Complex sentence: The first sailor to be rescued was in the mizzen rigging; he came cautiously down the shrouds, tied the line around his body, leaped overboard into the sea, and was hauled into the surf boat.
Split into simpler sentences: The first sailor to be rescued was in the mizzen rigging came cautiously down the shrouds. He tied the line around his body, leaped overboard into the sea, and was hauled into the surf boat.