{"id":8832,"date":"2016-02-03T10:21:38","date_gmt":"2016-02-03T14:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/?p=8832"},"modified":"2016-02-03T10:21:38","modified_gmt":"2016-02-03T14:21:38","slug":"the-view-from-the-top","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/the-view-from-the-top\/","title":{"rendered":"The View From the Top"},"content":{"rendered":"

Going aloft can be either a heart-wrenching experience or an adrenaline rush to a room with a view. It certainly gives one a different perspective on things\u00a0 (published December 2015)<\/em><\/p>\n

Getting to the masthead and back to deck level can be as safe and as pleasant as a walk in the park. Getting to and from the park, of course, has its own inherent risks, too. Preparation and practice will go a long way towards safely revealing an exciting view from aloft.<\/p>\n

Whether fear is part of the formula or not largely depends on knowing the safe procedures for ascent and practicing them. During my 15 years as a bowman, \u201cgoing up the rig\u201d was part of the job description in virtually every ocean, all conditions and around the clock. Now, my occasional flight up the rig is merely a matter of getting a job done and an opportunity to re-visit my youth. Incorporating some of the newer techniques, here\u2019s how to enjoy the experience.<\/p>\n

\"Black
Black Diamond climbing harness<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First, choose a high quality climbing harness. I\u2019ve used Black Diamond as well as Petzl climbing harnesses available from REI, Easter Mountain Sports and other mountaineering stores, and I\u2019ve also more recently used Spinlock\u2019s mast harnesses.\u00a0 Although I frequently carry my own, older climbing harness, I found that the Petzl harness was significantly more comfortable than the older Black Diamond, and the Spinlock version of the climbing harness may be the most comfortable of all of them.
\nClimbing harnesses have an advantage over traditional, hard bottom bosun\u2019s chairs.\u00a0 While up the rig, if you are tossed upside down, you will stay in a properly fitted climbing harness.\u00a0 In a bosun\u2019s chair you could easily slip out and fall. Some people argue that a bosun\u2019s chair is more comfortable, and in many cases that may be true. But if you get a well-designed climbing harness, you can have some degree of comfort and a vastly greater safety margin. For singlehanders going aloft, ATN makes mast ascending devices that allow a sailor to go up the rig without help from below and work at the very top of the mast. (See: http:\/\/www.atninc.com\/atn-mastclimber-sailing-equipment.shtml<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"Gath
Gath helmet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Further adding to the safety margin, several years ago I started wearing an offshore helmet when going aloft offshore. Sailing helmets can also be used to protect the helmsman from an onslaught of flying fish, but primarily I\u2019ve used my Gath helmet while ascending the mast. (See: http:\/\/www.murrays.com\/G-SH.html<\/a>) I know for a fact that it has saved both my head and other sailors\u2019 heads from banging into the rig when we went aloft.\u00a0 That alone was worth employing a helmet.\u00a0 If you think wearing a helmet while riding a bike and your head is 6 feet above the pavement is a good idea, you might consider wearing a helmet when your head is 80 or 100 feet above the deck and the mast is gyrating inches from your brain. It\u2019s not a piece of gear merely designed for America\u2019s Cup multihull sailors.
\nAttaching the halyard to the climbing harness is a critical safety step. I never rely on a halyard shackle to be the only or primary means of keeping me attached to the halyard.\u00a0 My preference is to have a screw post carabiner on the climbing harness. I then tie the halyard to the carabiner.\u00a0 A screw post carabiner is yet another piece of equipment from mountain climbing.\u00a0 The lightweight devices are locking so that they won\u2019t open unless you make the effort to open them, and their breaking strength is certainly many times stronger than required.
\nUsing a bowline knot to tie the halyard to the carabiner, the halyard shackle is free but still attached to me. If I clip a lazy halyard to the base of the mast and wind that halyard up hard, I can attach the halyard shackle that\u2019s tied to me around the lazy halyard. As I go aloft, the lazy halyard acts as a guideline. If I lose my grip on the mast as the boat heels over, I will still remain relatively close to the mast. My arms and legs don\u2019t need to work nearly so hard to stay close to the mast. Rather, they can be used to fend off from the mast as I take the express ride to the top.
\nGiven an option, I generally think it is best to make normal mast inspections during daylight hours.\u00a0 However, if an emergency is at hand, working aloft may be necessary day or night.\u00a0 As a cruiser, you have to weigh the alternatives. If there is a significant possibility that delaying a trip up the mast until daylight may create or add to a serious problem, then I would think that a trip up the mast at night is warranted. Needless heroics shouldn\u2019t be encouraged, but deferring a significant problem might lead to a greater problem than a night ascent. For night flights up the mast, I use a headlight rather than trying to hold a small flashlight between my teeth.\u00a0 There are several headlight models, originally designed for cave diving and mountain climbing.\u00a0 Petzl makes a very good model and there are also various LED models with long-lasting \u201cbulbs\u201d.\u00a0 Having the light strapped to your head leaves your mouth available for other things such as communicating with the rest of the crew.<\/p>\n

\"ATN
ATN harness<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Good communications with the people on deck will go a long way toward making the trip aloft a safe one. A few other tips include: assign one person to watch and listen to the person going aloft especially as the sailor goes past spreaders, the inner forestay, baby stay, etc. Do not rely on the winch\u2019s self tailers, and wearing shoes or boots while going aloft is definitely on the highly recommended list.<\/p>\n

On deck, the tailer\u2019s responsibility for safety cannot be overstated. It is his duty to ensure that there are enough wraps on the winch drum (at least three or four) while the person is going aloft.\u00a0 He takes in the halyard tail hand-over-hand, maintaining control at all times whether the winch has a self tailer or not.\u00a0 While the person is aloft doing his job, the tailer ensures that the line is securely tied off, again, not relying on self tailers as the only means of securing the line. As the person is descending, the tailer may reduce the number of wraps to two or three. While he is smoothly and steadily easing the halyard, one hand is placed loosely covering the line on the drum and prepared to stop the descent if necessary while the other hand allows the line to be eased. Either hand can stop the line with or without the aide of the other hand, but both hands should be used. Prior to lowering the person who is aloft, the halyard tail should have been flaked or laid out in a figure eight to ensure that the descent would be smooth.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the helmsman needs to be aware of what is happening aloft.\u00a0 In very heavy weather his attention may be on wave patterns, and at night, he may be all consumed in driving.\u00a0 So he should be kept informed about what is happening up the mast.\u00a0 Is the person going up?\u00a0 Is he tied off and secure?\u00a0 Is he at the masthead?\u00a0 Someone should keep the deck watch informed if they can\u2019t see for themselves. The person up the rig is the most important person on the boat when he is aloft.<\/p>\n

\"Spinlock
Spinlock mast harness<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prior to going aloft, the helmsman and person making the ascent should discuss which point of sail might be most appropriate. There\u2019s no one right answer. In some cases, such as flat water with moderate breezes, close reaching or even beating may provide the most stable conditions aloft. In light air, broad reaching or running can result in the mast waving around at the masthead. In heavier conditions, rather than slamming over waves and pitching the masthead forward and aft, broad reaching may be more appropriate. If the person going aloft thinks it would be more stable for the helmsman to run off, the driver should attempt to maintain a wind angle of between 140 and 150 degrees\u2014somewhere off the quarter.\u00a0 Running dead downwind should be avoided so that there is no danger of an accidental jibe. Similarly, if the person going aloft thinks it best to go to weather, a close reach may be best.\u00a0 Beating may cause too much slamming as the boat goes over the waves, especially on a multihull. Each hull hits the wave at a different time, adding to the jerky motion at deck level\u2014a motion which is amplified up the rig.
\nMast steps are a useful and convenient way to get up the mast, but with a great deal of heel or erratic motion, it becomes progressively more difficult to use them. Whether using mast steps or not, however, a good climbing harness, properly worn and attached is still very highly recommended. To think that you can get aloft without a safety backup is to court disaster.\u00a0 We have had steps on multihulls on which I\u2019ve sailed, and they certainly made it easier to tail the halyard as the other person went aloft. Regardless of the steps, however, we always employed thorough safety systems when going up the mast, and we occasionally trailed a tagline behind us and attached to the back of the harness as we went up.<\/p>\n

\"Peztl\"
Peztl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taglines attached to the person going aloft have several purposes.\u00a0 Often. they are used to retrieve additional equipment from deck-level.\u00a0 If the person aloft needs a screw driver or another tube of silicon, it can be attached to the line, and the person aloft can haul it up more easily than coming back to deck level and fetching it. Sometimes they are used to bring a lazy halyard back to the deck while the other person remains aloft. Taglines can also be used to position a person \u201cin space\u201d.<\/p>\n

Using several taglines\u2014one run forward, one aft, and one athwartships, aboard fully crewed boats we have been able to haul someone aloft and position him in the middle of a hoisted mainsail for repairs or in other awkward places. But one of the main reasons is to be able to bring a person safely down from the rig by pulling him slightly away from the mast if he is unconscious. It can be a safety line back to the deck as the tagline pulls the person slightly forward and the halyard is eased.<\/p>\n

\"ATN
ATN Mastclimbing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By learning the safest techniques with good people on board and using the techniques in fair weather as well as foul, the risk of injury is minimized.\u00a0 By making frequent trips up the rig when conditions are good, you become more accustomed to the heights and procedures.\u00a0 The frequent trips aloft in good conditions also serve another purpose; they minimize the likelihood that a flight up the mast in heavy weather will be required.\u00a0 Double check the equipment every time you go up.\u00a0 Good practice makes perfect.\u00a0 Like they say on the airplanes, \u201cBuckle up, and enjoy the flight!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Going aloft can be either a heart-wrenching experience or an adrenaline rush to a room with a view. It certainly gives one a different perspective on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":8833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8,14,583,16],"tags":[24,66,212,607],"class_list":["post-8832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-columns-blogs","category-cruising-news","category-gear","category-maintenance","category-seamanship","tag-bill-biewenga","tag-maintenance","tag-rigging","tag-seamanship-bluewater-cruising"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8841,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8832\/revisions\/8841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}