{"id":23440,"date":"2025-10-14T10:23:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T15:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/?p=23440"},"modified":"2025-11-11T13:26:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T18:26:24","slug":"man-soontobe-overboard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2025\/10\/14\/man-soontobe-overboard\/","title":{"rendered":"Man (soon to be) Overboard"},"content":{"rendered":"
Position: 37\u00b002’27.7″N 8\u00b053’37.7″W<\/a><\/h6>\n

Sometime remakes are better than the original. Sometimes things should be left just as they were. Our early misadventure with Nell\u2019s towline<\/a> on the Great Bahama Bank seven-and-a-half years ago (seems like yesterday, doesn\u2019t it? \u2013 ed.)<\/em> was, we hoped, a once in a lifetime experience. Sadly, new technology can induce complacency. Complacency can lead to things you don\u2019t want to discuss in public, but nonetheless make for a good story.<\/p>\n

Bygones<\/h6>\n

Having left Nell in the capable hands of Roland in B\u00fcdelsdorf<\/a>, we replaced her with Axey in St. Vaast-la-Hogue<\/a>. Along the way, we replaced our MOB[1]<\/sup><\/a> sling and saved its floating yellow polypropylene line for our new dinghy.<\/p>\n

Sling It<\/h6>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Since we\u2019re on the subject, the procedure for rescuing someone that carelessly falls off your boat is a lot like the one that causes you to run over your own towline. Briefly, if and when you notice someone has parted company with your boat, you toss anything that floats into the water, including your handy lifesaving sling.<\/p>\n

The sling is a horseshoe shaped piece of closed cell foam wrapped in PVC with a ring attached to a long length of floaty rope that you fling overboard. Then you round up and start sailing in a wide circle so your victim can grab the line and wriggle into the sling and you can haul them in.<\/p>\n

If they\u2019re conscious, you can encourage them to climb up the stepladder. If they\u2019re unconscious, then you need to get creative with halyards and winches. Of course, if they\u2019re unconscious, you\u2019ll have to go overboard and put the sling around them and, well, it\u2019s all a bit of a faff which is why our rule on Aleta is: MISNEACH<\/a>! Stay with the boat!<\/p>\n

Last Time<\/h6>\n

The last time we ran over our towline we used good old sinky polyester line. Warm in the bosom of a high-tech floaty polypropylene line the idea that Axey\u2019s painter could foul the propellor never occurred to the helms(hu)man. Aleta\u2019s captain, cynic that he is, figured anything can happen at sea and usually does. So, when heading into an anchorage, one should shorten the painter no matter what the hell it\u2019s made of.<\/p>\n

This Time<\/h6>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Eighteen hours out of Porto with Starlink humming dodgy weather forecasts, and with no hope of a berth in Lisbon, we decided to continue south towards the safer waters of the Algarve. That meant another 24 hours at sea. A fair distance and, from experience, a length of time when we aren\u2019t always at our sharpest when we arrive.<\/p>\n

Knowing this, we slow down our decision-making and do our best to ratchet down our procedural checklists for safety\u2019s sake. The good news is nothing happens very quickly on a sailboat and there is plenty of time for planning.<\/p>\n

Of course, the inevitable happened and we ran over the towline. The captain, as you would expect, admonished the helms(hu)man. But secretly he kicked himself for not bringing in the towline in anticipation of just this eventuality.<\/p>\n

Man OverBoard<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Perhaps the most challenging part of the remediation was squeezing the captain into his wetsuit. Having harboured ambitions of a full IronMan triathlon, he purchased a custom-fitted 3mm ProMotion wetsuit<\/a>. Then he bought a motorcycle and turned into a fatter, lazier petrolhead. With some effort the neoprene stretched far enough that the zip sealed him in. Over the side he went, knife in hand. With over 100\u2019 of polypropylene line, removing the frayed, melted remnants still left plenty of scope for Axey\u2019s further adventures.<\/p>\n

Video<\/h6>\n

Here are the captain\u2019s extemporaneous comments to the helms(hu)man. You can almost imagine you are there\u2026<\/p>\n