Charles-Henri Mangin to receive US Sailing Award Rescue Medal

by US Sailing Association on 6 Apr 2001 5 April 2001 (Portsmouth, RI)- On June 16, 2000, Charles-Henri Mangin and
Louis-David Mangin were forty-five minutes into the Newport to Bermuda Race
aboard Strella Encore, a Hylas 54. The double-handed father-son team was
sailing at nine knots on a close reach in 30 miles per hour of wind.
Louis-David went forward on the leeward side to clear a line trailing in the
water. With the boat heeling at 20-degrees, Louis-David was on his way back
to the cockpit on the low side when a large wave washed Louis-David over the
lifelines.

Appropriately harnessed and tethered to the jackline, Louis-David was being
dragged alongside the boat. Charles-Henri, at first, started to turn “head
to wind” to stop the boat, but turned the boat down to heal it more,
bringing the rail edge closer to Louis-David. Louis-David grabbed a
stanchion and Charles-Henri then steered the boat up into the wind to
relieve the force of the water pressure on Louis-David. Louis-David was
then able to pull himself on to the deck. What especially made this work
was Louis-David’s youth and strength.

The US SAILING Safety-at-Sea Committee has acknowledged that a danger of not
stopping the boat exists, as that a chest-attached harness can have the
victim facing forward, causing a bow-wave like wave of water to submerge the
victim’s face at four knots of speed or more.

The series of events lasted less than 15 seconds. The only harm done was
the disappearance of one of Louis-David’s shoes, the only pair he had on
board.

The Cruising Club of America Commodore Jim Harvie is expected to present the
Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal to Charles-Henri Mangin before the sellout
crowd of 250 at the Bonnell Cove Foundation's SUDDENLY ALONE Seminar on
April 7 in Mystic, CT. US SAILING Safety-at-Sea Committee members Ron
Trossbach and Sheila McCurdy will assist at the ceremony.

“Congratulations to Charles-Henri Mangin for his quick thinking and unique
solution which most assuredly saved his son from injury,” said Safety at Sea
Committee Chair Ralph Naranjo. “US SAILING is pleased to present the Arthur
B. Hanson Rescue Medal in recognition of this event.”

The US SAILING Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal is given to skippers of
pleasure boats or race support vessels who effect rescues of victims from
the water. The award is made for rescues in U.S. waters, or in races that
originate or terminate in a U.S. port. The Rescue Medal has been in
existence for twelve years and is administered by US SAILING’s Safety-at-Sea
Committee (SASC). More information about the Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal
can be found at http://www.ussailing.org/safety/Rescues/.

The Rescue Medal recognizes acts of exemplary seamanship, and the award
process is also used by the SASC as a way to gain more education about
rescues at sea. The data and stories of award nominees are studied
carefully for the common practices that contribute to, or deter from, the
success of a rescue operation.

Born December 8, 1916, Arthur B. “Tim” Hanson started sailing as a child at
his family's home on the Chesapeake Bay. He continued the sport during his
years at Cornell University and the College of William and Mary. In 1963,
Hanson purchased Figaro III, a 47.5-foot Sparkman and Stephens yawl, and
renamed it Foolscap. He sailed every Newport-Bermuda Race from 1964 - 1982,
four transatlantic races including, Bermuda to Travemunde, Germany; Bermuda
to Vigo, Spain; Newport to Cork, Ireland; and Bermuda to Khristiansand,
Norway. He also raced many Annapolis - Newport and Marblehead-Halifax races
and Block Island Race Weeks. In the early 1970s, Hanson tested the first
Electronic Positioning Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) on a private yacht
during a transatlantic race.

The United States Sailing Association is the national governing body for the
sport of sailing, the mission of which is to encourage participation and
excellence in sailing and racing in the United States. The organization
achieves its goals through member organizations and volunteers, located
throughout the United States, who are supported by an administrative staff
located at the organization’s headquarters in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. For
more information about US SAILING, visit the website at www.ussailing.org or
call (401) 683-0800.