Well I have experienced my first man overboard drill. Of course it was during a race – my first time at the helm to boot! We were sailing a club pursuit race which is lots of fun. Instead of everyone starting together, we finish together. We have a staggarded start based on our PHRF rating and whoever crosses the finish line first wins. Being in a J/22, we started near the back of the fleet with the J/80’s and J105’s behind us. My husband thought this was the perfect time for me to take the helm for the first time. We didn’t have a third crew member so it was just the two of us. And of course we were going to fly the chute. I was driving and David was going to do everything else – trim the main, trim the jib, handle foredeck, fly the chute and call tactics. All of which he did very well, except the foredeck part.

We had a great start. My only job was to focus on the telltales and keep it in the groove. We were making good time. Our top J/22 sailors missed their time hack and started a minute in front of us. Not to worry, we caught them! Our boat loves light air and we were very fast. Our competitors were quite irritated at our boat speed as we passed them approaching the mark. I gave them room on the inside as we rounded. David went forward to put up the pole. We were going to go slow and be very conservative. We hit a wave and I was still turning around the mark. I hear kerplunk and then see David’s fingers grasping the teak toerail and hanging on with all his finger strength. I drug him for about a minute before turning up into the wind. He kept trying to get himself back in the boat and it was obvious he need some help. I had bought a rope ladder for just this sort of occasion. I attached it to the stern cleat and thought how smart I was to bring this great device. Wrong. It was not usable. It slips under the stern making it impossible to get your center of gravity in the right place. David had me use the winch. He made a bolin loop and stood in it while I inched him up until he could get in. OK, so much for being ahead. I’m thinking the race is over and we’re going to daysail back to the club. Wrong again. David pops up and starts to put the chute up again. We’re racing, let’s go! We get the chute up and start flying. I start to overheat so David takes over the helm while flying the chute and has me towling off with lake water. We picked up some strong puffs and made good time. I got back on the helm and we ended up coming in fourth place. Not bad for a newbie helmsman and an unplanned MOB drill. The conditions were perfect for me to do my first MOB activity. The jib was down, the chute was not up yet and the winds were light. Perfect training conditions. I’m sure the future holds some less favorable conditions but at least I have the confidence I can get him back in the boat. It was great fun. Let’s do it again!