MOB and sailing solo?

It has been on my mind since becoming an H16 sailor this past summer - the issue of sailing solo and falling off the boat. I have not had this happen to me, nor have I found any posts dealing with it. The more I think about this scenario, the less comfortable I am in dealing with it. I don`t know what to expect if this occurs - I don`t have a plan.

I am hoping to hear from sailors who have been through this on the H16. What should one expect in this circumstance? Will the boat round up and weathervane? Do different wind velocities cause different boat behaviors after falling off? Should I hold on to the mainsheet for all I`m worth, or will this create a bigger problem?

...I just don`t have a clue, and since I sail solo most of the time, I figure I better get some advice from someone who does.


Dave

I have sailed my H16 (before I sold it) solo numerous times. I am big enough to be able to right it solo as well so I wasn't worried about that. To handle the eventuality of a solo MOB I always had weather helm on my boat. This way, if I was unable to sail for any reason the boat would head up an into irons in light wind or capsize in strong winds. Either way I could swim to the boat. I even jumped off just to see how far it would go on it's own. It was a bit of a swim but manageable.

Nick,

That`s the kind of info I am looking for. I am not worried re: capsizing and righting - I have found I can do that just fine. But this business of the boat getting away from me is another matter.

I also understand the issue of maintaining a certain degree of weather helm on a sailboat. I do that as well.

I am not a fast swimmer, so I do have concerns of not being able to get back to a boat that is drifting in irons hundreds of yards away.

Dave

You are RIGHT to be VERY concerned!

Flipping the boat always has some hazards. You may get brused up a little, but you'll heal. Its rare to do any real damage, but it can happen. The truely cautious will always wear their life preserver. (but I don't so I am taking risks, which I may regret some day.)

But falling off the boat has different risks. When the boat starts to tip, stay to the TOP side of the trampoline and slip into the water, then quickly get out from there in case the boat decides to turtle on top of you (doesn't usually happen). Then stay in contact with the boat at ALL TIMES, as you go throught the routine of righting the boat.
If you can't right the boat solo, at least you can stand on the hull until you are assisted or rescued.

But if you fall or drop off to the bottom side, there is a chance you may get seperated from the boat. QUICKLY get to the boat. If the wind was strong enough to flip your boat, there is a good chance the wind can push your boat faster than you can swim. If you get seperated from the boat, as hard as you swim, it just keeps getting further away. If you sail a small or medium sized lake, this is just real annoying. But if it is a large lake or the ocean, well for your sake, I hope the wind is blowing into the nearby shore.

These possibilities are well worth considering, before they actually happen.

Jeff,

You obviously appreciate the concern I have.

I vaguely recall one fella who said he tethered himself to the boat - that seems dangerous to me. I don`t want to get tangled further or become a human crank-bait.

Hopefully we will get a lot of feedback on this topic as well as some "been there done that" stories. I really want to get a good sense of what happens in this scenario.


Dave

The trick is to rig for enough weather helm where it will turn into irons fairly soon, but not so much that you wear your self out fighting it all day.

In all reality if you fall off the boat while sailing solo, chances are pretty good it will capsize. It is unlikly that you will fall off in 5 kt winds. Unless, of course, you are auditioning for a Vonnage commercial

Once the wind gets a good hold of your boat, even a capsized boat can drift away faster than you can swim. The tramp is now the sail.

When I was looking for a Hobie, I was given a phone number of someone who was getting rid of an H-18 after a bad experience. It seems he and his wife were sailing off Gulf Shores, AL and he fell off. His wife hadn't been trained to control the boat and was headed out to sea without him. I guess she finally figured out how to turn around or someone came to their aid. So even if you are not solo you can run into problems. The crew needs have some practise.

Howard

Dave: Falling off the boat doesn't happen very often. You're more likely to jump off while going out on the wire and having your harness unhook. If you sail enough it will happen. When it does hold onto the mainsheet. You don't want to get seperated from the boat. Boats can sail away real fast. The boat will usually flip when you jump off. If there is enough wind to try and trap the boat will drift faster than you can swim. Stay with the boat at all times.
Attached: 2 time H16 National Champ Paul Hess holding on.

Great photo, and another 2 questions answered.

Apparently, it is better to do some body surfing with the mainsheet in-hand rather than risk being separated from the boat. And, the boat CAN sail far enough and fast enough away on the MOB to create a serious situation.


Dave

ok, i may sound really stupid to all of you guys, but could someone explain what MOB is and what weather helm is?

Newbiesailor,

Sorry about that,

MOB is short for man-over-board

Weather helm is the tendancy for a sailboat to steer into the wind (head up) all by itself. ie, the boat wants to weathervane of its own accord. You can feel this yourself in the tiller-tug that occurs as the boat tries/wants to do this. As I have read and found myself, the more you rake the mast back, the greater the weather helm, and this weather helm is expressed at the tiller as tiller-tug. Which in-turn can be reduced by following the HobieCat instructions on how to rake the rudders forward. But, that is another post!

Dave

I have found that the best way to avoid too much trouble with a solo MOB is to sail around other boats. Even when I sail off shore a little ways I am always around other boats. I jsut feel better about this. When I did my little expereiment I had my buddy on his boat out there with me. I'm not as slow as it might seem

I sail in the ocean. Most of the time it is done solo. I sail as far as 35 miles off shore solo, sometimes to return same day. So there is my qualification to make this statement:

I would never sail solo without being tied to the boat unless there are either a lot of sailors nearby, or a shoreline within a short swim. When I am not tied to the boat, I keep a death grip on the main sheet line.

I have fallen off of a Hobie 16, on a broad reach, without being tied to the boat. The death grip on the mainsheet created enough main sheet tension to create enough mainsheet trim to create enough weather helm to cause the cat to round up to weather and capsize herself. Since I was dragging under the water behind my boat as this system caused automatic sheeting, I named it DUMBASS or Dragging Under My Boat Automatic Sheeting System.

It was not as easy as it may sound. I did not simply hang on to the mainsheet with one hand. When I felt the sheet pulling quickly through my hand, I knew that I would not have enough hand strength to keep the end of the line (I use separate sheet and separate outhaul control lines). I wraped the moving line around an arm and braced for what might try to pull my shoulder off. Using both hands and one entire arm, I was able to remain attached to the accelerated boat.

Don't be a DUMBASS, tie yourself to the boat if sailing off shore, solo.

GARY

Hey Dave..good question posted. Some of the responses are interesting. From my experience I would like to add something. Besides checking your side stay cables (around the crimp area!) make sure you check the trapeze crimps. Whilst double trapezing offshore in a race, my trapeze cable snapped at the crimp right below the handle. This put me in the water so quick I had no idea what had happened (thought my harness had broken). I resurfaced to watch the boat, still skimming the surface with my girlfriend out on the wire. She got the boat under control at put it into irons…but the 50m swim was the worst I have ever done…I could just hear the theme song from Jaws getting louder and louder as I swam back to the boat.

With regards to tieing yourself to the boat..if you’re going to try that..maybe have some sorte of quick release system on that??
I personally will be holding onto the mainsheet next time which could capsize the boat..but rather that than swimming to the da-dum-da-dum-DA-DUM
Clint

Hi Clint,
Glad to see there is still off-the beach sailing in Durban - I`d heard the new development had closed PYC beach club and there was nowhere to launch anymore at Vetchies ?
Agree with your sentiment - if you`re going to be attached to the boat, good idea to be able to "quick release" - If you have a one-piece mainsheet and traveller rope you could try running it through a paragliding quick-release karabiner that is attached to the harness. If you fall overboard and are being dragged under or behind the boat at least you can hit the button, and it gives you enough time to grab mainsheet with both hands and hang on - you can then decide manually when the right moment is to let go (ie just before you pass out !)
Agree with Gary, there is sometimes no way you will swim back to a Hobie or any cat that is stable on it`s side being blown along at 4 knots, and in Durban I`d not want to swim back to the beach unless I`d capsized INSIDE the shark-nets, never mind 35 miles out(yikes Gary, what are you thinking ??? )

Yeah Steve
The sailing here is still going well. With regards to the Point Development, we were served notice to vacate the beach club by december 05.For those interested, a developer is rebuidling a part of durban's beach area, unfortunately where our club in situated. Its a matter were money talks, and our club- rated as a great sailing place- falls in the area. We don't have the money to really fight back. But, we fought the Notice to vacate, and now the developers are willing to negotiate, and promised we can sail off Vetchies till Jan 07. They don't want it to end in court as far as I know.
We still get 8-12 Hobies on average on weekends pending the weather.
How is the Hobie set-up in Cape Town. I'm thinking of working there for a year or so. Trying to finish up my studies here in Durbs..It would be nice to join a sailing club if I did move down..
Are there lots of Clubs..or Are Sean, Blaine and all the top guys in one club?
Clint

Hey Guys,

Good info. Especially from Gary and the advice on tethering. I am receptive to the tethering idea only as long as it is a quick release connection.

I am unfamiliar with the hang-glider quick release carabiner...would it be suitable/ practical for marine use? Are there any other quick release gadgets that would work for this purpose? Is anybody dead opposed to tethering oneself to the boat? Has anyone done this (tethering) and have an experience to share about falling off?

As for wishing to capsize "inside the shark nets"... Well, as a fresh water sailor my only thought to that is DAMN RIGHT; It seems every time I turn on the Learning Channel these days I see some massive White Shark flying out of the water (in South Africa) with a fake seal in its jaws. I guess when your trapping out it`s probably a good idea not to let your butt skim the water on those hot days!

Dave

I have fastened a snap shackle to myself.

The snap shackle has a quick release cord. I clip it to a line that is attached to the boat; this line has a bowline loop tied in the end of it. (traveler line in my case) Or you can snap onto the continuous sheet/traveller.

This system is less than perfect, but it works and has proven itself to me a few times. One time was a pretty intense emergency where the boat was dragging me at 3-4 knots.

The problem, so far, is that the snap shackle has a bulbous end when it is open (the bulb is the female to the male fastener pin) and this end resistes pulling smoothly over the edge of the tether line.

My crewman, Bill Mattson has come up with a very good release line. It is a thin rope that has a vinyl tube over it, with a plastic ball at the outter end. The vinyl keeps the line errect so that it is easy to find with one hand (without having to look with your eyes). (/joke temptation off)

Bill uses something like this:

but his has the same problem as mine, the end of the shackle, when open, is bulbous and catches on the line that it is attatched to.

Keep your eyes out for something that is easy to trip and will smoothly allow a line to release. Mine takes two motions, one to open the shackle, then one to assist the line over the bulbous end of the snap shackle jaw.

I have another kind in mind, but have not yet tried it. I'll try for pictures soon.


About Sharks: While we do have great whites and plenty of other sharks here in the Channel Islands, California area, they are not an issue. Shark attacks are extremely rare if even heard of. We routinely jump into the water, off shore to test our righting skills or have a swim. I have, however been within 20 feet of a Blue Whale (largest animal ever) when he spouted and the sound is felt, rather than heard as you ears can not seem to register such amplitude. It shook me but half the shake was excitment, the other half was vibration and fear combined.

GARY

Gary,

Again many thanks for the advice. I see what you mean re: the bulbous end of the shackle. I wonder if a larger diameter tether line would help to better slide off the shackle - I bet you have already tried that though.

What have you found to be the best place to attach the shackle - I know the ankle didn`t make your short list!

As I understand you, the shackle stays on the sailor along with a pull-cord to easily release/open the shackle pin.

Since the load rating of that shackle will far excede what is required as a safey tether, perhaps partially grinding away, then re-polishing the bulbous tip would also help the release...(/jokes off /off /off)...down boy! /jokes off dammit!...This could also be done with a larger snap shackle so as to provide a good margin of left-over metal after the grinding/polishing process.



Dave

Ha ha, you may be surprised by this, but I like a friend's set-up from a surfboard that attaches a velcro cup around his ankle.

Mine is on my trap harness. My crew used his pfd so I talked him into using a regular sailing safety harness since the pfd is not made to take that kind of load. But there are river rescue rated pfd's that have the appropriate and tested harness equipment built-in. That would be the best idea.



On me that is true, it is on my trap harness and I can clip it to any line I choose. Bill uses a releasing shackle on is teather that stays with the tether.

Bill was considering the polishing you mentioned. I am just going to keep on with the system I have until I find a better shackle.

It has worked for me in various conditions, even if awkward. The most awkward is when you sail up to a dock, stall the boat, and run off of the boat and get yanked back onto the boat.

GARY

I couldn`t find any reference pics on the net for the paragliding quick-release carabiner, but it basically looks like a climbing carabiner, except that it has a button on each side, some have a sliding keeper over the buttons, you can get to the buttons with one hand and the whole top half of the carabiner releases, so you won`t have the rope hooking on any part, unfortunately you would lose the top half since it isn`t tied to anything, but at least you won`t drown trying to free the rope from the snap-shackle. Gary`s solution is a good one but might have it`s hang-ups.
I`m not sure about the lifespan if used in salt water - they are aluminium but have moving parts which might not take well to seawater.

Hi Clint, Yeah down here the Hobie fleet sails mainly off Fish Hoek, close to where Great Whites eat Kayakers and use their boats as toothpicks.
http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=269&fArticleId=2900584
Sean is still pretty much top dog here, Blaine and William are from Knysna/Plett but come regularly for regattas, but they are mostly on Tigers now, just sailing H16`s until after the worlds (Why have I seen no mention of H16 Worlds here, thought they were on real soon ??, in Port Elizabeth.) Hey Clint you should be there !!
If you spend a while in Cape Town get hold of me and I`ll arrange a test-sail on the Mozzie . Will have you adding another boat to your collection. We have a 20 boat fleet here, as do the Hobies most club races.

Cheers
Steve

Thanks Steve,



Hey Gary,

I think I may have a low cost (under $3), simple solution to the hang-up problem with the quick release shackle...how about a harness ring? I have a few which I bought at the local farm supply store for an unrelated purpose. Officially, they are used for cattle/horse harnesses. They come in various sizes/diameters, but essentially they are a perfectly round, polished stainless steel ring (solid and seamless). I would suggest a 1.5 to 2 inch diameter may work best (working load > 300lbs , breaking load > 2000lbs). The ring could be attached to the rope (with a bowline in your case) and then used to clip onto the shackle. I am sure it would slide off the shackle arm much easier than rope. For those of us with a continuous traveller/mainsheet setup, the sheet could simply be passed through the ring during intial setup. One would just want to make sure that the ring ends up on the working portion of the sheet (between the traveller cleat and the mainsheet blocks). In other words, we want the ring on the portion of mainsheet that sits on the tramp or in our hands when we sail. The ring has the added advantage of allowing the mainsheet to freely pass through it at all times - shackled or not.

What are your thoughts on this solution?



Dave

Thanks Dave. I'll give it a try. I have a climbing ring that is Titanium or maybe aluminum. It should do the trick.

GARY

Gary,

It is unlikely that I will be sailing again until spring. If you try it out, let me know how it works... in a simulated release of course. I am not suggesting you jump of your boat during a screaming reach!


Dave

Dave: How about bringing your boat to the Madcatter in May.
Fleet 204(Syracuse,N.Y) will be hosting the 30th Madcatter. There are plans for a 3 day event with a GEP program. You won't find a better event or more talented sailors. Sailing in a regatta and attending the GEP programs will advance your sailing ability more rapidly than sailing alone. We are hoping for more than 100 boats.
Watch Fleet204 for details soon.

Pbisesi,

I would love to do something like that. Unfortunately, I have no experience at all with the racing/regatta thing.

I have tentatively enrolled/booked a training day in May 2006 (organized by Karen-Ann Xavier) specifically for cat sailors. I am hoping that will allow me to meet some "real" cat sailors and perhaps lead to a regatta next summer.


Dave

Karen-Anne is usually at the Madcatter. We do a C Fleet Chalk talk on Friday nights to go over how to race. The flags, the start and all mark roundings with basic rules are typically covered. We all started the same way. You will do just fine.
More important is that the Madcatter rum parties are world famous. We expect to get a number of sailors from Puerto Rico, some from Mexico, maybe GUA and Brazil. All of Div 13 has been invited. We may have as many as 10 National Champions at the Regatta. Could be the coolest first regatta anyone could ask for. Just go for it.
Attached: Bear Boat Bar getting ready for action with the Doctor and DonQ

How about attaching to the main sheet? That way if you fall overboard you end up sheeting in the main and the boat should capsize and not drag you very far.

Chevy43,

Thanks for the tip - it is appreciated. However, in the future you may find it helpful to read the entire thread before responding or making suggestions.

cheers,

Dave

Hi Dave,
I did read the whole thread. Maybe I missed something? I saw mention of attaching to the main TRAVELER but on my boat that would be different than the main SHEET. I'm not familiar with the continous sheet traveler system (my boat doesn't have that). So maybe that is the same as being attached to the main sheet. I have been thinking about this a lot too latley because I have plans to sail in the Ocean here off Santa Cruz bymyself and DO NOT WANT TO BE SEPARTED FROM THE BOAT! I'm even a little concerened about accidently opening a quik relese.

I sure do like the way you painted your boat - nice job!

Chevy,

I understand your confusion now...no worries - sorry about that.

I too have big concerns re: being separated from the boat. This discussion/thread seems to weigh-in in favour of attaching ones` harness with a quick release clip to the mainsheet (continuous line with traveller). I think I will be doing this using a harness ring on the mainsheet to remedy the release problems HobieGary addressed.


Also, thank you for the compliment on my restoration. You probably read from my other post that the Hobie Gods nearly ended that chapter for me. Whew!


Dave

This might be a new thread but I almost always sail solo. On my h14 I have gotten into the habit of wearing a helmet. Just a bike helmet. I have been cracked on the head a few times and did not enjoy it.

I may look a bit sissy but that boom makes a big boom when it hits the noggin.

I started using the traveller and this reduces the likelihood of it happening but every so often I forget to adjust it carefully or whatever.