Far left: the geometry of the Midline Lift; for this technique a loop (left) fitted with a short strop should be secured at the stern of the yacht with wool or using a quick-release knot to be immediately available if it is needed. The spinnaker halyard allocated this role must obviously be made long enough to reach the stern… Above: display on Lora Ann lying ahull ‘stationary’ prior to attempting recovery
halyard to the stern and clip it to the sliding loop (above right). Then the crew mans the winch and doesn’t stop until the MOB swings over the lifeline and is lowered on deck – all without leaving the winch. There is no chance of the MOB get- ting hurt by the hull, and the crew is not at risk running around. On Lora Ann my DH partner and I can each Midline Lift the other… albeit barely. In the future I will purchase an electric winch or handle. The geometry of the Midline Lift
(above) requires the lifesling rope to be shortened, but the J-turn handles this easily. The stress of the 1:2 requires that the lifesling rope be floating Spectra rather than the weaker, sun-damage prone stretchy polypropylene. We recommend Spectra for all offshore set-ups, whether Standard Lift or Midline Lift. White water rescue suppliers have great floating yellow Spectra – around 8mm is perfect. To make the rope visible at night sew
2in reflective tapes every 6ft starting at the lifesling for about 40ft. The tapes plus the lights fixed at the forward end of the life - sling make the entire set-up easily visible to both the boat and the MOB at night. The other benefit of the Midline Lift is
the geometry that leads the MOB to mid- ships away from the ends of the boat, limits the MOB free swinging around and exerts more upward pull to prevent sliding under the boat. Warning: test the Midline Lift on your
boat to ensure that there is no twisting of the rope while hoisting.
Unconscious/immobilised MOB Lowering a Rescue Crew (RC) is not an option for a DH crew (or a 3-4 person crew unless they are all strong and experi- enced). It’s possible to back the boat up to the MOB and drag them up a stern plat- form. This is dangerous for the crew and MOB but may be the only choice. Theoretically a boat hook fitted with a
large snaphook and tagline might snag the lifting strap or shoulder strap of the MOB, but that requires the MOB to be alongside the hull and a very lucky use of the hook. I
52 SEAHORSE
have such a rig and find it pretty useless. If the MOB has no PFD and is immo-
bilised (unable to get into a lifesling) the situation is pretty hopeless. This is what happened to Colin Golder on the 2022 Bermuda Race, and the two lost UK sailors featured on page 13 in the August 2023 issue of Seahorse. The solution is easy to state (but we all violate it at some point): wear a PFD and clip on when appropriate.
Make your own plan All the above discussion is boat and crew specific to our DH crew and boat, but the process to come up with our own plan is universal: experimenting in real-time. The same challenges exist for all DH/shorthanded boats. Find out what works best for you and then please share it with me and Seahorse. One final note, while my name is
French, I struggle to get to the level of many of my French offshore friends!!
Loose ends – you are the MOB Before starting your sailing season you must perform an annual PFD inspection and inflation test – inflate orally and leave overnight. Test the light, whistle, AIS. Every five years take a Hands-On Safety-at-Sea seminar that includes a Survival Pool exercise. Learn the three ways to inflate your PFD: automatic (hydrostatic), manual, oral. Know where to quickly access your manual-pull and your oral tube with your eyes firmly shut. Put your name on your PFD. If you are an MOB be mentally pre-
pared to be in the water for at least 20-30 minutes. Once in the water, take a beat and try to calm down, face downwind and downwave, pull your crotch strap tight to elevate your mouth above water, pull your spray hood over your head, cinch your collar and cuffs and keep on your boots to retain heat. Ensure your AIS beacon is on and hold it up for better transmission. Use your whistle – the sound carries. Look for the boat and pat your head if it
is visible to indicate you are not injured. Waving is the wrong signal; a drowning
person often sticks their arms in the air. When the boat approaches, look for the
lifesling rope. Grab it and immediately slip the lifesling over your head and under your arms. Roll over onto your back if you are being dragged.
What if you are dragging by your tether? Several years ago a crew we knew drowned while being dragged. This should never occur. The crew should try to roll over on their back. The helmsman must immediately QuickStop the boat to stop the dragging – this sounds very simple but is often ignored. I know from personal experience that facing the flow of water at 7kt is frightening and life-threatening. The best crew response came from Sir
Robin Knox-Johnston: grab a halyard, snap it onto the tether (not onto the MOB) and hoist immediately. The tether is typically stretched across
the top of the upper lifeline, and by hoist- ing the tether it ‘Midline Lifts’ the crew over the lifelines. We tested this again a few months ago, and it works. If your boat has small halyard shackles that will not snap around a fat tether, hang a large Carabiner near the mast to act as a connector to the halyard. Being dragged over the side should not
be possible if the jacklines are located as close to the centreline as possible, and the short tether (or long tether doubled back) is used, particularly when working on the leeward deck. I find jacklines often cannot be located
inboard enough, so we fit an additional Spectra line along the edge of our cabin top. Using the short tether you now cannot go over the leeward lifeline. Rich du Moulin has over 25 years of DH racing experience including seven Bermuda Races (four wins) on his Express 37 as well as setting the Hong Kong-New York course record with Rich Wilson on his 53ft trimaran Great American II. For more tips on seamanship, leadership and safety at sea please check out
stormtrysail.org/sas-resources
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