Towing Bridle

by David Batchelor (Flying Scott Sailor)

When most boats swamp it is difficult to get the boat up on a plane to drain most of the water out. The TOWING BRIDLE is used to lift the bow as the boat is towed to accomplish this. The bridle is comprised of a tow line (at least 1 ½ boat lengths long) tied to the middle of a line that will run under the bow and then attached to the sailboat. This is the bridle portion. There should be a small padded weigh at the intersection to bury the line. Here are some basic instructions. In reality rescue conditions are difficult to predict so I'll offer as many tips as I can.

Try to get the sailboat headed into the wind. Hopefully you attached a bow line during the righting portion if involved.
Pass the bridle portion to the forward sailboat crew standing on the forward deck.
Have them drop the middle of the bridle over the bow with the 2 ends on opposite sides of the forestay. The end of the tow rope is held by the motor boat crew.

The forward sailboat crew moves back into the cockpit with the 2 ends brought outside and behind the shrouds.
The ends are pulled up so that the attachment point is directly under the mast and in the middle. The 2 ends should be equal length and should have knots to use as reference points.
Allow the motor boat crew to pull the line forward so that the attachment point is about half-way to the bow. THIS IS CRITICAL!

NOTE: You are trying to form a triangle so that the sailboat will follow the motor boat. If the motor boat pulls to one side one of the sides of the triangle goes slack so that the opposite side takes the pull and turns the boat. It will turn until there is equal pull on the two sides and the boat tracks straight. See the diagram.

Have the crew wrap the 2 ends of the line around the chain plates a couple of times to prevent the line from slipping and tie the free ends together behind the mast.
Have the entire crew move as far aft as possible to get the bow above the water before starting to tow. Otherwise the boat may dive like a submarine.
Raise the board up about 2/3s of the way and steer the boat so that it tracks behind the tow boat.
Separate the crew side-to-side to stabilize the rolling motion. You may have to move to dampen the roll as waves are encountered and the water surges around inside the boat.
Tow boat should start towing slowly when the bow is raised and then accelerate to get the boat up on a plane if the crew can stabilize the sailboat.

Continue to tow into the wind until the sailboat can be safely turned enough to head home or until the boat has been drained sufficient to safely be sailed by the crew in the existing conditions.
Watch the crew for signs of fatigue. This is very tiring in the best of conditions.
It is better to anchor a capsized boat and get fresh rescuers than to have someone get hurt in the process.

NOTE: Once the sailboat is under tow the water inside the boat will move aft. If the motor boat slows abruptly the water will rush forward toward the bow, and when the bow digs in the boat will pitch pole or roll over on its side.Then you’ll have to go back to step one with a very tired, and highly irritated crew. DO - NOT - SLOW - DOWN the motor boat unless absolutely necessary and then do so slowly enough that the crew can keep the bow above water.