Safety Question - Sailing Solo

[Scott Galloway]

Theis,

Well, you convinced me. I kept trying to come up with an adaptation to my 20 year carabiner-based harness that would allow it to be used safely and effectively with my new jackline system. Today I went another route.

My old harness is probably fine for crewed sails, but for single handing, a sailor needs to be able to clip and unclip under tension if he or she is going to transfer from the tether to an alternative point, such as my jackline tails.

So I picked up a double (3 ft and 6 ft) elastic tether and a harness today with Gibb hooks on the boat end and a snap shackle on the harness end. It all seems to work well, and was probably a good investment for single-handed sailing.

The problem with the skyhook is that most sailboats do not maintain a reliably constant relative bearing in relation to the sky. One could get wrapped around the mast, but then again, perhaps a skyhook bungee with a quick release pin would work.

[Theis]

Golly Scott. I am surprised you are not up to date on the skyhook technology. The skyhook is oriented with a differential GPS and powered by a solar reflector in a low stationary orbit. One of the disadvantages, I would assume, is that being in a low orbit, it doesn't last that long - probably 10 years at the most- so it can be expensive, although that generally doesn't stop spend thrift sailors. The way they work is the GPS keeps track of your boat and keeps the skyhook a fixed distance away. I would have thought you would have figured that one out. I'll bet you can find the entire assembly in the West Catalog. You can also find them in bridal supply catalogs. They are used to whisk the bride or groom away when he/she is just a few feet from the altar (but only if it is an outside wedding, obviously) in case one or the other changes his/her mind at the last minute.

As for the 3'- 6'ft tether, that is the cat's meow. I had the regular 6' one that caught on everything. This summer I splurged and bought the stretch one that I think you have (it was on sale), and found it a greater blessing than I ever could have imagined. With the old one, I was always concerned about getting it caught on something and being flipped where I didn't want to be as I was hustling forward.

[Full and By]

Hi Scott, please take a look at my posts under the "boarding ladder" thread. It works. Note the comments about the lifeline in the cockpit. The system is dependent upon being able to slide along the side of the boat to the transom...so you've got to fall overboard behind the shrouds! (and I don't have lifelines or pulpits...too low and too flimsy to be anything but false security). If you're using jacklines, THEY MUST BE RUN OUTSIDE OF THE SHROUDS or you won't live to tell the tale if you're alone...your body will be waterlogged when they find you. If they're outside and you fall over...with some effort you can get to the transom...where the ladder is.

[Full and By]

Since you're interested in solo sailing..... If you're close to the wind, say from 45 degrees back to 60 or so, it's pretty easy to balance C-295 by adjusting sail trim and traveler position. But, you'll have to hold off the weather helm to varying degrees depending on wind velocity.

In this pic, note (if you can) the tiller control lines...like your boy scout tent line tensioners...that will give you infinite positioning of the tiller. They also disappear when not in use, and you don't have an ugly piece of plastic screwed into your nice mahogany tiller.

Note that the transom ladder is down...and my wife and her girlfriend are wet..proof that the ladder works on nice, flat, days on a swim call. It was chilly that day so they were wearing suits. (I always smile a lot when they swim.)

Screwing around with fouled lazy jacks...standing on the cockpit seat, I fell overboard to leeward single handing in gusty 12 knot breeze. My harness was tethered to the cockpit lifeline and I got back aboard ..up the ladder...with a little effort, it seemed...maybe it was the adrenaline, though. The boat was sailing along with the tiller held by these lines, pretty close to the wind.

I didn't notice much pitching of the boat when I went up the ladder..perhaps because the boat, sailing an easy heading to windward, was quartering the wave pattern and doing pretty good on her own at smoothing things out.

Motoring into a headsea, her action would have been quite different...but that's bad form when you pick someone up anyway. You should approach the surprised swimmer quartering the seas and shoot for stopping the boat with the swimmer 10 or 15 feet off the leeward quarter of the boat. If you approach directly upwind, you have an increased risk of bashing their melon with the bow or stern overhangs.