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GOB drills!

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/26/2012 : 21:14:36

Rita & I went sailing this afternoon. We'd intended to go crabbing as well, but opted to just take the boat out since we got a late start. Right after we'd set sail after motoring down the river, I went into the cabin to grab a bottle of Gatorade. We typically make up two quart bottle in some Coleman water bottles we've had for years, very handy to stay hydrated. We both took a few sips (which turned out to be fortuitous), and I shoved the bottle behind me into the port coaming pocket. Or at least that's where I thought I was shoving it. Unfortunately I was off vertically by about six inches and I shoved the bottle right across the top of the cockpit wall and right into the drink. Crap! Gatorade Over Board!

My first thought was, we're never getting that back, there's nothing to grab even if we're right on top of it and we don't have a net. Then I realized we had a perfect MOB situation to work with. So we made probably more than a dozen passes at trying to get the boat up next to the bottle, practiced keeping a finger pointed at it, tacking and gybing around to get weathervaned right next to it. We first tried sailing up to it, and were able to get close enough a few times to touch it with the boat pole, but it was nearly impossible to get the hook through the little loop of plastic that holds the lid on. But Rita did the sailing while I talked her through it, which was great. It was very tough to keep visual contact with a blue water bottle riding about 3" above the water at best in the slight chop we were in, but we were able to either keep it in sight, or locate it again & again. Then we started the engine to see if we could get it that way. Again, we got close enough to touch it several times, but couldn't get the loop hooked (I didn't really expect to). The experience was great, we never did get the bottle back in the boat, but I think the $3 or so the bottle cost was well worth the price of the education for both of us. I instructed Rita how we'd actually do it with the Life Sling & dropping the sails, but overall it was a very good set of drills and gave her a better appreciation of the difficulty of getting to someone in the water.

David
C-250 Mainsheet Editor

Sirius Lepak
1997 C-250 WK TR #271 --Seattle area Port Captain --

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2012 : 02:35:53

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">and gave her a better appreciation of the difficulty of getting to someone in the water.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Golden!

FYI, we don't carry a net with us either. But I could see a mod to the Nauti dockomatic thingy being useful here.

I recall some thread elsewhere about a MOB pole (today it would be called a COB pole)

Found [url="http://forums.pearson.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=138323"]this[/url]

And that got me thinking .... how about a COB Javelin! Could throw it a lot farther than a life sling.

If the person is in the water, then the lifesling is only effective if they are conscious, so a Life Javelin would work there too! A light line from the javelin would be sufficient for the COB to grab. Of course, it would have to have a foam tip, would hate to impale the COB!

Hmmmmm. Thinking hat is on!

Paul

Edited by - on

JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

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1520 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2012 : 05:46:30

Great practise drill!

I've sailed past many styrofoam cups, water bottles, plastic food containers and other flotsam on the Chesapeake Bay that were all heading for the North Atlantic, and I think that I should keep my fish net close at hand at all times.

When sailing off Newport Beach with Steve on PiseasII one time, we passed some party balloons on the surface of the ocean, and I tacked and jibed clumsily to "rescue" two of them. Steve got them with the boat hook. It's hard to stop a sailboat on a dime, but that's what we need to do to pick up crew overboard!

Happy sailing!

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9078 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2012 : 06:34:32

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by britinusa
 ...how about a COB Javelin!<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

...or a COB harpoon?

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JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

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1520 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2012 : 07:01:43

The right thing is the "throwbag", which I have seen for years for sale online at a high price, but which I could easily make. It's a canvas or nylon bag with floating line stuffed in. You throw the bag while holding the first 5 or 10 feet of line with your other hand. I think it can fly out about 50 feet or more towards the COB.

Anyone have experience with a throwbag?

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Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2012 : 10:05:16

Throwbags - yes. Many times.

We used them a lot whitewater canoeing. Difference is that on shore you have room and solid footing for your throw. On a boat that is rocking and rolling with a boom behind you, it is far more difficult.

The other great challenge with the trowbag is that if the line is 'clumped' up inside it, it won't feed out properly and the bag will fall short.

Finally, if you miss on your throw with the bag, it takes about 10 minutes to reload the bag properly with the line, and the bag isn't heavy enough to throw empty with any real result. On a canoe run, this is no big deal since 20 other guys with throw bags are itching for their shot at the rescue.

The old world solution is to tie a monkeys fist at the end of a heaving line. These could be filled with a piece of heavy shot (traditional 1700's fare for a line to throw ashore) or with a hunk of pool noodle or a foam "red-white-and blue" ball. Not as heavy as teh real thing, but adequate.
http://www.boatingmag.com/skills/heave-line-and-make-monkey%E2%80%99s-fist

An alternative to the monkey's fist that requires no 'stuffing' is a heaving knot - these are similar to the wraps on a hangman's noose without the noose. The more wraps, the heavier your heaving end will be. As long as teh line is bouyant, you can make the end as big as you want. http://www.netknots.com/rope_knots/heaving-line-knot/

Knowing the technique to properly throw a line is as important as what you use, but I have never seen it covered in any sailing/boating courses. I learned in cadets. The technique taught to me was to loosely coil teh line in your non-throwing hand, then swing teh heaving end back and forth to build momentum before releasing with an underhand throw. The swings help you get in phase with the waves/roll of the deck, and improve your aim.

Practice sometime at anchor while your kids are swimming. They'll appreciate it.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9078 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2012 : 10:16:25

I carried a ski tow-rope on Passage--the foam-covered handle helped make it throwable, the polyethylene line floated (along with float-ball by the handle), and it stowed away nicely in the little starboard "rope locker".

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frankr
Captain

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256 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2012 : 10:32:36

About 6 years ago while on the Chesapeake we saw something in the water that looked strange. I thought it was a turtle but as we passed by I was it was a wide brimmed hat. We decided to retrieve it and after the third pass I scooped it up with the net. I turned out to be a nice Tilley hat worth about $60. After two washings and two days drying in the sun I have a nice hat.

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9078 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2012 : 14:20:33

My cell phone number is indelibly scribed inside my Tilley! And it fits very few other people! (Size 8.)

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2012 : 18:43:43

I have business cards inside a plastic bag that's provided by Tilley inside mine. I've already lost one, don't even know what happened to it.

I thought my head was a melon at 7-3/4, although I think I could actually wear an 8 in a Tilley.

Oh, and remember when you predicted that Rita would be asking why we couldn't go faster? That's exactly what happened. We decided to leave the reef in that we'd taken in last time out, and not put the jib up at all. We were making 3-4 knots under a reefed main and she was complaining about how slow we were going. Hah!

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mowrangler
1st Mate

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USA
66 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2012 : 19:24:39

I guess sailors must have mostly large knoggins, as I am also a 7 3/4 in my army surplus tilley-like hat. :-)

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Stu Jackson C34
Admiral

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844 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2012 : 13:57:27

Throw idea: buy a softball at a sporting goods store, drill a hole in it for the line.

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JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

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1520 Posts

Response Posted - 08/29/2012 : 06:02:19

Good idea!

Chris mentioned that kayakers know about throw bags, so I looked it up. There seems to be a lot of good info about throw bags on kayaking web sites.

Here's a video that shows you:[url="http://www.ehow.com/video_2347084_use-kayak-river-rescue-throw.html"]how to use and repack a rescue throw bag.
[/url]
Below is a detailed description about how to pack a throw bag from [url="http://paddling.about.com/od/safetyprecautions/ht/How-To-Pack-A-Throw-Rope-Bag.htm
"]this paddling site:[/url]
Throw rope and rope bags are essential pieces of safety gear for whitewater kayakers, canoeists, and rafters. Once a throw bag is deployed, whether to rescue a swimmer or to dry out the rope, it is important that the safety rope is properly packed back in the rope bag. Follow these steps for instructions how to stuff and pack a throw bag.

Here's How:
1. Allow the Throw Rope Bag to Dry Out
It isn't good to let the rope sit in the bag wet as it will grow mold and begin to deteriorate. For this reason it is good to open the bag up and pull the rope out after paddling, allowing it to dry.
2. Remove the Kinks and Knots from the Throw Ropes
It is important to remove all twists, knots, and kinks from throw ropes prior to repacking the rope in the bag.
3. Fully Open Rope Bag
Open the rope bag as much as possible. Be sure the opening of the bag is loose, open, and unrestricted. Check the bag to ensure there is no debris inside of it.
4. Pack the Throw Rope into the Throw Bag
Begin feeding the rope into the bag. Do not wrap, roll, or coil the rope. Just feed the rope in every 6" at a time until the whole rope is in the bag.
5. Close the Throw Bag
Once the rope is in the, simply close it up so that the rope can't fall back out of the bag.

Tips:
1. Don't roll the rope up or attempt to put it in the bag neatly as this will actually cause the rope to get tangled when deployed.
2. It is good to empty the rope out of the bag each time it gets wet so that it drys out.

I think I'll make one or two using Stu's softball idea (I have a bunch of old softballs from my old glory days as a sports star (Ha!) and some floating line.

Edited by - on

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 08/30/2012 : 06:56:17

Lifeslings are not thrown to the COB. They are circled around them like picking up a skier. The javelin would also require a conscious COB to work, but the harpoon wouldn't. Queequeg, where are you?

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