I Was Thrown Out of My Boat and Almost Died!

The narrator recounts a near-fatal incident while doing some solo sailing. He was thrown from his boat but survived, describing the experience as the day he almost died. He often sails single handed but this time was with a friend in a separate boat along the Norwegian coast. The day I almost died sailing! Once, when I was sailing alone, I was thrown out of the boat. Obviously I survived, but I was scared. I’ll tell you exactly what happened. Often when I sail, I sail single handed. That means that I am alone onboard. On this particular trip we were two friends who sailed together, each in our own boat. We were sailing along the Norwegian coast, in calm weather, for some days. Our boat is a Nauticat 38, while his boat was a Hallberg-Rassy 312. After a nice day at the sea we were approaching the small town Arendal. We had fair winds, with calm sea, but also some old swell coming in from the north sea. I started the engine, and took down the sails. The boat is a ketch, and the last sail down was the mizzen. Then I realized how much the mizzen had stabilized the boat. When the sails were down, the swell started to throw the boat around. It was not dramatical, but, yes, there were movements in the boat. Working on the raised aft deck, to pack the mizzen sail, then, suddenly, out of the blue, there was a wave coming that was bigger than the other ones. Loosing my balance, I clung to the mizzen boom, by pure reflex. The sheet was not tightened, and when I clung to the boom, we both went out off the side of the boat. Looking down, all I could see were my own legs five feet above the water. My grip got tighter around the mizzen boom. As you know, waves come and go, and the next wave was kicking the boat back upright. Both the boom and I came back, and seeing the aft deck below my feet, I just stepped down, and there I was, safe and secure, back in my boat. What a relief! I continued to pack the sail, thinking about what had just happened. All kinds of thoughts went through my head. Was I really outside the boat? What would have happened if I lost my grip? I was motoring with the autopilot engaged, and my friend in the Hallberg-Rassy was in front of us, so he could not see me falling out of the boat. We had agreed to meet in the harbor. Was I really working on the raised aft deck without my safety harness? Was that one wave actually big enough to kick me out of the boat? The Nauticat motorsailers are really great boats. They are comfortable and safe at sea, but the raised aft deck can be dangerous. The aft deck is surrounded by solid steel and teak railing for safety, but this railing is low. I am 6 feet 3 inches, and my centre of gravity is far above this rail. What did I learn? OK, I almost died this day. There were several reason for this. First, I was not really familiar with the boat and the movements in the boat. I was feeling secure with the mizzen sail up, that was stabilizing the boat. With the mizzen down I was surprised by the changes in the boats behavior. I do think that there was a, bigger than normal, wave that kicked me out. That is my opinion, who knows the fact? Second, the safety rail was too low, and I plan to raise that during this winter. And the last thing. I did not wear my safety hardness with the line attached to the boat. I should know better! Anyway. I did survive to tell the story. This way I can spend many more years out on this fantastic boat.