While working during the early afternoon on Friday, June 11th, I received a text from Greg Farrell that the crew of Northstar was planning to do man overboard (MOB) maneuvers outside of Sheboygan harbor later that evening and was asked if I wanted to join and observe. Despite years on Lake Michigan waters aboard my own boat and getting RYA sailing certification in Antigua, I have never in my life been on a sailboat on Lake Michigan. I also wondered to myself if somehow I would be selected as the sacrificial “man over board” by the crew once we were in deep water as part of some sort of unspoken hazing ceremony required of Apprentice members of the club. Thankfully, that was not the case and Juju Senfft enthusiastically assumed the role as the overboard volunteer.
The maneuvers were being practiced in preparation for The Race to Mackinac Island starting on July 16th this year. The race organizers require these drills in order to fulfill the Crew Overboard Drill Certification which includes quick stop procedures, recovery of crew while under sail, recovery of crew while under power, simulation use of VHF radios, simulation use of MOB function on the GPS, and radios, deployment of a heaving line, deployment of a life sling, and instruction on MOM, Dan Buoy or MOB pole, instruction and designation and duties of the spotter/pointer and re-boarding the MOB.
The crew did an exceptional job and are one step closer to entering the race later this month. A sincere thanks for allowing me this opportunity to document the process.
