US SAILING awards Wings with Hanson Rescue Medal

by US SAILING Media on 10 Dec 2009 An Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal has been awarded by US SAILING’s Safety-at-Sea Committee to Wings, owned and skippered by Michael S. Bruno, Jr., for a man overboard rescue on April 20, 2008. The rescue occurred off Rye, N.Y. on the waters of Long Island Sound.

The Hanson Rescue Medal is awarded to any person who rescues or endeavors to rescue any other person from drowning, shipwreck, or other perils at sea within the territorial waters of the U.S., or as part of a sailboat race or voyage that originated or stopped in the U.S.

The rescue occurred while Wings, a J/122 out of the American Yacht Club (Rye, N.Y.), was practicing for the club’s Spring Series. The wind was approximately 20 knots, with gusts to 25, and there was a lumpy three-foot sea. The air temperature was in the low 50s and the water temperature was in the mid 40s.

During a tack, Wings crewmember, Chris Kramer, slipped and went overboard under the lifelines amidships. Kramer was wearing a life jacket. As crewmember, Bob Fryer, kept his eye on Kramer, he advised Bruno to tack Wings onto a reach away from Kramer, and subsequently jibed and reached back. When the boat was downwind of Kramer, Bruno luffed into the wind to bring Wings to a stop alongside him.

Crewmember, Tom Boyle, reached over the rail, grabbed Kramer, and hauled him back onboard less than three minutes after the accident. The crew never lost sight of Kramer during the maneuver. Kohl Brinkman, John Fryer, Chris Gennarelli, Tyler Lockton and Glenn Morrison were also part of the Wings racing crew.

The Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal was established in 1990 by friends of the late Mr. Hanson, an ocean-racing sailor from the Chesapeake Bay, with the purpose of recognizing significant accomplishments in seamanship and collecting case studies of rescues for analysis by US SAILING’s Safety-at-Sea Committee for use in educational and training programs. Any individual or organization may submit a nomination for a Hanson Rescue Medal.

The Hanson Rescue Medal is normally awarded to racing sailors, cruising sailors, race management personnel, or amateur powerboat operators, although other persons may qualify. Professional rescue personnel (policemen, firemen, Naval and Coast Guard personnel, salvage boat operators, etc.) may be eligible to receive the award if they participated in a rescue effort while in an off-duty capacity, if their rescue effort went above and beyond their normal call of duty, or if the rescue involved an exceptional achievement of seamanship. At least one person involved must be a U.S. citizen, and one vessel or aircraft involved must be owned or operated by a U.S. citizen.

More information about the Hanson Rescue Medal, including nomination forms, may be found at http://offshore.ussailing.org/SAS/Hanson_Rescue_Award.htm.