Suddenly Alone – explained by Frank Yantin, 10 December 2007
Imagine the scene; you are sailing mid-week down the Solent beyond the Needles and on towards Poole. There is very little other shipping around. You are the novice sailor placed on the helm by the only other person on board, your experienced skipper, who has instructed you on how to keep a steady course while he goes below. Suddenly you hear a thud followed by silence.
What is the first thing you do?
Frank had given us all a card on which to write down the answer, so he got 13 replies, some the same, some different – use the radio, start the engine, heave to, drop the sails, engage the autohelm, use a flare or smoke canister, check the patient? OK, but which of these, and in which order, and why?
By the tea interval, we were like the little old lady who lived in a shoe – we knew what to do, in which order, and more importantly, why. The most important question you need to ask, and sort out an answer for, is “is the boat safe?” The question was not “How is the patient” because if you are about to sink that becomes relatively irrelevant. Your primary aim is not to increase the number of casualties.
By the end of the evening, we had been told of the virtues of hand-held VHF radios, what to look for in their design when choosing one, ensure your crew knows how to start the engine, how to engage autohelm, how to operate flares (beware, they take a second or two to actually ignite and then dribble hot goo down their sides), how to operate a radio, how to take sails down (with a knife if necessary) – in short – keep the boat afloat long enough for emergency assistance to get to the scene.
Frank also demonstrated how rapidly and to what size a manual life jacket inflates, how to care for them, and what to look for when choosing one, and, don’t inflate them in the cabin because you might not be able to get through the companionway if you have.
Lastly, Frank advised that in our spare moments waiting for the kettle to boil, for example, we should acquaint ourselves with the workings of such gadgets (essentials?) as radar, GPS, how to plot your position?
A very well-worthwhile evening – scary to the point of “what advice / instruction have I not told my crew”.
Many thanks to Frank for enlightening us.
Robert Falk
From the Commodore:-
I should like to add my thanks and congratulations and moreover to advise members that we shall run this training session again next year to give all members, experienced and novice alike the opportunity to consider how things might turn out if you were in the situation of being Suddenly Alone with an unconscious skipper! Please let us know if you are interested!!!!! Contact Robert.