Man overboard on Ninety-Seven.

by Rob Kothe sailworld.com on 30 Dec 2000 30-year-old Tasmanian foredeckie Matthew Clougher was this morning enjoying rum, with his Ninety-Seven teammates and his mother aboard the Farr 46 tied up in Hobart. Mathew, who joined the Sydney team recently, had sailed aboard Valheru in the 1998 Hobart.

North of Flinders at 6.40pm Thursday evening Matthew, better known by his crewmates as Gerbil was on the bow, in 25 knots of wind and lumpy seas during a sail change, when a large wave lifted him from the foredeck and into the water.

Graham Gibson's crew followed their Man Over Board drill procedure, quickly dropping sails and coming about to pick up their teammate within 10 minutes. The wiry sailor was dragged back onto the deck, via the stern-quarter, in about 10 minutes.

Graham praised the coolness of his crew and was glad that the repetitive on water safety drills had ensured that each crewmember knew exactly what to do during those critical moments.