The Officers, Directors and Members of US SAILING
are pleased to present the
ARTHUR B. HANSON RESCUE MEDAL to :

Katherine Hallet, Robert Gregory and Holly Gregory

for the rescue as follows:

On Saturday October 8th 2005 the Atlanta Yacht Club hosted Y-Flyer races on Lake Allatoona. The winds were 10-12 knots, the waves were about a foot and the water temperature was near 70. During the second race the skipper of one of the boats, Clint Hodges, went in to diabetic shock and fell overboard. Immediately his crew, Katherine Hallet, responded, and through great efforts was able to pull him back aboard. Noticing the erratic sailing of the boat, a Y-Flyer sailed by Robert and Holly Gregory suspected something might be wrong and sailed towards them to provide assistance. Upon receiving a call for help from Katherine, Robert then boarded the boat, steadied the situation and began sailing the boat back to the dock where Clint was given emergency aid and recovered. Assistance was also provided by the clubís rescue boat crewed by Pete Stump and Craig McLean.

The effective lookout and quick actions of the Gregory's, combined with the effective efforts of Katherine Hallet resulted in the successful rescue of Clint Hodges and reflected great credit upon themselves, while upholding the best traditions of seamanship.

US SAILING is proud to present the Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal in recognition of their accomplishment.

Bill Stump
Chairman, Safety at Sea Committee
By Direction

The Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal was presented to
Katherine Hallet, Robert Gregory, and Holly Gregory
on April 1, 2006 by US SAILING President Janet Baxter

Details

On Saturday, October 8 2005, eighteen year old Robert Gregory was skippering a Y-Flyer in the Beers Regatta at the Atlanta Yacht Club. The weather was mild on Lake Allatoona, in Acworth, GA, with blue skies and a 10 to 12 kt northwesterly breeze. Crewing for Robert in the 18 foot scow was his mother, Holly, a long time one design racer.

Robert was OCS in the second race. Surrounded by a tightly packed fleet, he had difficulty threading his way back to the line. By the time he restarted he found himself in a distant last place with the rest of the fleet far ahead. Being one of the club's top junior skippers he managed to steadily gain ground, but was still at the back of the pack on the final leeward leg.

As Robert prepared to round the leeward mark and head upwind to the finish he told his mother he'd take a gamble. For the first time that day they would go for the left side of the course. It would prove to be one of the most important tactical decisions of his sailing career.

The Gregory's rounded the mark. About 50 yards into the leg, they noticed a lone Y sailing far off the wind, apparently headed back to the club. The vessel was skippered by Clint Hodges, Robert's best friend, also 18 years old. Robert wondered why he had seemingly withdrawn from the race. As he and Holly watched, Clint stood up on deck, reeled groggily, then toppled into the water. But this was no teenaged horseplay. Luckily, the Y-Flyer has very low freeboard and with a great deal of difficulty novice sailor Katherine Hallet, Clint's crew, managed to pull him back into the boat.

It was evident to Robert that something was terribly wrong with Clint, whom he'd sailed with throughout their childhoods. Clint has Type One diabetes and Robert believed he was going into diabetic shock. Robert had been with Clint during previous diabetic episodes and realized his friend could be in grave danger. He immediately put the tiller over and headed towards his friend.

Katherine saw the Gregory boat and called for help. As the two vessels drew near it was just as Robert had feared. Clint was suffering from the effects of advanced diabetic shock. Holly took the helm. By the time Robert boarded the other Y Clint was having difficulty remaining upright and was semi- conscious. Robert eased him down onto the floorboards and tried to keep him calm.

The activity of the two Ys drew the attention of the club's rescue boat, crewed by Pete Stump and Craig McLean. They rushed to the scene and towed Clint's boat the rest of the way to the club dock. Robert helped remove his friend from the cockpit then ran to locate Clint's emergency kit. Moments later Clint's Dad, Carlin Hodges, arrived at his son's side, having just finished the race himself.

After being given orange juice and sugar pills, Clint slowly began to respond. After a few hours he recovered from his ordeal. Holly and Robert, and Clint and Katherine went on to finish the series the next day.

Date of Incident : October 8, 2005
Event Name : Gilbert Beers Memorial Regatta
Sponsoring Yacht Club : Atlanta Yacht Club
Event City : Acworth
Event State : GA
Body of Water : Lake Allatoona
Was this day or night : day
Air temperature : 70
Water temperature : 70
Wind speed : 8-10 kts
Wave height : 1'
First Victims Name : Clint Hodges
First Boat Name : Floating Eagle
First Boat Length : 18'
First Boat Make Model : Y-Flyer
Was a PFD worn : Y
What type : UKN
Rescuing Skipper : Robert Gregory
Rescuing1 Boat Make Model : Y-Flyer
Rescuing1 Boat Name : UKN
Rescuing1 Boat Length : 18'
What was the nature of this incident : medical/MOB
What recovery method was used : boarding from one boat to another
Did the victims boat lose site of the victim : n
What search pattern was used : n
Was electronic MOB function used to locate the victim : n
Was a rescue swimmer put in the water : n
Did the victim have a strobe light or whistle : n/a
What color clothes were visible above the water : n/a
Was the victim able to help in the recovery : n
Was any injury sustained by the victim : n
Was a Lifesling aboard : n
Was it used : n
How much time did the victim spend in the water : 3-4 min.
Did a Mayday call go out : n
Was the race sailed under ISAF regulations : n
Nominators Name : Gabriel Benzur
Can your story be published : y
Can you provide articles about this event : n
What position : Skipper
Rescuing Crews Names : Holly Gregory - crew-took the helm after Robert Gregory boarded Floating Eagle
What happened : SEE ABOVE
What difficulties were experienced with electronic locater : n/a
How did victim help himself back onboard : n/a
How did the victim get hoisted onto the deck : with assistance from crew

reprinted from : www.ussailing.org