![]() ![]() Proved very difficult because of the obstructing lifejacket bladder. Attempts to clear the skipper’s airways and check for signs of life The team managed to raise the skipper’s head above water, but there was no reaction from him. His tether was still connected to the starboard jackline and had passed over the spinnaker pole and under the lower guardwire on the port side. The skipper was found in the water with his lifejacket inflated and the lifejacket bladder over his head, obscuring part of his face. The mainsheet was immediately slackened and the foresail released, which slowed the yacht’s speed to 1.5 knots around 3 minutes after the skipper fell overboard. The skipper was still connected to the starboard jackline by his 1.8m-long tether. “At 0027 on 18 June 2011, the No1 genoa was being passed into the cockpit when it was noticed that the skipper had fallen over the port side near the bow. As Christopher Reddish’s death proved, this could have tragic consequences. The ability to return to a free-floating MOB and pick him up successfully is an important skill to have, but it doesn’t help us recover someone who is still attached the boat. The man overboard drill that crews generally practice, and which mirrors the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) syllabus, deals almost exclusively with recovering an untethered casualty from the water – mostly involving a fender floating free, retrieved with a stab from a boathook. He was wearing a lifejacket and he was clipped on with a tether, or safety, line – but when he went overboard from the foredeck on a dark night he was dead by the time the crew could recover him. But the subsequent Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report was truly chilling because it emerged that Mr Christopher Reddish (47) had done everything by the book. The tragic drowning of the skipper of the Reflex 38 Lion 15 miles south of Selsey Bill in 2011 shocked the sailing world. But is that the case? PBO’s test team conduct some trials…with sobering results. Perceived wisdom is that if you fall overboard, staying tethered to the boat will keep you safe. ![]()
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