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Subject: [worldcruising] Security belt
From: A0884958, Dave (wdr@XXX.XXX)
Date: Thu Jan 18 2001 - 06:12:16 EST
The testing referred to below was conducted by The Safety at Sea Committee
of the Sailing Foundation in Seattle, Washington, and was undertaken in 1998
covering sailing harnesses and tethers. Practical Sailor reprinted the
findings in November and December 1999. See
http://www.practical-sailor.com/pub/25_21/features/4087-1.html for back
issues.
Regards
Dave Richardson
wdr@XXX.XXX
-----Original Message-----
From: A0884958, Dave
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2001 11:47 AM
To: 'worldcruising@XXX.XXX'
Subject: [worldcruising] Security belt
In most English speaking countries the apparatus you are referring to is
called a "harness" and "tether". On board our boat we have 3 firm rules:
1. At night, everyone will have their harness and tether affixed before
entering the cockpit.
2. No one goes on deck anytime unless they are tethered AND there is a
second person in the cockpit.
3. When the weather is bad enough the Captain will call for everyone
entering the cockpit to be in their harness and tethered.
I admit that on a fine sunny day with dolphins swimming at the bow these are
difficult to enforce. But then my kids refer to me as Bligh. More on that
later.
Our harnesses are self inflating Personal Flotation Devices (PFD's). This
is not an advertisement but we have found SOS Suspenders to be comfortable.
Ladies will have to try on several before they find one that is comfortable.
We have also put personal flares, strobe light and whistle in each. The
tethers we prefer are from Wichard. They have 2 legs, 1 with elastic in it
so it is normally short at about a meter but elongates, the other is 2
metres long. The 2 legs allow you to move the tether to a new fixation point
without ever being undone. Wichard has a very positive fastening that can
be undone with 1 hand and can be undone under load (with difficulty).
However it cannot be undone accidentally. In the cockpit we have 4 Wichard
pad eyes, through bolted to backing plates. They are rated at 11,000 lbs.
breaking strength. Two of these are just outside the companionway so we can
attach the tether before entering the cockpit. The others are at the wheel.
I purposely put this many in so each crew would have their own and not
accidentally undo someone else's tether. We have jack lines fitted that run
from right forward to all the way aft. These are used should you need to go
on deck. They are run in such a manner that you can move from stem to stern
without ever diconnecting your tether. They can be reached from the cockpit
when it is time to tether on before you go on deck. Here again we have
Wichard folding pad eyes through bolted with backing plates. The jack lines
we prefer are flat nylon webbing. This is rated at 5,500 lbs and I use
locking stainless steel karabiners at both ends. When putting the webbing
down dry you must stretch it very tight. When it is wet it has 1/2 metre of
stretch. We wet it before we put it in place. We also remove, dry and
store the webbing out of the sunlight when we are at anchor to protect it
from deterioration. We replace it annually and keep a spare set aboard.
Others use stainless steel wire for the jack line. I prefer webbing as it
doesn't roll underfoot but wire has the advantage of not stretching and of
course in not as subject to deterioration.
The US Coast Guard in conjunction with several other organizations has
recently tested harnesses, tethers and jack lines from many reputable
manufacturers. Many, many, brand new units failed or otherwise did not meet
the stated specifications. Stitching broke, karabiners straightened out
under load, and gear outright failed. I will spend some time looking to see
if these reports are available on-line.
Again, very recent test have shown that PFD's without crotch straps are
almost useless. They float up to cover the users face.
Most men are lost overboard when they step to the stern rail to take a pee.
I have never heard of anyone falling overboard while sitting on the head.
In August last year we spent several days in an F9 gale. Not pleasant! To
put it very bluntly if anyone had gone overboard night or day they would
have been dead. There would have been zero hope of recovering them. We
have practised MOB drill and even under ideal conditions it is very
difficult to find and recover someone. In bad conditions the only thing
that will help is a practised crew and a lot of luck.
Just 3 weeks ago I organized a search and rescue for a sailor that had gone
overboard. It was their last day of a transatlantic crossing, clear,
bright, beautiful weather, 15 knots of wind and unusually little wave
action. The sailor came on watch and then we presume went to the walk
through transom on a brand new boat, stood on the stern to have his sea
water bath, fell overboard and the boat continued sailing at 7 knots on
autopilot for as much as 2 1/2 hours until the next watch change. Sadly we
did not find the sailor in spite of an intensive search lasting 2 days and
covering 1500 square miles. It is probably most often in fine weather where
we let our defenses down and not take the precautions we would in adverse
conditions.
Forgive me if this has tended to sound pendantic but I feel strongly about
this issue. Your concerns are well founded.
Regards
Dave Richardson
wdr@XXX.XXX
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