A Man-Overboard Drill

It’s Tuesday, May 21^st, 2013. The Pride of Baltimore II departs this morning for the Great Lakes.

Last night was difficult. My arms, shoulders and legs ached from keeping up with the rest of the crew, pulling of the heavy lines during the docking procedures. Heading for my bunk I wanted to knock myself out with a sleeping pill but was hesitant. I knew we were leaving Baltimore early, with the full crew muster scheduled for 6AM. I was afraid 5mg of Ambien would leave me too woozy in the morning so I took half and turned in.

This morning I’m woozy anyway. The Ambien wasn’t strong enough to quiet the noise in my muscles and has left me with a spaced-out feeling. But it’s “All hands on deck” anyway for our departure. There is more tugging on the dock lines to pull the POB2 away from her dock. We begin our journey with a long period of motoring up through the Chesapeake into the C & D canal so there won’t be any raising of sails until we get to open water in the Delaware Bay.

But we’re no more than a few minutes into the trip when Captain Trost pitches a life ring over the side of the boat and calls for a man-overboard (MOB) drill. The crew knows its responsibility and leaps to it. The regular crew’s job is to retrieve the “victim”. No easy task, this requires hoisting the motorized dinghy over the side of the boat.

Yesterday at the guest crew orientation it was explained to us that our responsibility in a MOB situation is to keep the victim in sight and to point with our arm towards the victim in order to help the captain and helmsman to keep the overboard sailor in sight. But I’m still partly asleep and in a befuddled state. Instead of doing my assigned non-strenuous job of pointing I jump in to help with the hoisting of the rescue boat, perhaps getting in the way more than helping. I am possibly confused by the seriousness by which the regular crew members are going about their assigned tasks and look to assist the crew where help is most needed.

It is not long before the overboard life ring is rescued and the excitement of the drill begins to subside. Our watch ends at 8AM, soon after the drill. The POB2 will be motoring all day through the upper Chesapeake and the C & D Canal. There should be no call for “All hands on deck” or even for the Stand-by Watch to help on deck. I go below.

Lying in my bunk, thinking about the proceedings, I wonder if the captain or any of the mates have noticed my not doing my assigned job during the drill. Or whether the regular crew thought I was in their way while hoisting the rescue tender. Needless to say I am embarrassed, and have needlessly taxed already sore muscles. After a quick breakfast I climb into my berth after downing 100 mg of Tramadol, an opioid pain medication I’ve been taking. I should have no duties until our 4PM watch and soon I’m asleep.

--Bob Kerber

 



 

The POB2 Watch System

 5/20/2013 Baltimore Harbor



It’s Monday evening and I’m in my bunk. We leave early in the morning, for the Atlantic! At our muster this morning the Chief (1^st) Mate, Jill, explained the watch system we will use during the trip. Every boat while underway needs sailors to stand watch.

While the POB2 is underway we will be on a three watch system. The crew is divided into thirds and each day will be divided into six – four hour segments. A Watch is assigned to “On” for two four-hour shifts each day; that means to be dressed and on deck, and ready to perform any tasks needed to run the boat. Another watch is required to be on “Standby”, that is able to be on deck quickly should they be needed to help with major sail changes or any other condition that requires extra crew on deck. The last watch is “Off” and probably in their bunks.

 I’m assigned to “A” Watch; we’re on watch from 4AM to 8AM and 4PM to 8PM, and off watch for each following four hours. The Chief Mate, Jill, is our watch leader. Jill has been working aboard tall ships since the end of high school, ten years earlier. She grew up sailing with her dad near Buffalo N.Y. and raced small sailboats during high school. A graduate in International Studies from Boston University, she’ll turn 27 later during our first week.

“A” Watch consists of Jill, the POB2’s Engineer, a deck hand and two guest crew. Seth Page, @25, from Vermont (maybe New Hampshire) is the Engineer; his duties as such are basically overseeing the boat’s mechanical systems. He learned many of his engineering skills from his father. Andrew Elmaleh, the deckhand is also @25. Andrew is from New Jersey and six or eight other place on the planet, a musician and a genuine entertainer. The other guest crew is Erin C, an architect from Hamilton (or maybe Kitchener), Ontario. All of A Watch except for myself are in their 20s. I’m 65 in 2013.

A watch usually begins with a muster 15 minutes before the watch actually begins. At the muster the leader reviews what can be expected during the next four hours. During the watch the leader assigns tasks as they become necessary.

The main task underway is steering the boat in the right direction and not running into anything, either above or below the water. Determining the right direction is the watch leader’s responsibility in consultation with the captain. On the POB2 there are paper and electronic charts showing shorelines, channels, water depths, etc. There is also radar which shows any nearby solid objects - boats, shoreline. There is and an electronic GPS system that shows the location of every commercial or any large (like the POB2) vessel in the vicinity. The steering of the boat is done by everyone on watch, usually in one hour increments.

The regular crew watches over the guest crew until we there was enough confidence in us. I didn’t resent being watched over by someone who could have been my grandkid. Really, I didn’t.

There were also times when the POB2 crew was on a “two watch” system. That was when the POB2 was at a dock, participating in a boat show, with half the crew on, and the other half off. The shows were the main purpose of the POB2’s trip to and through the Great Lakes. More on this later.