MAN OVER BOARD!!!!!!

L

localboy

New member
So a bunch of guys from work planned this crabbing trip. One of my buddies has a "cabin" on Hat Island, so the plan was for us to meet up in Everett yesterday, have lunch and a few beers and go crabbing. Stay overnight on Hat, eat crab/BBQ, let the pots soak, pick them up today and come home. Cool! We had my boat and my buddy's boat, a 22' Sea Spay "Striper". My boat had me plus three guys. His boat had owner and four guys. For some reason we split up along age; our boat was the "mature" boat. All guys in their 40's and 50's. The other boat had the young bucks. I gave everyone on my boat a quick safety briefing prior to departure; location of life vests, extinguishers, man over board sling etc..

So one of the guys on the "young" boat recently had foot surgery and is in a walking boot. So here is where it gets "exciting". After laying our pots we cruise to hook up with them. I'm about 75-100' away and what do I see? The disabled guy STANDING on the gunwale, in his boot, while another buddy "holds" him so he can pee. Well guess what happens....

SPLASH! In goes the buddy w/ the boot on, JD. I see this and first say "SHIT!...followed by "HOLY SHIT!!!!" as I witness everyone on the young boat, except the owner/captain, laughing hysterically and pointing! The owner tries to turn to JD and due to wind/waves nearly lands the bow ON TOP OF him! JD puts his hand up and fends the boat away but it pushes him under, again. Now mind you, no one has even thought to throw something to the guy! A fender..a cushion...NOTHING. They're all laughing holding their beers in their hands.

I yell to the guys on my boat "MAN OVERBOARD!!". I grab the floating cushion that I always have handy and throw it at JD; I miss but it's within reach. HE DOES NOT GRAB IT. By now the other boat threw an identical cushion too and the captain does the same thing again; basically gets too close, the bow comes down on JD. He fends it off as best as possible and goes under....again!

So he's still in the water....but the laughter has now stopped and panic is setting in. JD's head goes under again and I can tell he's having problems keeping on the surface; the boot is not helping, it's cold and I don't know how good a swimmer he is. I yell at the guys on my boat to move the FARK out of my way, grab our Revere "Rescue Max" from the bag and throw it. It's always mounted on our stern rail just in csae. I get it to withing 4' of JD, but again he doesn't grab it! It inflated perfectly and instantly, but I had no room to maneuver our boat in a turn so the line/float would cross him; the other boat was just too close. The other boat finally get it's boat hook out, extends in, turns again and JD grabs it.

It was the topic of the night around the fire. I think the four learned a valuable lesson. Beer is OK, but too much beer can cloud your judgement; not a good thing on the water. He should never have stood up there to pee, especially in his condition. And they admitted the owner had not given them ANY info on safety gear, float cushions etc and all the visitors have no boating experience.

I'm glad the outcome wasn't different. But shows how quickly a fun day on the water can go south....
 
Glad it ended okay. I remember first openwater dive certification,a guy panicked the boat that tried helping ran right over him but he was pulled out and okay,he quit right there.
 
PFD's on at all times on the water - period. While this event was particularly stupid, there are other unexpected times when one can go over board that are not quite as dumb. Wear that PFD at all times and you've got a MUCH better chance of surviving both the dumb and the not so dumb MOB instances.
 
Mark, So glad it did not end in tragedy. Probably the most scary part is not the Darwin award peeing attempt but the utter lack of concern by the other guys on board. Man!
 
nimrod":8dh5xeap said:
like you said.....HOLY SHIT!
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After we calmed down, I imparted to all how much I was concerned at the time. That water is cold and w/ his injury, it was not a good idea to be "in it". I think they realized the seriousness of the incident. Another buddy of mine, who was on my boat and is also from Hawai'i, is in our dept's marine unit. He told them how he "recovers" bodies from the exact same scenario. "But my pal just fell overboard....." It got quiet for a few minutes.....


colobear":8dh5xeap said:
...the utter lack of concern by the other guys on board. Man!
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I know these guys. They are all good people; good cops. Two were in the Marine Corps, including the wet guy. One guy is in our SWAT team and is a medic. I just think it had to do with inexperience, lack of sobriety, wanting to have a "fun" time and the old "it will never happen to me" theory. Remember some cops think they are indestructable. LIke I said, they were all under 35 yrs old. Our boat was the "sober" boat. It was definately a learning lesson for all.
 
That makes my blood run cold. We practice MOB regularly. I quiz 1st mates weekly. Some of them think it couldn't happen.

Glad the outcome was OK this time. NOTHING funny about someone going into this damn cold water!

Jim
 
In a somewhat related category ... during the years I was a Ranger at Lake Mead we had a number of body recoveries (in Many, alcohol was a factor).

In a surprising number of those the victim's 'fly was down when we recovered the body.

...always handy to keep a bucket onboard!

And a PFD!

Best,
Casey&Mary
in Sitka, but onward Tomorrow!
 
Mark, a very sobering story. Glad all ended well, hope there was a lesson learned by the "young guys." PFDs should always be worn while on-board, sometimes we may be a little lax, a story like this always serves to reinforce the need to wear PFDs while in the boat on the water. And realize that MOB is no laughing matter...
 
When offering guests PFDs I inevitably hear something like, 'But I'm a strong swimmer...'

My reply is, 'If you go 'in' and you're not wearing a PFD your first priority is keeping afloat (swimming). If you're wearing a PFD you can then go to your next priority (like getting rescued, helping someone else or giving assistance to the situation).'
 
So what did the guy in the water say when you asked him why he didn't grab the two floats that were thrown to him?

"I wasn't done peeing yet."???
 
JD is a lucky guy that Mark was close by and knew what to do! It is bad enough with full clothing and shoes on when you go overboard, especially if it is rough or windy. That boot made the situation immediately dangerous (let alone hypothermia which is always a risk up in that part of the world).

We all have different rules. One of ours is no drinking when under way. Although we don't require floatation when in the cabin (in some situations that can be dangerous)--we do suggest it in rough weather if outside the cabin and almost always when up on the rail or on deck. Some type of man over board gear is essential--as is knowing how to get to a person who falls overboard--and you immediately assume that that person is incapacitated. Another issue, is that any time there is an incident it is not funny. We almost lost a friend in Lake Mead at the end of a Grand Canyon River rafting trip. There was some drinking going on, and the guys were dipping a bucket to throw at each other (both in fun and to keep cool). One there was a line on the bucket and it was wrapped around one fellows wrist. He was pulled over by the bucket full of water, and this bucket acted as a sea anchor, pulling him down as he struggled. One of the other guys realized what was happening and dove in to cut the bucket loose and pull our friend to the surface.

As for reaching the cushion--could be panic, could be with the cast on, JD was immobilized to the extent he could not reach the life cushion of the rescue buoy. Be safe! Good save!
 
So what did the guy in the water say when you asked him why he didn't grab the two floats that were thrown to him?
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He said he "never saw them". He was too focused on the boat and getting air into his lungs.
 
If you web search "the drowning response" it will be a real eye opener on what happens to most people when they are unintentionally in the water or when intentional swimming turns into a problem. The brain has a hard time being practical and logical. The comment in the thread that he was focusing on breathing and the boat is very consistent with what you will read about what happens to the brain when a person is panicked in the water
 
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