Norwester
Member II
Sharing here for purposes of community info and future preparations.
"On Saturday March 8th, during Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle's Possession Point Race, two sailors were swept off their 41-foot sailboat while racing in Puget Sound, approximately one mile South of Possession Point on Whidbey Island.
Due to the quick actions taken by the crew of the 41-foot boat, to deploy their Man Overboard Module (Switlik MOM unit) and relay a distress call to fellow competitors and the U.S. Coast Guard, the sailors were rescued. " (CYC Seattle)
Video: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/jMJLeMj6 (NOTE: Video shoes last 5 min of rescue. Vessel from which two sailors fell overboard was disabled and unable to retrieve their sailors.)
"Both sailors were wearing their Personal Flotation Device as required by the race committee. The sailors were retrieved by the crew of Lodos, another competing boat who left the race to assist. The sailors were then transferred to the Kitsap County Sheriff's Marine One, where they were taken to the Edmonds Marina and handed off to EMS personnel for transport to a local hospital. Both sailors were in the water for approximately 40 minutes. Both sailors have since been released from the hospital and are in good spirits, doing well.
Many of the sailors and competitors in this race and in the sailing community train and prepare their boats and crews for situations just like this. The quick actions of the crew on the 41-foot sailboat to deploy their MOM unit and communicate the sailors position, as well as the maneuvers of the boat who eventually hoisted the crew out of the water, is all a testament to the skills learned through The Sailing Foundation's Safety at Sea Programs and each crew's practice and preparation in boating safety and seamanship. Sailing, especially on the colder waters of the Pacific Northwest, carries a certain level of risk; and we are grateful that the teams competing on that day were well prepared to respond to this incident. More than four of the competing boats left the race to converge quickly to the scene to assist during the rescue.
We also thank our fellow mariners at the Washington State Ferries who diverted to render assistance as a wind block, which made the retrieval of the overboard crew much easier for the rescuing boat. Also thank you to the US Coast Guard for coordinating the rescue and dispatching resources to get the sailors to shore quickly.
This incident serves as an important reminder for all mariners to wear your Personal Flotation Devices at all times and train regularly on crew overboard rescue. These rare real life incidents help our sport enhance training practices, and the lessons learned along with the excellent video captured by Troy Hutt will be used to supplement future training." Race Fleet Captain, Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle
"On Saturday March 8th, during Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle's Possession Point Race, two sailors were swept off their 41-foot sailboat while racing in Puget Sound, approximately one mile South of Possession Point on Whidbey Island.
Due to the quick actions taken by the crew of the 41-foot boat, to deploy their Man Overboard Module (Switlik MOM unit) and relay a distress call to fellow competitors and the U.S. Coast Guard, the sailors were rescued. " (CYC Seattle)
Video: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/jMJLeMj6 (NOTE: Video shoes last 5 min of rescue. Vessel from which two sailors fell overboard was disabled and unable to retrieve their sailors.)
"Both sailors were wearing their Personal Flotation Device as required by the race committee. The sailors were retrieved by the crew of Lodos, another competing boat who left the race to assist. The sailors were then transferred to the Kitsap County Sheriff's Marine One, where they were taken to the Edmonds Marina and handed off to EMS personnel for transport to a local hospital. Both sailors were in the water for approximately 40 minutes. Both sailors have since been released from the hospital and are in good spirits, doing well.
Many of the sailors and competitors in this race and in the sailing community train and prepare their boats and crews for situations just like this. The quick actions of the crew on the 41-foot sailboat to deploy their MOM unit and communicate the sailors position, as well as the maneuvers of the boat who eventually hoisted the crew out of the water, is all a testament to the skills learned through The Sailing Foundation's Safety at Sea Programs and each crew's practice and preparation in boating safety and seamanship. Sailing, especially on the colder waters of the Pacific Northwest, carries a certain level of risk; and we are grateful that the teams competing on that day were well prepared to respond to this incident. More than four of the competing boats left the race to converge quickly to the scene to assist during the rescue.
We also thank our fellow mariners at the Washington State Ferries who diverted to render assistance as a wind block, which made the retrieval of the overboard crew much easier for the rescuing boat. Also thank you to the US Coast Guard for coordinating the rescue and dispatching resources to get the sailors to shore quickly.
This incident serves as an important reminder for all mariners to wear your Personal Flotation Devices at all times and train regularly on crew overboard rescue. These rare real life incidents help our sport enhance training practices, and the lessons learned along with the excellent video captured by Troy Hutt will be used to supplement future training." Race Fleet Captain, Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle