Captain Conner Goes Overboard
“Conner was awarded the rank of Captain by Admiral Capt’n Grampa in 2015 and is scheduled to resume sailing lessons in 2026 — hopefully on the ocean.” But first …
This is an event that took place in 2015, on a lake. Conner’s mother Amy was a bit worried, but let him go sailing with me anyway. It was his first time sailing. On one leg of the trip, there was a fair breeze — about 15 knots — coming from the northeast. It wasn’t too bouncy, offering a port tack heeled at about 30 degrees — nothing significant. Conner went to the foredeck to explore the boat. For his own amusement, he hung from the lifelines, letting his feet and legs drift/dangle across the deck using gravity and the motion of the boat lurching through the waves. He appeared to have it figured out pretty well and was having a good time. And it was fun to watch.
My amusement is watching the water around the boat — the lee-side stern. I glanced down at the water passing the lee side of the boat at about 6 knots. Then I heard a thump, and Conner went by the boat at about 6 knots. That ended my sightseeing. I jibed to stay under the man overboard. I didn’t want to tack up and be on top of him before having a chance to tend sails and gear so I could devote myself to getting him back on the boat (a Santana 22). There were just the two of us on the boat. (Well, now just one.) He was obviously OK, no injuries from the fall, and we started having a conversation. No swells, just waves. Temperatures were mild in the 70s, and the water temperature was probably close to the same, so I wasn’t worried. Conner was wearing a life jacket and could talk, his airway was open. We were on a lake.
The man overboard was fine with the state of things until he surmised the possibility that I, and the boat, could be blown to the other side of the lake. This didn’t take him very long to figure out. It was simple physics, but he wasn’t too privy to the concept of tacking, yet. So, he started screaming. Poor kid, he was a bit out of his element. I got to him in about two tacks. (At the time, it seemed to take longer.) The closer I got, the calmer he became.