Man Over Board Procedure...
... for Charterers

First Moves | Getting Back | Out of the Water |Who is "The Coastie"?

This article deals with the process of retrieving people who fall overboard during a yacht charter cruise. It will not necessarily show you the traditional, by-the-book methodology. The reason is that charterers are often not overly experienced, and a MOB can trigger a panic on board, when it should be exactly the opposite. So this is more a practical method, straight to the point.

Say you are out sailing in a lovely Caribbean setting, you think you heard a splash…after a minute or two, you realize you are missing a crewmember! A quick look around tells you that the missing crewmember is the one that has been complaining about the food, drank all the rum, and embarrassed everyone at the beach bar last night. What do you do? Well, depending on who went overboard, you may decide to trim the sails in a little more, grab a cool beverage, and put on more suntan lotion. ;-)

Now, if the person who went overboard is someone you really like, read on.

There are more articles written than I can shake a winch handle at over this subject, so I am going to give you two things to think about.
First is a reality check on a simplified procedure getting back to a person in the water. Second is what to do if you cannot find them!

HURRY UP AND GET BACK TO THE PERSON IN THE WATER!!!!!

To give you a benchmark, here is a little test. When you are out sailing sometime, and you pass a crab trap buoy, count the seconds until you cannot see the buoy anymore. What did you get? One minute? If you got more than that, it must have been calm out or your boat was not moving. With a crab trap buoy being about the same size as a human head, you can tell how little time you have, and the reason for not getting far from the person in the water.

For purposes of this article, to use the Coast Guard acronym, you will see me refer to the person in the water as the "PIW".

1. First thing is for the person who saw the incident to yell "Man Overboard, port/starboard side!" The person should say which side the person fell from. That person should point at the PIW and never, ever stop staring and pointing at the person in the water until the person at the helm says he/she can see the PIW and no longer needs the pointer. And even after that, the pointer should keep looking at the PIW at all times. In lumpy seas, a bobbing head appears and disappears in a blink.

2. Someone else in the cockpit should have thrown over a cockpit cushion - all the cushions if possible. Not only does the person in the water has a chance at grabbing something with flotation, but this also marks the spot they went overboard.

3. While this is happening, which should not have taken more than a few seconds, the helmsman should start the engine, and turn the boat toward the side the person fell from. That's right! If the PIW fell off the starboard side, by turning to starboard, you turn your stern away from the PIW.

4. If possible, hit the MOB button on your GPS. Marking the Lat/Long will help you come back to the PIW. This is simply getting a waypoint, and giving you a course to return to the PIW.

5. If other boats are in the area, sound 5 short blasts on your air horn. This alerts them to a emergency.

6. Call the Coast Guard if possible. Very important if the PIW is injured or if you lose sight of him/her.

Getting Back

OK, you did all that, how can you get back FAST? Number one is getting your boat back close enough to the PIW so you do not lose him/her. Don't worry too much about your sails, once you spun around and got close, you can roll in the jib, and perhaps lower the main. Just power back as fast as you can! Try to get your boat downwind of the PIW.

Get the PIW out of the Water

You got your boat back fast, you are into the wind, you got the jib rolled up, and dumped the main halyard, now what? A couple of options.

1. If you have a life ring with line attached - and most charter boats do - you can throw it out, have the PIW grab it, and pull him/her back into the boat. Lower the swim ladder, and help them aboard. Keep your boat downwind of the PIW! Once he/she has grabbed the life ring, TURN OFF THE ENGINE! If you accidentally engage the prop, you could get someone’s leg in the prop!

2. Person is unconscious. Yeah, there are many write-ups on rigging up something to hoist someone out of the water etc., but do you really have the time -and the skills? How long is that going to take to set up on a charter boat? Way too long!
One possibility is to get the person out of the water via the dingy. I would prefer that you leave the painter attached to your boat, and have the strongest person get in the dingy and paddle close enough to grab the PIW. The person in the dingy should put on a life jacket! If you drop the painter, and the dingy drifts away, you would have a new problem, which you don't really need...
After bringing the PIW aboard, get a blanket and treat for shock. (More about 1st. aid in later articles). Contact the Coast Guard, advise them of your situation. You may need to have the victim medicated and to a hospital.

3. Remember! You must take into account sea conditions, the ability of your crew to undertake the tasks at hand, and your ability to maneuver your vessel into position for the rescue! You will have to use your best judgment!

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