Maintenance Book
If you notice a problem then tell me and make sure there’s a note in the maintenance book which lives alongside the log book in the Nav station. Problems can be anything from only a few tea bags being left through to worn or broken gear, exposed sharp edges, corroded catches etc. If it looks buggered or nearly empty then write it down in the book so I can fix it (I have an awful memory so unless it gets written down it won’t be addressed).

Man Overboard
We will be doing MOB practice on a regular basis and it is essential that everybody aboard knows the drill. Now I am not an instructor and everybody seems to have a different view on how this should be done, but for Barda the following paragraphs describe what I expect (this is based on the technique used by Mike Golding which is good enough for me).

1. Crew goes over the side. Shiiiit. Splash.
2. Person who saw the MOB first stops what they are doing and simply concentrates on keeping the casualty in sight, pointing all the time. If you are on the helm then delegate this duty to whoever is closest. This is a vital role as a person can quickly drift out of sight, especially at night.
3. Dan buoy and life ring are thrown at casualty.
4. The MOB button on the GPS must be pressed AND a note made of the position (Lat & Long) and exact time ( if things go badly wrong and we have to involve Search and Rescue then the coastguard/lifeboat can use the MOB position from the GPS combined with the time to accurately predict the drift/position of the casualty).
5. When the MOB cry goes up and we are on the beat the helm must immediately tack the boat but leave the sails sheeted in position - with the headsail now backed on the ‘wrong’ side for the new tack Barda will come to a crash stop.
6. Check for lines over the side - make sure every sheet is pulled aboard as this is not the time to have a rope around the prop. Once we are sure the lines are clear get the engine started.
7. Drop the headsail.
8. Tack the boat round under power and head back to the casualty - the main should be sheeted centrally. The objective is to get back to the casualty as quickly as possible with the final approach upwind at less than 1 knot on a close reach. Reduce speed by feathering and or easing the main sheet, gain speed by sheeting on and/or bearing away. Using the engine is our first choice but we’ll also be practising without it as it can be a danger to somebody in the water and we may have lost it due to a rope round the prop.
9. The casualty is recovered to leeward and brought in either under the safety line (the lower one can be loosened for this by cutting through the lashings at the pushpit) or preferably onto the transom ‘sugar scoop’. If the casualty is unconscious then somebody will have to go into the water to assist in pushing/pulling them onto the transom - there will be a 5mm wetsuit aboard and if a swimmer is going to be needed the nominated person must go down below and get changed ready to go over the side whilst we are manoeuvring towards the casualty - the nominated swimmer must inflate life jacket before going in and needs to be attached to the boat with a line.
10. If we have the spinnaker up when the MOB occurs we need to execute a normal kite drop so having all the lines ready to run is very important.

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