Overboard Mondays!

The second Monday living aboard the boat the cat went overboard.

The third Monday living aboard the boat the son went overboard.

The fourth Monday living aboard the boat no one went overboard, we broke the cycle!

We are lucky our son loves wearing his life jacket, he wears it all the time when we are above deck and while in the car, at the store, while eating out. Immediately before he went pumph (as he says it) overboard I told him be careful, he was on the dock reaching for one of the lines on the bow spirit, while I was on deck washing a forward starboard port window. He was in my peripheral vision, but I heard the splash and did not see him go. I yelled to my husband, then jumped off the deck onto the dock and into the water. There was a split second thought to wait, but then the overly protective mother instinct inside me just took over and I jumped in.

To our surprise, he was calm and floating without any difficulties and already kicking towards the dock. We've taken him swimming since he was 2, so he is somewhat comfortable in the water, he cannot swim just yet though. I guided him closer to dock, but not too close to the mussels, and my hubby easily pulled him out of the water.

Next was the difficult task of getting me out of the water. Hubby pulled on my arms while I was trying no to touch the mussels on side of dock. I was so slippery that every time he pulled I would slip right out of his grasp. I told him to pull on my pants, so he did and up I went right onto the dock. We immediately went to the showers and rinsed off, the water around the marina is - well water around a marina- not always the cleanest.

Now our son keeps talking about how he went pumph splash, and we review the events that happen that day. In retrospect, I wouldn't jump in, instead I would just fish him out because it was harder to get me out of the water. And we thought about tethering him, like we do when we are sailing and he is in the cockpit or deck, but while at the dock there are many lines and posts for the tether to catch on and cause another hazard, so we just keep an eye or ear on him and always - always make sure while on dock or deck he has his life jacket on. We did think that if one of us adults fall overboard, we could use the swim ladder at the stern of the boat. I could have swam to the back of the boat and just climbed up, if hubby couldn't have pulled me up, but we were caught up in the moment of getting out of the water. Luckily, it was a warm sunny day and the water wasn't too cold.

Another learning experience and many more to come.