Falling in: It’s going to happen. Be prepared.

Jeremy, foreground, and his brother Matt, at the helm, properly attired for a day working on the water. Photo by Randy Randall

March/April 2022

By Randy Randall

Have you fallen overboard yet? No? Well, it’s just a matter of time. If you work around the waterfront like at a marina (or go fishing, lobstering, or cruising; or work marine construction; or if you own a boat or kayak) eventually, inevitably, you’ll probably end up in the drink. It can happen in the blink of an eye.

This past summer a large cruising boat came to the gas dock for fuel. One of the guys on board stepped onto the swim platform to grab a stern line, slipped and plunged into the river. Just like that. Plenty of folks standing around to give him a hand and haul him back up onto the dock – no harm done. Turns out the swim platform was waxed and slippery. An older gentleman was trying to stand up in his rather small dinghy and climb aboard their sailboat. He missed his footing and went overboard. The neighbors on a nearby mooring saw it happen and quickly rowed over to help him get to the boarding ladder.

People launch their boat and ignore the prominent sign that says “Caution. Ramp is slippery.” and slide into the water before they even shove the boat off the trailer. Here at the marina, we have OSHA for guidance. The dock crew must wear life jackets in the skiff, on the barge and when working on the docks.

My son, Jeremy, was bringing in the last dock of the 2020 season. We had rigged a long anchor line so that he could pull on it and hand-over-hand the dock into the launch ramp to meet the forklift… only, the rope slipped. Jeremy pulled and the rope went slack, and we saw him spread his arms wide as he fell off the end of the dock. It only took a few seconds for him to clamber back onto the dock and come ashore and head for the house to warm up and dry off. But it was a surprise.

I went swimming once, in a similar way, only it was springtime, and we were putting the docks in the river. Jeremy was tugging on a mooring cable that was stuck in the mud. “Here, I’ll help,” I said and stood behind him and grabbed the cable. We pulled hard together. The cable popped loose, and we staggered backward. I had no place to go except into the river. Jeremy suddenly had a choice: to let go of the cable or rescue his dad. He grappled for the cable later in the day. This incident illustrates, I think, how often it’s the pushing, or shoving, or throwing your weight around that results in a dunking.

I have a dear friend who goes with her husband on their O’day sailboat out of Portland. She does not swim and is in constant fear of falling overboard. They have rigged safety nets on both sides, and she clips into a life line that runs the length of the boat. She doesn’t go near the boat unless she is wearing her inflatable vest. I believe, so far, the only one to fall overboard though has been her husband.

Once, many years ago in late November, I fell off our mooring barge, but that’s another story. Flipping out of a kayak or canoe usually happens when you’re getting in or out of the boat because that’s when they’re most unstable. We had two rather beefy young men borrow our little 7-foot dinghy. One big guy sat in the stern and the other began rowing. He pulled only a few strokes and the water surged in over the transom filling the boat. Fortunately, they were in shallow water and could stand up.

The point of these stories is that falling overboard can happen in an instant, and when you least expect it. Actually, I think we may be focusing too hard on the job at hand; the stubborn knot, the upcoming jibe around the mark, balancing the tippy boat, fighting the strong fish and we forget there’s always the danger of falling overboard. These are just more reasons that there is no doubt you should wear your life jacket. Our life jackets have saved us more than a few times. At least the PFD will keep you afloat and allow you to breathe, until someone can rescue you.

Frequent contributor, correspondent and friend. Randy Randall is co-owner of Marston’s Marina in Saco, Maine, and a dreamer and waterman of the first order.