The manual for my new (to me) Trac/Windrush cat recommends that you secure yourself w/ a line to the boat when sailing solo w/ the jib. I do plan to sail solo quite a lot, and often when others aren't around (since my day off of work is in the middle of the week). I certainly would hate to watch my boat sailing off without me on a breezy day should I find myself swimming unexpectedly; nevertheless, I'm not sure I like the idea of a line attached to me getting tangled up when tacking, wrapping around me if I do fall in, etc. Anyone got some wisdom to share? I'll add that I had a Prindle 18 previously and never worried about falling off since I always sailed with crew. Come to think of it, though, most of my crew wouldn't have know what to do if I had suddenly de-boated and left them on board... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Anyway, what's a guy to do?

I would think you have to take each sail/situation and weigh the odds of flipping, water/air temp, boats around you for rescue, and your sailing ability. If you sail solo and the lake or ocean and no ones around, you better do more than tie yourself to the boat. Radios, cell phones, someone who knows you are out, and warm and dry clothees are a must. I think the juries out on a tether for small cats, but solo on the ocean its a must.

Here's something I have thought about but never tried. How about if you were to drag a 30' long line (maybe use your main halyard?) with a loop or large knot at the end? That way, if you did fall overboard as long as you are awake and mobile, you could quickly swim to the wake and grab the line, hook the loop into your harness and not be separated for good. Hopefully the boat will turn into the wind for you. If it turns downwind you might be in for a hell-of-a ride but at least when they find the boat they will find your body too. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

I was about to start a thread on this, especially ever since Steeplechase and listening to all the stories. I was chatting a bit with Mr. Schiefer (do not remember his first name) and he told me that a good idea would be use a quick release shackle. Then it occurred to me, that we used this little items everyday in the Coast Guard. These shackles are used when we lower the rescue swimmer to a vessel using a trail line, he attaches himself with this shackle, that way, if anything were to happen he can quickly release the trail line and I can retrieve him immediately in a case of an emergency.

I figured if he can safely use it on a helicopter flying 50ft above him, why can’t we use it on sailing.

The way I would approach this is, by sewing it into the harness. Then when I am sailing I will place the mainsheet through it. It will be an extra step in tacking, trapping etc, but I would rather have peace of mind, knowing I am tied to my boat, than worried.

I have sailed solo, and flipped various times. In two occasions, the boat has "almost" left me behind. The first was I seriously bent a battlestick, but held on, the second was I got my trapeze did not get unhooked and I was dragged several yards. As I have said in the past, this is all dependent how comfortable you feel about you being tied to the boat and your ability to pull yourself back up such a situation.

You'd think that if the shrouds(?) for a parachute can be packed so they don't tangle, we could do the same for 1 line! How 'bout coiling the line on the back of the life jacket, secured with bungies?

How are you going to tack and get through the mess of lines? The line you speak of, must be attached to the boat at some point, but where?

Ive been giving this long thoughts for a year now. At first I wanted to use a surfboard leash, but how was I going to get from one side of the boat to the other, without getting in the way of the lines?

Using the shackle I attached, for every tack/gybe you have to unshackle to clear the line, once on the other side of the boat, you shackle yourself back in. For bouy racing this wont work because it is just another thing to slow you down. But for distance racing where not too many tacks are involved or solo sailing (ie not racing) it can work darn good.

The problem with that is that you are more likely to fall off the boat whilst in a tack or gybing manuever. Astral has an interesting fitting on some of their high end life vests (and our distance racing jackets) that has a strap around the back of the jacket that goes through a stainless ring and then through a quick release buckle. The system was intended to use a tow system for kayaks so the person doing to towing could quickly pop the tow line loose from themselves if they needed to. We used the system to attach our lanyard, required for the Tybee 500, to . I still don't know about leashing myself to the boat, but I've recognized it's potential usefulness if the boat is capsized, going turtle, and one sailor is tangled on the trampoline. I found myself on the bottom of the cat trying to prevent it from going turtle (and only slowing things down) while the other sailor was trying to get untangled. Once, I could have used it to throw the lanyard over the boat and take some of the sailor's weight off his entanglement but didn't think about it, the second time I was ready but just quite didn't need it.

After rounding a windward mark "A" Whilst solo I went into a pitchpole. I surfaced about five feet away from the mast tip!! I couldn't catch up with the boat and I'm a competent swimmer. I decided to swim back to the inflatable racing marker and wait for the rescue boat, needles to say they were pretty shaken up when they arrived at my Cat but there was no sign of me. Since this incident I will never go sailing unless there are two cats of approx equal speed or rescue cover on the water, accidents happen so easily at times. I have thought of fixing a surfers leash onto the righting line as this shouldn't tear a leg off in a big wipe out but still the thought of being towed behind a cat for any distance doesn't appeal to me.

I can only imagine being dragged LONG distances behind a boat whilst sucking in water and not having the strength to get back on the boat. That might be better than not being dregged somewhere and having to swim home though.... Hummm, I still dont have the answer!

If somehow you could tie the rope to the bow area, so the cat would turn up into the wind as it drags you, that might work. Of course if it turns upwind too quickly it might run you over.... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

That is the main reason I say and I will keep saying. It is all about how comfortable you feel under water, being dragged and how intense the situation will become.

If you can live with that, do it, if not. It is NOT for you.

what about a rope that is attached to the boat somewhere from the starboard side to the port side and it is above the trampoline (or at least somewhere between the mast and blocks for the main sheet), then you can attach your self to it and you would basically slide across it while you tack/gybe. you wont have to disconnect and reconnect at all, just make sure you have enough slack on it to allow you to move around.

Regarding being towed by one's boat, the idea scares me. I once jumped off the side of my H20 to go out on the trap. The problem was I wasn't hooked up (I still get ribbed about it). So there I was, legs on the deck, torso in the water, hanging on by the hotstick and mainsheet. My crew looked at me with much concern, but no sense of what to do. Everytime I tried to tell them, I got a mouth/lung full of water. It was too much for them to pull me back on, and finally, with ever more frantic gestures, I got the crew to hand me the trap handle and I yanked myself back on board. I was truly getting worried about drowning and was close to the point of letting go in order to not drown. (We were racing, so I was trying desperately to get back on, knowing that if I let go, the boat was going over and I would be separated from it.

Without help, I can't imaging being dragged any distance. If one's boat didn't go over, it would be really hard to release yourself because of the pressure of the water rushing over you.

David
ex H20, now A cat

If you guys are afraid to be tethered to the boat, why are you NOT afraid to trapeze? That trapeze wire is certainly a type of tether.

Rick almost drowned one time because he was on the trapeze and got knocked off the back of the boat. He was being dragged upside down and could not get himself upright. At least he had the presence of mind to grab the rudder and turn the boat into the wind and stop it, so he could right himself and get a breath of air.

Life, if you are prepared to live it is a risk. In 20 years of sailing cats in mad weather a rope tied to me is the LAST thing I would want.
Sailing is about freedom and if you are out by yourself taking the risks that make you closer to death, good on you.
The alternative is to wake up, get dressed, climb into the closet for the day and stay safe, get a virtual sailing program and you are sweet. Most modern men are more and more pathetic every day. This is why X games are so popular... they are freedom from the paranoia of insurance companies and health programs etc.
Why allow yourself to be frightened of dieing doing what you love?
Life vest, VHF and a little weather helm guys and get over it.

For singlehanding, why not attach a snap-type carabeaner to the mainsheet/traveler line with a short (1 meter) line to your trapeze harness?

This would seem to allow you to tack/gybe without too much hassle because the carabeaner would slide up and down the mainsheet.

An added benefit...you'd always have the mainsheet within reach.

If you fall off, your weight would begin to sheet the main in, most likely causing the boat to head up or flip.

Perhaps some quick-release mechanism on the short rope (or a knife) in case you're really getting dragged.

Also, maybe route the line to the upper back of your life jacket (don't sail without one ON YOU) so that if you are getting dragged, at least your head will be out of the water.

Think of your bailout drill when your parachute drags you over water....

For double handers, if it's really blowing the dogs off, everyone will be at the back of the bus anyway, so they could both clip into the mainsheet.

I get this vision of two people screaming along in the water, side by side, taking turns pushing one another down while the other comes up for air. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

I do and don't envy you all sailing in the ocean for this very reason. I've never liked the idea of being attached to the boat, especially fast boats.