Letter:
Man Overboard!

Saturday, Spring Regatta, First Race got off to a slow start but finished fast. The wind had clocked from the southwest to the west and increased to the mid teens.

After the first race, Koosah pulled down the number one and put the number two on deck. We left the main up and noticed that the committee boat was moving from mark 4 over to mark R to start into the west wind. We started heading downwind to the new starting area.

We weren’t paying much attention to the mainsail. Suddenly there was an accidental jibe. Bob Hargreaves said he would catch the boom. Well he did with his hands and continued over the lifelines into the water! MAN OVERBOARD!

We noticed that Bob’s lifejacket inflated immediately. We started to turn the boat 180 degrees when Hal Wilson came up through the companionway to help. As he came up the boom hit him on the left side of his face. He fell backwards to the deck. There was blood coming from the front and back of his head.

The boat headed for Bob. We attempted to deploy the LifeSling, but much of the yellow polypropylene line was badly tangled. We pulled along side of Bob under main alone, made him grab the LifeSling, and guided him to the back of the boat where he boarded the swim ladder under his own power. He was now standing in the cockpit, dripping wet, but on board!

Our next attention was to Hal Wilson. We dove into the first aid kit and took out a cold pack and alcohol swabs. Carol Johnston was our nurse on board and she started cleaning Hal up. Hal said he was sore, but OK.

The engine was started and the Artic Heater turned on. Bob wet into the head to start changing clothes. Koosah’s head heats up very fast with the Artic Heater blasting into such a small area. We have joked that it was our hypothermic chamber. Well, now it would be put to the test! A spare change of clothes is always carried on board in a waterproof bag. The change includes underwear, pants, a thermal shirt, socks and a towel to dry with. Bob had to use a sail tie as a belt for the pants they were so loose on him . . . guess I need to lose a little more weight!

Carol did a great job cleaning up Hal. We later determined that the hat clip caused the cut on the back of his head as he hit the cockpit coaming. We never did find his hat! Hal said to continue in the regatta. Bob confirmed this evaluation.

Carol was assigned to watch over Hal. She was to keep him awake and observe his condition. It was agreed should he have problems a call would be made to 9-1-1 and we would head for the marina. We knew Hal was OK during the middle of the second race when we heard from below, “Carol, quit bugging me!”

The day was completed with all hands on board and a lot of lessons confirmed and one new one learned.
We placed second In the regatta, by the way.

A call to Hal and Bob on Sunday revealed that Bob was feeling great and Hal had a head ach. He said from grading papers; he is a professor at St. Martins.

1. Always pay attention to the sails. Especially the main when the winds are in the mid teens.
2. Our crew knew what to do for a Man Overboard. We recovered Bob under sail on the first pass in a minimal amount of time.
3. Our LifeSling could not be fully deployed. Most of the yellow poly rope was a tangled mess. Lesson learned.
4. Our first aid kit had everything we needed. The first aid modules are kept in our grab bag and we had just completed a training session on what was in the bag. It is inventoried and updated on a yearly basis.
5. We had a spare set of dry clothes.
6. When on deck, a lifejacket is on.
7. Always pay attention!

Dave Knowlton, Koosah