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| Each morning
of the four-day Crew Overboard Retrieval Symposium, all the
participants met to discuss the tests for the day. In the evening,
back at the dock, a debrief was held so each boat’s crew
could report on their experiences with different maneuvers and
products. |
Volunteers
from the San Francisco Bay area and beyond helped with every
aspect of the event, from staffing the registration booth, to
preparing and serving food, to sailing boats, and even jumping
in the water. |
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| Each afternoon,
products used during the day dried were out in the grass outside
the meeting tent. Participants got to talk with other boaters
and sneak a peek at what other boats had tested that day. |
Volunteers
donned wetsuits and jumped in the cold Pacific waters to act
as victims for the majority of tests. A safety boat was always
nearby when swimmers were in the water. |
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| The fury
of flapping sails, whipping jib sheets, and odd-angle waves
are some of the challenges of a crew overboard rescue aboard
a sailboat. |
Snagging
a mannequin head with a boat hook is easy compared to getting
a real person aboard. Remember that when you’re practicing
crew overboard drills with a floating cushion or a lost-in-the-wind
baseball cap. |
 |
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| Here the
Lifesling is hoisted using a sailboat's main halyard. |
During
debriefings, victims told the group that while waiting for the
crew to get organized to bring them fully aboard, they felt
more secure being tied tight, but uncomfortably, against
the boat, rather than being tethered to the boat but floating
loose in the water. |
| Photos
by Phil Cowley. Additional photos by Ruth Wood and Joni Turken.
|
| Foundation
Findings 41 - Page 1 - Page 2 -
Page 3 |
