Lake Michigan sailors describe dramatic man overboard rescue during storm

LAKE MICHIGAN – There’s being in the right place at the right time – and then there’s clearly being prepared for the unexpected.

A man overboard incident during last weekend’s Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac sailboat competition led to a dramatic 20-minute rescue amid a storm that lashed Lake Michigan with some big waves and 46 mph winds.

Boat crews worked together to rescue the sailor who’d been tossed into the big lake at night. Luckily, he was prepared, too. He had a self-inflating floatation device, an emergency beacon and a strobe light.

“He was lit up like a Christmas tree,” said the owner of the boat who facilitated the rescue.

Race organizers gathered all the details of the on-the-water drama. Here’s what they shared:

The tense moments began Saturday night when the severe storms were rolling across Lake Michigan. It was a threat mostly to members of the contest’s Racing Division, which had left Chicago’s Navy Pier earlier in the day for the 333-mile trek to Mackinac Island. The oldest annual freshwater race in the world is known as America’s Offshore Challenge.

Shawn Dougherty, a crew member aboard the Callisto, was helping take the spinnaker down during the storm when a large gust of wind hit the boat and he was knocked into the water.

Dougherty was not tethered to the Callisto. But he was wearing a personal flotation device and a bag that had an Automatic Identification System emergency beacon that allows others to track his position via a distress signal. He also had a good strobe light, a knife and a whistle, race officials said.

Callisto’s owner, Jim Murray, said he saw Dougherty fall into the lake. Crew members hit their man overboard button, which locked in Dougherty’s location for rescuers.

An untimely rudder issue meant the Callisto was not immediately able to return to where Dougherty had fallen into the water.

“As soon as the man overboard (MOB) distress call went out, at least three boats in the vicinity responded to offer assistance, including the Santa Cruz 52 Madcap owned by John and Marian Hoskins,” a race spokesperson said.

At the time Dougherty went into the water, Hoskins was down below on his boat monitoring the radio – a safety habit of his during bad weather.

“Majority of the time it’s a boring job, but it’s important to have that designated person on board, exactly for this reason,” Hoskins said. “The lesson here is I was ready for this call. We quickly established we were the closest boat to offer assistance and my crew jumped into action.”

The Madcap’s crew lowered its sails and motored in the overboard sailor’s direction. The beacon and strobe made him hard to miss.

Dougherty was scooped up about 20 minutes after he fell in the lake.

“Everyone knew exactly what to do. Who’s the spotter, who’s operating the searchlight, who’s in charge of the lifesling. We had our best driver on the helm, so the approach was nothing to worry about,” Hoskins said. “We were able to clearly communicate with Shawn in the water and could tell he was calm, he was not injured and very much in control, which helped to release our tension.

“It was a textbook recovery, thanks to the great preparation and coordinated teamwork.”

Because of the dicey weather conditions, Dougherty ended up staying on the Madcap for the rest of the race, though the rules prevented him from acting as a crew member on board.

It was Dougherty’s third Chicago-to-Mackinac race. “Every single event we go through the same preparation and practice,” he said. “We do so much racing together as a team but we practice this [scenario] over and over again.”

Wind conditions made this year’s running an extremely fast race, with a new record being set by Maverick’s crew.

But the rescue effort also earned a reward – and lots of cheers once all the crews reached Mackinac Island. Madcap’s crew was awarded the Arthur B. Hansen rescue medal by US Sailing. It recognizes not only outstanding seamanship but good situational awareness that results in a sailor’s rescue.

“We do our best to ensure the sailors and boats are extremely well-equipped and prepared,” said Winn Soldani, chair of the 115th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust. He commended both crews for how they handled the situation. “From required Safety at Sea seminars, man overboard drills and an extensive list of equipment – this is exactly why all of it is worth it.”

“There’s a reason offshore sailors get along so well,” Callisto’s Murray said. “When you go to sea, you’re putting your trust in not only your crewmates, but all the people that you’re racing against.

“Madcap was incredible. You can’t thank somebody enough for something like that. It is one of those things that’s very heartwarming about the sport. And I think it separates sailing from other sports; that this really is a big family out there when you’re on the water together.”