Murphy on the Dinghy? = sudden disaster

By Ken Vannorsdall, Port Captain, East Harbor, Ohio (E-16.7)

It was a dark and stormy night. Well, Ok. It wasn’t stormy but it sure was dark. I was returning from a local marina restaurant. A friend and I both took our dinghies to the restaurant. It’s only a short trip – three-quarters of a mile back to my marina. I stayed later than normal to hear a country band play. 

My history: I am a 72-year-old solo sailor. My dock mates will testify that I am a safety freak. I never leave the dock without wearing my life jacket. Whether sailing, a trip to the fuel dock or a ride in my dinghy, my jacket is on. My safety gear is aboard.

This Saturday night wasn’t any different than most. I turned on my LED nav lights on the dinghy. My anchor light was on my sailboat (it’s easier to find my marina in the dark).

The weather was mild, no strong wind or waves. Leaving the restaurant, I goosed the throttle up a bit and got on the plane. I slowed down as I got closer to my marina. 

Then IT happened. So quickly. I was flipped out of the dinghy. So quickly, in fact. I didn’t know I was in the water. I heard my life jacket inflate and tighten up around my chest. That’s when I knew I wasn’t aboard.

My first mistake: my safety switch was not attached to me. My 6HP Suzuki kept running and the dinghy circled back. I grabbed the safety lines and held on. The dinghy went around and around in circles with me holding on for dear life.  

Because my life vest inflated, I couldn’t pull myself up into the dinghy. I tried using the towline to tie a step to help myself crawl in. That didn’t work. I couldn’t get to my handheld VHF, cell phone, flashlight or any other safety gear I had in my ditch bag. I was afraid to let go of the safety line for fear the motor would swing around and cut my legs.

Help was on the way, although I didn’t know it at the time. A large, dark blue powerboat pulled up beside me. It was too dark to see it. I heard a lady’s soft voice asking if I might need some help. As they approached, her husband lowered the anchor. She asked me to grab the anchor line, then swim back to the swim platform. I couldn’t do it. My legs cramped up. She dropped a dock line over and pulled me to the stern. Both pulled me on board. 

They saved my life. What did I learn? A lot. 

The safety switch, I didn’t have it connected. And because I didn’t have it connected, I had to hold on to the dinghy. The risk of the motor hitting me was too great. The life jacket saved my life. I truly believe I wouldn’t have survived if I didn’t have it on. All the other safety gear on board was useless because I couldn't get to it.

As a result, I now have a yellow waterproof bag with a clip to hold my VHF cell phone that’s attached to my vest.

Lessons learned: Safety gear only works if you wear it, use it, practice using it. 

A friend who had a fall into the water a few springs ago lives by the adage that you come out of the water as you went in.