Man Down

This past Saturday we moved to a new location. It’s been about 5 months since we moved the boat and that is a LONG time for us. Anyway, we thought we’d take advantage of the move and get in a sail. The day was lovely and lively and we had a new main that we had yet to see full of wind. We rose early and excited. We took Jet for a walk, got coffee and crossed items off our list in count-down to departure. We wanted to leave just after the Jungle Queen (a river tour boat) passed astern and leave we did. On almost a high tide and just behind “Life Is Good”, a sport fisher, we pulled off the dock and headed out. The New River can be a tricky transit on weekends with bridge openings, traffic, current and little room to maneuver should anything go wrong. On this day it was a smooth ride as the sport fisher called all the bridges and we rode along on their coat tails. Once under the 17th street causeway bridge, we turned to head out of the Port Everglades inlet and out into a beautiful blue ocean.

Now just a bit earlier as I bent and started the engine, I felt a twinge in my back that I hadn’t felt in months. It used to be stress related and would flare up in a moments time. It was the craziest pain and would make it virtually impossible for me to walk or stand. Since we’ve been doing yoga, it had disappeared and I thought it was gone for good. Apparently not so. When I kicked on the engine, I felt it but paid it no mind. That is I paid it no mind until I went forward to raise the main. As I readied to hoist, we took a small wave on the starboard bow that made me flex just so… BAM. Instant and shooting pain! It took my breath away. Although I was wearing my collar, I wasn’t tethered and it was that moment that I felt an incredible sense of irresponsibility wash over me. Mel was at the helm and unaware and I wasn’t going to call her for help but I had to figure out just how to get the hell off the deck and back to the cockpit. Now let me say, we talk about safety over and over. I’ve had nightmares about her going over board while I take my time off watch. I’ve had many sleepless nights thinking about our man-overboard drills and how we can prepare for such an event. Melody is almost deaf to to my incessant rantings about safety stuff. BUT… until the time comes when you’re partner is incapacitated, are you really where you need to be?Ladies~ Could you handle your boat in the event of an emergency and your guy is hurt?

I’m not being sexist here. Some women are out there solo and the answer is a resounding “yes”. Some couples have been cruising for years and have their “systems” worked out. They know how to anchor without talking, use hand signals to dock and know exactly how to deploy the life sling and make a pan-pan or mayday call. But some couples we’ve met have the job distinctions on board broken down to “his” and “hers” and most of the time that’s just fine! There are some things you don’t want us guys messing with. But when it comes to driving the boat, docking the boat, dropping the main, furling the jib and getting your vessel back to shore safely, ARE YOU READY?

As I sat in the cockpit in severe pain, I realized we need to regularly practice as if one of us is not in sailing shape.  Last Saturday when I hurt my back, just as I limped back to the cockpit, we heard a distress call to the Coast Guard regarding a vessel in our area who had a sailor suffering a stroke on board. Here we were with our “little situation” and there was a REAL emergency very close to us. I didn’t let Mel go forward to douse the main because she wasn’t wearing a collar and even if she was, if she went over, I was in no shape to get her back on board. I went forward doused and flaked (poorly I might add) the main and got back to the cockpit. We started the engine and Mel drove us under the 17th St. Causeway and through a crazy, crowded stretch of the ICW to the new dock. As I sit here with the slightest twinge left in my lower back, I reflect on what we did right and wrong and ask you… to reflect on your “plan”.  A plan I hope you guys never need to implement.

*A few videos about Man Overboard (MOB) rescues worth watching – leave us a comment or join the conversation on Facebook if you know of some other drills that might be helpful:

Person Overboard: The Figure 8 Rescue
LifeSling Rescue
Single Handed Man Overboard Recovery