That remaining 5% is a bitch!

Yeah, I can only remember two times in the last two years that I didn't have a hand on the boat after a capsize and only one of those did the boat float so far that I was swimming as fast as I could to catch it. It was enough to say if this happens a mile or so off shore, it could be interesting.

My favorite was getting pitched off the 20 at full stride downwind - had a hand on the tiller and the sheet, both got ripped from my hands almost immediately. There was no swimming to it, even after it capsized - only hope was crew getting it righted and coming back to me.

Same thing happened to me last summer. Threw myself off the boat gybing too fast. Held onto the tiller extension a little too long and broke the crossbar free from the tiller arm. By the time the boat slowed down it was 150 ft away. Joy had to get the kite down, and sail back to me with independent rudders. The whole time I was saying to myself... where is that chase boat?

I've got one of those small ICOM ones, which I put in a waterproof bag and stuff it inside my PFD. Never had a problem hearing/talking into it, although the range is not very far since it's a handheld model.

Being in the waterproof bag makes pretty much anything float, too, so if you chose a handheld that isn't positively bouyant, just put it in a bag!

On the distance, most 5W models say 5 mile range I think. Is that realistic? I would think that would be OK for me. Usually there are lots of boats/sail boats out in the boat lane off shore that I could hail.

5 miles is "best case". VHF is line of sight. Range depends on a lot of things besides power and probably the biggest is height off the water.

At the Hobie 16 NAs in the Nevada desert, there was a small hill between the host hotel and the main part of the lake where the boats were. No radio reception. Even if you went to the top of the hill, it was difficult to hear each other even though we were only 3 miles away.

After getting pitched off my own boat and swimming home here on my lake, through alligator infested waters, at sunset, for an hour, I decided I would use a stainless steel carabiner available at Home Depot for about $5, to clip on the mainsheet through one of the leg straps of my harness, when sailing alone.

I have not yet had to test it, see if it would help me recover my boat alone, or if it would just drag me until I drown. I've managed to stay on my boat and keep it upright.

But I don't go out alone at sunset when it's blowing 20 any more...


One thing is certain, you will not be able to swim fast enough to catch your boat, even if it's on it's side, while wearing booties and a PFD.
;^)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGEBzwDPLbE

I'll never get near Heaven, the best I can hope for is to die at sea!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8q4uZCv8Kc&feature=related

I was hoping for a little more sense of security here. If you know Michigan's west coast, there are lots of sand dunes just off the water and they can be pretty high. Ship (or bobbing person) to shore does not sound likely. At least I would have some ship to ship communication.

+1

Rely on self rescue.

I'm convinced solo sailing a beach cat can be as safe as taking a shower. It's just that we usually sail in a social setting so the self rescue procedure has not been well thought out.

The best location for the caribeaner would likely be one that if dragged, would keep your face somewhere near the surface (think being dragged by parachute on your back), but that would likely get all tangled up if you were using the mainsheet.

How about a "kill switch" concept? You could run a line from your harness to a snap shackle on the lower mainsheet block. Fall off and the snap shackle opens, releasing the mainsheet entirely.

This would at least slow/stop the boat and could be used in concert with something to keep you somehow attached to the boat...

This.

Watching your boat sail away by itself is an interesting experience. During training the day before the start of the F16 Euro last year I decided to trap downwind to see how it felt in the conditions there. I turned downwind, cleated the main, set the spi up, clipped the trap hook to my harness, grabbed the spi sheet in one hand and the tiller in the other and pushed my butt overboard.

Well, the trap hook was not clipped properly and I executed a perfect backflip into the water. I let go the tiller extension (I've broken 3 of those already so I know you have to release the darn thing or it breaks) and kept the spi sheet in hand to stay in contact with the boat. Except that sheeting the spi made the boat bear off and it kept going and going dragging me behind it. After a while I was tired of drinking the whole Como lake by my nose so I let go the sheet hoping to see the boat round up and capsize.

Well, the darn thing continued to sail downwind, the now flapping spi and sheeted main in perfect balance, quickly sailing away from me.

I was surrounded by 3 ribs in hailing distance and I was quickly picked up and dropped on my trampoline. The boat had traveled quite a distance and the rib driver had to punch it to catch up!

Since then I'm always thinking twice before trapping downwind solo because I know the boat will sail away by itself... I love the idea of a VHF on your person, you never know when something stupid is going to happen to you.

If I've learned anything sailing these boats the last two years it's "stupid happens."

I think upwind and downwind present two cases here. Going upwind and falling off you can get the boat to slow, capsize, or round up by being tethered or having the sheets release. Going downwind, different story. In my case the crew was locked in trapping off the back, and couldn't get to the tiller. The boat turned downwind, depowered, and eventually capsized due his weight on the trap. By then it was a significant distance from me, and once on its side it kept moving. I've since taken to being hooked in to the trap even when I'm on deck driving downwind, at the very least it helps me feel more stable and less likely to pitch off.

The other thing I've experienced is having the crew's trap break, dropping him off the boat. The wind and swells were up, and my ability to get close enough to him to get him back on the boat was limited. This is the case where the throw bag that keeps being pictured would be good to have on board - you only need to get close enough to toss a line.

I'm not sure how that bag was intended to be deployed. It was designed for kayakers. That same supplier has something like a throwable flotation device and attached line.

My intent is to secure the bag to the tramp, attach the free end to my harness and rely on my weight to pull the line out (if separated from the boat). In that case I suppose it would have to be packed, something like a parachute.

Any kayakers reading this thread?

Coming from someone who dives as well as sails, being stranded in the ocean is a definite concern, one of a diver’s worst fears. Just saw this the other day and thought it was a very neat device. A bit pricy, but it's very small, has built in strobes, GPS, DCS, VHF, waterproof on the surface, water proof shut to 425 feet, and can attach it to your PFD. Still new, so I don’t know anyone that has one, but I will be buying one before my next ocean dive. http://www.alertdiver.com/nautilus_lifeline