4.5 Man Overboard & Recovery

Man Overboard and Recovery

A man overboard (MOB) is time-critical: in cold water the victim may have only minutes of useful function (see 4.8), and a person is astonishingly hard to spot in a seaway once you lose sight of them. Your response must be immediate and drilled.

Immediate actions

The instant someone goes over, in this order:

1. Shout "Man overboard!" and the side - port or starboard - so the whole crew knows.
2. Throw flotation immediately - a Type IV ring or cushion, even for a strong swimmer. It marks the spot and gives the person something to hold.
3. Post a spotter whose only job is to point at the victim and never take their eyes off them. Losing visual contact is the single biggest cause of a failed recovery.
4. Press the MOB button on the GPS/chartplotter to drop a position mark.
5. Reduce speed and turn - swinging the stern (and propeller) away from the person. Never back down toward someone in the water.

Recovery turns

Which turn you use depends on visibility and how fast you reacted:

• Anderson turn (single turn) - the fastest; best when the victim is in sight and you reacted at once. Put the rudder hard over toward the victim's side, come around roughly 250 degrees, then straighten and stop with the person just off the bow. Fast, but it demands unbroken visual contact.
• Williamson turn - the best turn when the victim is out of sight, at night, or in reduced visibility, because it puts you back on your original track headed the reciprocal course, retracing your path. Procedure: rudder hard over toward the victim; when the heading has swung 60 degrees from the original course, shift the rudder hard over the opposite way; when you are about 20 degrees short of the reciprocal course, ease the rudder and steady on the reciprocal. Slower than the Anderson, but it walks you straight back down the line the person is on.
• Quick turn (Q-turn / racetrack) - a common small-boat method: a tight loop at slow speed that brings you back alongside with the victim in view.

Approach and recovery

• Keep the victim in sight and approach slowly and under full control, into the wind and sea, so the boat is stopped rather than surfing down onto the person.
• Make the final approach so the person ends up alongside on the leeward (downwind) side, where the hull makes a lee and you are not being blown over them.
• Take the engine out of gear (or shut it down) as you come close - a turning propeller near a person in the water is lethal.
• Do not send a rescuer into the water except as a last resort, and only tethered and wearing a PFD.
• Get a line or a Lifesling to the person first, then recover. Hauling a soaked, cold, possibly injured adult up the freeboard is hard - use a Lifesling, boarding ladder, or a bight of line as a step. If the person is hypothermic, try to recover them horizontally to reduce the risk of cardiac collapse.

Hypothermia awareness

Even in moderate water a person is losing heat fast. Get them out quickly, handle them gently (rough handling of a severely cold person can trigger cardiac arrest), remove wet clothing, insulate, and treat as in 4.8. If you cannot recover them at once, keep them afloat and in sight and get flotation to them without delay.

Prevention and drills

The best MOB is the one that never happens: rig jacklines and require harnesses in rough going or at night, teach one hand for the boat, and keep passengers seated inside the rails while underway. Practice the turn and recovery with a cushion until the sequence is automatic. On the exam the load-bearing facts are: throw flotation and post a dedicated spotter immediately; the Williamson turn is for lost-sight/night because it returns you on the reciprocal track; the Anderson (single) turn is fastest with the victim in sight; and take the prop out of gear on final approach.