I participated in the rescue of a fellow who fell between his inflatable and the boat. He never knew how it happened. What happened is this:
It was daytime (middle of the day) and I was sitting in my galley. I heard some bozo yelling "hello" a far piece away. Finally I got up and looked around. I spotted an extra white ball at the bow of the boat moored across the anchorage from me. Binocs confirmed it was our Bob.
First thing: I got on the VHF and said Maverick's Bob was in the water. I got immediate radio confirmation.
(We had a radio net and I cannot stress enough how TOTALLY GREAT that was. It gave me a sense of friends at hand and support one dinghy away.)
Next I got in Algae and headed for Bob with a spare life jacket. He was without and I knew I could not get him out but I thought the life preserver would buy him time until the fellows could come.
While about 1/4 of the way to Bob's boat a closer boat started up and headed his way. I knew Saphira was in a far better place to help so returned to Seaweed.
In the meantime In Anneoin was on the radio to Coast Guard JAX. She'd seen the Coasties launching a couple of gun boats for a Submarine escort so we had young help at hand. When the VHF to JAX wasn't productive she signaled the kids on shore what the problem was and where.
They pushed the throttles full tilt and had Bob hoisted out of the water in less than a minute.
Lessons Learned:
#1) Having a boarding ladder safely stowed in the cockpit locker "for when I go cruising" was stupid. That same afternoon it went over the side and was firmly attached to the stanchions.
Later Katja made him a great little bag so it stayed out of the water and was easily deployed.
#2) Bob didn't realize he could not reboard his deflatable. Physically it was not possible.
#3) It was cold, he was not wearing any floatation and that could have been far worse. Even if he made it to shore he'd have been cold and wet. Brrr.
#4) Of all the boats in the anchorage only two of us had boarding ladders accessible from the water. That was In Anneoin and Seaweed.
I suspect one of the fellows thought because he could climb over when younger he could do so fifty pounds heavier and twenty years older. Thankfully he never tested the theory because that could have been ugly.
Bob had one of those collapsing rope ladders with the red plastic steps shown on Defender, West, and other places. They slide very nicely under the boat and are a pain to climb even when all is well.
In my view they are a good idea in theory, better than nothing, barely.
Ladders that angle out make boarding much easier than my up and down ladder.
Scottie's question is one anyone aboard should consider. The "someone else is always aboard" doesn't wash. I've seen folks float items behind the boat to aid in reboarding. A towel for the cat to climb has been seen too.
As for going on deck in the middle of O'dark-thirty, but of course. That's what I do anyway. After all I have to check on my stars and like watching them march across the sky. The fresh air is wonderful and listening to the night sounds, well, it's spiritual. There is nothing between me and Thee and I do some of my best pondering out there.
When the Kidlets were younger we'd sit out back on the seawall (owned a house then) and "fish" ... mostly though we talked. There is an anonymity in the dark and I suspect they told me far more than they might have done in the bright lights. That's why sitting on the bow is good for me. It's like I can touch the memories....
I've rambled. I'll hush now.
Being able to reboard without assistance is critical and is one of the items that needs priority. Inexpensive solutions exist. Velcro is easy to open from the water (have a long string to pull) so you can keep your solution free from barnacles and accessible too.
Aboard Seaweed I'm pondering a second ladder solution. If Algae is on the swim platform my ladder is inaccessible. That is unacceptable so I do a lot of dinghy bottom scraping. Ugh. There's got to be a better way.
Am considering a 12" by 24" piece of wood tied at the four corners (think enlarged swing)
Lowered it would snug up against the flat side of the hull before it turns for the bottom/bottom. From there (about 8" below the waterline) I could get up I think. Or at least almost totally out of the water. A fender tied next to the swing would be the final step up to the side deck. It would not be ideal. It might work though.
Still pondering... while I look fora scrap of board.
P.S. - The only other person I know who has fallen in also was like Bob. It happened so fast he has no idea what went wrong. That is probably the biggest issue for the gent. He was in no danger however the speed with which he hit the water (and the language!!!) was rapid.
As for WHY he has no clue. It shook him up -- the standard questions "am I getting too old for this?" and "what if?" plague his psyche. He's a sailor so is working it out silently but I've seen him sitting on his balcony staring at his sailboat....
