View Single Post
Old 09-15-2021, 12:21 PM   #15
Marco Flamingo
Guru
 
Marco Flamingo's Avatar
 
City: Dewatto
Vessel Name: CHiTON
Vessel Model: Tung Hwa Clipper 30
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,096
The person in the water also needs to know what to do (if concious). Any throwable lifeline should have a carabiner on it. The MOB needs to first hook that to the PFD. No PFD? That's a problem, but hook it as a belt or under arm loop. Yes, they may be concious now, but in 10 minutes? As the MOB, don't try to swim or pull yourself in hand-over-hand. Oooops, I lost the rope. That's a problem if the line isn't secured (both ends) Also, it is much easier to pull in somebody who is lying on their back, even without an inflated PFD, than when they are attempting to "swim" fully clothed.

Even if you can't lift them free of the water, if they are secured to the side of the boat you won't see them drift away when hypothermia sets in. If help arrives from other boats, it is still possible to get them aboard and revive. Not possible if you have watched them sink.

MOB excercises are not fun. When my father first got a trawler, I threw a plastic milk jug over in Lake Union on a flat calm day. It probably took him 45 minutes to get close enough to recover it. Several times he asked me to take the helm. Nope, that's not the idea. It could be me in the water. A very sobering experience.
__________________
Marco Flamingo
Marco Flamingo is offline   Reply With Quote