Nominators Name: Bruce Edwards

I approached both boats from leeward and saw a man in the water with an inflated life preserver.  If I remember correctly, they were just in the process of throwing a man-overboard pole in the water near him.  I immediately drove to windward, put the throttle in neutral, killed the engine, and drifted into the standard rescue position right next to him.  He appeared calm and to my amazement, he indicated he didn't want me to pick him up, but he wanted his boat and his crew to.  I wasn't sure what to think, so I drifted away from him slightly to see what they wanted to do.  The sailboat made another pass at him from the windward side, where all five crew grabbed him and attempted to pull him out of the water.  After about 30 seconds of this, it was apparent that the guy and the crew were just too tired to get him on the boat and they dropped him back in the water, frantically yelling at me to pick him up.  I made another pass at him, again from weather, killing the engine, and drifting right next to him.

He attempted to climb up on to the boat, and quickly realized that he had little strength left.  He swung his right leg onto the side of the boat, which I grabbed with my left hand, and my right hand grabbed the back of his pants.  In this manner, I was able to drag him over the rounded gunwale of the boat.  In hindsight this might have been easier over the stern, but it worked and didn't tear up his body like the stern fittings might have.  If it hadn't worked, and if it felt like it might have capsized the zodiac, I would have immediately gone to the stern.  His crew indicated to me to take him into the harbor immediately, which I did. 

To his credit the victim (I can't remember his name) remained calm, collected, and personable during this entire event.  I imagine this could have ended disastrously had he been panicking, so his calm both helped the situation (and unnerved me a bit, since I wasn't really sure how rational he was being).  I did not know how long he had been in the water, so I had no choice but to presume he was hypothermic and act with the appropriate sense of urgency.  On the way in, I chatted with him to attempt to determine his mental state, which appeared clear and rational.  When we got to the harbor, I walked him to his car, and dropped him off at the showers on the public side of the harbor.  In hindsight, I probably should have ensured that he actually made it into the shower, but seeing as he appeared lucid, it was a hot day, and the fact that I had no urge to accompany a 240 lb. man that appeared to be either hypothermic or intoxicated, guy into a public shower, I felt comfortable leaving him at his car. 

After making sure all the A Cats were safe, I did check to see my rescued sailor was OK. He had gone home, but the crew assured me he was fine (albeit still cold from the water).

This event taught me several things:

*     How difficult it is to get a heavy tired sailor from the water onto a sailboat, even with the help of all five crew. 

*     How the cold (and I think alcohol) appeared to mask judgment of the crew and victim in what was the smartest course of action.

*     How easy it was for a small outboard skiff/inflatable to maneuver in rough water compared to a sailboat.

*     How dangerous it was for the crew to assume that I could pull him out of the water by myself. 

The good news is a potentially life threatening situation was adverted.

What type hypothermia included: Mild

How did the victim get hoisted onto the deck: Low Freeboard

Sturgeon was giving the symptoms of hypothermia with his responses to questions fogged.  Willis walked Sturgeon to the showers.

The names of the persons involved in the event were:  Richard Sturgeon.

Boat Owners Name: Noah Flores sailing his SC 27 "Saffron".