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A
SUCCESSFUL MAN OVERBOARD RECOVERY ON LONG ISLAND SOUND
On
the first Saturday of the American Yacht Club Spring Series the
crew of my
Tripp 33 PATIENCE performed a successful man over board recovery
thanks to
what I learned while allowing my boat to be used in at the STC Jr.
Safety at Sea
Seminar at Larchmont Yacht Club.
During
the last leg of the second race Hustler (J/29) was leading the class
and was
about 75 yards ahead of us. The next closest competitor was easily
200-300 yards
behind. The wind was blowing about 20 knots and the seas were 2
- 3 ft. We tacked
on to port and when the crew hiked out, one of the fittings on the
lower lifeline
(brand new) came unscrewed. As a result Jessie Tomczak ended up
in the water
without a life jacket.
We
went into man overboard drill before Jessie was 50 ft from the boat.
In doing so
we immediately tacked the boat, doused the jib, jibed to come along
side her, and
started the engine (however, we did not need to use it). I was opening
the Lifesling
to throw it when Jessie was hauled aboard. Basically, we had Jessie
out of the
water within about 60 - 90 seconds.
There
were obviously a couple of things that we didn’t do correctly,
but his was a
scary incident, however the crew performed admirably in assisting
to retrieve Jessie
from the water. Doug Slocum did a great job continuously pointing
at her, and
Emerson Smith and Doug Slocum pulled her from the water as we came
along side.
Seth Cooley, Dan Snyder and Rorie Zuzick handled the sails during
the incident.
Jessie
was unhurt, and we were able to finish the race without outside
assistance
(second to cross the finish in our class). I am glad to report that
my participation in
the Junior Safety at Sea program, put on by the Storm Trysail Club
and Larchmont
Yacht Club, were invaluable in this instance. As an owner-participant
in that program,
I work through this drill with Junior Sailors each summer and it
has become second
nature on how to work through the process.
Thanks
to STC for putting on the Safety at Sea events. Practice may not
make
perfect, but it certainly made our rescue quicker than if I hadn’t
participated in
your event.
Regards,
Rick
Royce, Owner and Skipper of PATIENCE
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