Man Overboard: What Every Crew Member Must Know

A person in the water has roughly 3 to 5 minutes before cold shock impairs their ability to swim, even in the Mediterranean's summer temperatures of 24°C. In northern European waters at 12°C, that window shrinks dramatically. The yacht, meanwhile, is sailing away at 6 knots. That is 0.1 NM every minute. Within 60 seconds, the person is already hard to see among the waves.

This is not written to frighten you. It is written because sailing is genuinely safe when crews know what to do. The problem is that most charter guests have never practised a MOB drill. Not once. This article changes that.

The First 10 Seconds: Three Actions, No Hesitation

Everything hinges on the opening moments. Get these right and recovery becomes manageable. Freeze, and you may lose sight of the person entirely. Here are the three actions, in order.

1. SHOUT

The moment you see someone go over, yell "Man overboard!" as loudly as you can. Repeat it. Do not stop until every person on the boat has heard you. This is not a time for composure. Volume saves lives. The skipper needs to hear you instantly, whether they are at the helm, below deck, or in the heads.

2. POINT and Never Look Away

Assign yourself one job: keep your arm extended toward the person in the water and do not take your eyes off them. Not for a second. A human head bobbing in waves at 200 metres is almost invisible. If you look at the sails, the GPS, or the skipper, you will likely lose them. One crew member becomes the dedicated spotter, pointing continuously. If more crew are available, a second spotter helps. But one person must never break visual contact.

3. PRESS the MOB Button

Most modern chartplotter units and GPS devices carry a dedicated MOB button. Pressing it logs the exact coordinates where the person entered the water. On Garmin units, hold the MOB key for 2 seconds. On Raymarine, it sits on the plotter's home screen. If you have a handheld GPS or a phone with a sailing app, mark the position immediately. This electronic breadcrumb is your backup if visual contact is lost.

Do NOT Jump In After Them

This deserves its own line. The instinct to jump in and help is strong and almost always wrong. Now you have two people in the water, neither with a line to the boat, and a crew that has lost half its strength. The best help you can give is staying aboard and executing the recovery.

Helmsman Response: The Quick Stop Method

The skipper or helmsman has one goal: get the boat back to the person as fast as possible without running them over. The Quick Stop method is the standard technique taught on RYA Day Skipper courses for good reason. It works.

Step 1: Tack immediately. Do not bear away. Do not try to gybe. Tack the boat through the wind right now. This begins turning the yacht back toward the casualty. If sails are up, let the jib back. Precision sail trim is irrelevant here.

Step 2: Start the engine. As soon as possible, fire up the engine. A yacht under power is far more manoeuvrable than one under sail alone. Keep the throttle moderate to avoid fouling the propeller on any trailing lines.

Step 3: Drop or furl the sails. If crew numbers allow it, get the sails down. Under engine only, you have full control of speed and direction.

Step 4: Circle back and approach from downwind. This is the part that catches people out. You want to arrive upwind of the person in the water so the boat drifts toward them, not over them. Approaching downwind of the casualty gives you a controlled, slow closure. Come in at 2 to 3 knots, no faster. Put the engine in neutral when you are within 2 boat lengths.

In calm conditions with a well-practised crew, the entire manoeuvre takes 5 to 10 minutes. In Force 5 winds with 1.5 metre seas and a panicked crew, it can take 20 minutes or more. That is an honest assessment, and it is exactly why prevention matters so much.

Recovery: Getting Them Back on Board

You have circled back. The spotter still has visual contact. The person is 10 metres off your beam. Now comes the part nobody warns you about: getting a wet, exhausted, possibly hypothermic person out of the water is brutally difficult.

A 75 kg person wearing waterlogged clothing effectively weighs over 100 kg. They may be too tired to grip a line. Their fingers may have lost dexterity from cold. Here is the sequence:

1. Throw a lifebuoy with an attached line. Aim upwind of the person so it drifts toward them. The line lets you pull them to the hull. If you miss, coil quickly and throw again.
2. Talk to them. Reassurance matters. Tell them what is happening and what to do next. A calm voice cuts through panic.
3. Get them to the stern or the lowest freeboard point. On most charter yachts, the bathing platform at the stern sits just 30 to 40 cm above the waterline. Guide them along the hull using the line.
4. Deploy the swim ladder. If the yacht has a fixed or folding swim ladder at the transom, drop it now. If the person cannot climb, use a rescue sling, a loop of webbing that goes under their arms, and winch them aboard using a halyard. This is where a catamaran's low freeboard can be a genuine advantage.
5. Use the boom as a crane if needed. Attach a halyard to the rescue sling, run it to a cockpit winch, and grind. It is slow but it works when muscle power alone is not enough.

Once aboard, treat for hypothermia immediately: remove wet clothing, wrap in dry blankets or sleeping bags, offer warm (not hot) drinks if they are conscious, and monitor them closely. If the person was unconscious in the water or swallowed significant amounts of water, call for medical assistance on VHF Channel 16 without delay.

Prevention Is Far More Important Than Recovery

Here is the uncomfortable truth: MOB recovery in real conditions, at night, in rough seas, with a tired crew, carries a worryingly low success rate. Studies from the RNLI show that even trained rescue crews struggle when visibility is poor. The single best MOB strategy is making sure nobody falls in.

Wear Lifejackets

Always wear an inflatable lifejacket in the cockpit at night, in any wind above Force 4, and whenever weather conditions are deteriorating. Many experienced sailors wear them at all times on passage. A 150N auto-inflating jacket costs around EUR 80 to EUR 150 and weighs barely 700 grams. There is no good reason not to wear one.

Clip On with Jacklines

Jacklines are webbing straps that run fore and aft along the deck. You clip your harness tether to them, giving you freedom to move while staying physically attached to the boat. On night passages or in rough weather, this is non-negotiable. Even on a relaxed charter, ask the skipper if jacklines are rigged.

One Hand for Yourself, One for the Boat

This old maritime maxim is still the best single piece of safety advice. Always hold on. When moving along the deck, grip the guardwire, the grab rail, or the shrouds. A sudden wave, an unexpected gybe, or even a wake from a passing motor yacht can pitch you off balance. Three points of contact is even better.

Never Walk the Deck at Night Without Telling Someone

If you need to go forward at night, tell the person on watch. If you fall and nobody knows, the boat sails on. It could be hours before anyone realises you are missing. This is the scenario that haunts every skipper.

No Alcohol Underway

Alcohol impairs balance, slows reaction time, and accelerates hypothermia. Save it for the anchorage. A cold beer at anchor after a good day's sailing is a reward. A beer at the helm in a Force 5 is a risk factor. For more on staying safe aboard, read our honest guide to sailing safety.

Practice Before Your Charter

On day one of any charter, before you leave the marina, ask the skipper for a MOB drill. A good skippered charter will include this as standard. If they do not offer it, request it. Here is how the drill works:

1. Throw a fender or a partially filled water container overboard. This is your "casualty."
2. Shout "Man overboard!" and run through all three immediate actions.
3. The helmsman executes the Quick Stop, circles back, and brings the boat alongside the fender.
4. A crew member retrieves it with a boathook or by hand.
5. Repeat until the approach feels natural. Two or three attempts usually suffice.

The entire exercise takes 15 minutes. It familiarises every crew member with their role, reveals how long the manoeuvre actually takes (most people are shocked by this), and builds muscle memory that holds up even under stress. If you are new to sailing, this single drill is the most valuable 15 minutes of your trip.

Safety Equipment to Check Before Departure

Do not assume everything is present and working. Charter yachts are inspected regularly, but kit gets moved, batteries die, and lines degrade. Walk through this checklist on day one:

• Lifejackets: Locate them. Count them. Confirm there is one per person. Check the CO2 cylinder is armed (green indicator on most models). Try one on and adjust the straps.
• MOB pole and light: Usually mounted at the stern pushpit. The pole carries a flag and a drogue to slow its drift. The light activates automatically on contact with water. Confirm the battery is live.
• Throwable lifebuoy: Typically a horseshoe buoy with an attached line of at least 30 metres. Check the line is not tangled and the buoy releases freely from its bracket.
• Whistle on each lifejacket: A small detail that matters enormously. At night, sound carries further than sight. Confirm every jacket has a whistle attached.
• VHF radio on Channel 16: Test it. Know where it is. In a serious MOB situation, calling the coastguard on Channel 16 brings professional help. State your position, the nature of the emergency, and the number of persons involved. Even if you recover the person, medical advice over VHF can be critical.
• Danbuoy or GPS tracker: Some yachts carry a personal AIS signal or a GPS-enabled MOB tracker that attaches to the lifejacket. If available, activate and pair it before departure.

If any item is missing or defective, inform the charter company before leaving the dock. Do not trade 20 minutes of departure time for a gap in your safety kit.

What This All Comes Down To

MOB emergencies are rare. Most sailors go an entire lifetime without one. But the consequences of being unprepared are severe and irreversible. The knowledge in this article takes 10 minutes to read and 15 minutes to practise.

Brief your crew. Run the drill. Wear the lifejacket. Hold on. When you are safely anchored in a quiet bay with the sun going down and a cold drink in hand, you will be glad you took those 25 minutes before you left the dock.