at the helm), hop off into the water, and see how fast the
>boat has to go before it becomes difficult to hold a survival position
>or keep one's mouth out of the water (or for an extra challenge, to do
>both).
>
>We should have warm enough water up here for me to give it a try in
>about a month or so..
>
>Cheers,
>Kris
>
>On Tue, Jun 05, 2012 at 12:03:23PM -0400, Lawrence Morris wrote:
>> Kris
>> 
>> All good points. Even without a plan I will take my chances being
>attached to the boat than the alternative
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> Larry Morris
>> 
>> On Jun 5, 2012, at 11:35 AM, Kris Coward <kris at melon.org> wrote:
>> 
>> > On Tue, Jun 05, 2012 at 07:46:35AM -0400, James Allocco wrote:
>> >> I agree with George that for me an auto pilot is a must when single
>handing
>> >> and get dock lines and fenders ready, etc. I would suggest
>jacklines and a
>> >> harness when single handing in heavy weather.
>> > 
>> > I'd also recommend that if you're single handing with a harness,
>> > jacklines, and an autopilot, you consider how difficult it'll be to
>get
>> > back aboard if you don't have some means of making the boat stop (or
>> > calling for help that can make the boat stop).
>> > 
>> > I have something of a history of dropping the boarding ladder, and
>tying
>> > the lifering to the pushpit with the heaving line to go for a swim
>when
>> > becalmed (NOT while single handing). In terms of gettign a sense
>that
>> > the boat is really speeding back up and the swim should end, I've
>> > already found myself considering it unwise to expect to be able to
>climb
>> > back up the boarding ladder at speeds higher than 3/4 of a knot.
>Based
>> > on that (and the fact that the original world record for men's 100m
>> > freestyle was swum at an average speed of under 3 knots), I can't
>really
>> > imagine pulling myself back aboard if the autopilot is holding a
>course
>> > where the boat's making 4 knots through the water.
>> > 
>> > Whether it's a handheld radio tethered to your harness, some line
>rigged
>> > up to disengage the autopilot if the jacklines are placed under
>enough
>> > tension, some trailing object that you can grab to kill the
>autopilot,
>> > or (ideally) some combination of the above, if you don't have a plan
>to
>> > stop the boat so you can climb back on, you're probably better off
>not
>> > even being tied to it in the first place.
>> > 
>> > Cheers,
>> > Kris
>> > 
>> > -- 
>> > Kris Coward                    http://unripe.melon.org/
>> > GPG Fingerprint: 2BF3 957D 310A FEEC 4733  830E 21A4 05C7 1FEB 12B3
>> > _______________________________________________
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>-- 
>Kris Coward                    http://unripe.melon.org/
>GPG Fingerprint: 2BF3 957D 310A FEEC 4733  830E 21A4 05C7 1FEB 12B3
>
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