What to Do If Someone Falls Overboard — A Step-By-Step Guide
What to Do If Someone Falls Overboard — A Step-By-Step Guide
People panic. That is the honest truth about man overboard situations. Even experienced crew who have done the drills can freeze or start shouting over each other, which will achieve nothing, I can tell you – that first 30 seconds of blankness feels like forever.
The training exists for exactly this reason. When your brain goes blank, the procedure takes over. Here is the procedure — simple, in order, and written the way I would tell it to someone on deck.
The Immediate Steps — Do These First
1. Throw a lifebuoy — right now
Before anything else. Before shouting, before running to the helm, before thinking about a plan. Grab the nearest lifebuoy and throw it towards the person in the water. You are not aiming to hit them — you are putting something bright and buoyant near them so they have something to hold and so you can see where they are. A bright orange lifebuoy in the water is visible in daylight and with a torch at night. Get it in the water immediately.
2. Shout Man Overboard and keep watching them — loudly and keep shouting
Shout it until every person on board has heard and acknowledged it. Use the PA system if the vessel has one. Keep shouting the location of the person in the water so nobody loses sight of them – just stare. Assign one person whose only job is to keep eyes on the casualty and call out their position continuously. Do not take your eyes off them.
3. The skipper takes control and delegates
This is critical. In a panic everyone tries to do everything at once and nothing gets done properly. The skipper or most experienced person takes command immediately and assigns specific jobs to specific people. Someone on the helm. Someone watching the casualty. Someone preparing the recovery equipment. Someone ready on communications.
If someone is panicking and not functioning — give them a simple task. Get the first aid kit. Get blankets. Make them useful and get them out of the way of the people doing the critical jobs. This works. Use it.
4. Mark the position
Press the MOB button on your GPS chartplotter immediately. This marks the exact position of the incident. As the vessel moves to manoeuvre back, you have a reference point. Do not skip this step.
5. Make the manoeuvre
The skipper decides the return manoeuvre — figure of eight, Williamson turn, or quick stop depending on vessel type and conditions. The goal is to bring the vessel alongside the casualty with control, approaching from downwind and downtide where possible.
6. Recovery
Get a Jacob’s ladder, rescue sling, or whatever recovery equipment is available over the side. Talk to the casualty calmly if they are conscious — tell them what you are doing, guide them to the ladder or sling. If they are unconscious or exhausted, the recovery becomes a two person job. Be ready.
7. First aid ready
Have the first aid kit open and someone ready to assess the casualty the moment they are aboard. Cold water shock, hypothermia, and exhaustion are all immediate concerns. Get them warm, get them horizontal, assess breathing and consciousness, and be ready to contact the coastguard for medical advice.
At Night — The Hard Truth
Finding a person overboard at night in any kind of sea state is extraordinarily difficult. A person in dark water at night in waves is almost invisible. This is why a lifejacket light, a PLB, and a MOB strobe matter so much — they are what makes the difference between finding someone and searching. If you are on passage overnight, everyone on deck should be wearing a lifejacket and clipped on. It is not comfortable. It is the right thing to do.
The Single Biggest Mistake
Losing sight of the casualty. Once you have lost visual contact with a person in the water the situation becomes exponentially more difficult. The person watching the casualty must not be reassigned, must not be distracted, and must call out the position continuously until the person is recovered. This is their only job. Everything else can wait.
FAQs
Should I jump in to help?
Almost never. A second person in the water doubles the problem and halves your resources. The only exception is if the casualty is unconscious and cannot help themselves and a trained swimmer with a safety line can reach them immediately. In almost every other situation — do not jump in.
What if I am single-handed?
A man overboard situation when sailing single-handed is one of the most serious emergencies in sailing. Your priority is to get back to the person as quickly as possible. Heave to immediately to stop the vessel, mark the position on GPS, and try to keep the person in sight while you manoeuvre. This is why a strong argument exists for always wearing a PLB when sailing single-handed.
When do I call the coastguard?
If the person is not recovered quickly, if they are injured or unconscious, or if you need medical guidance — call the coastguard on Channel 16 immediately. Do not wait until the situation is critical. They can provide guidance and have resources ready.
The information in this article is for general guidance. All crew should receive practical MOB training before offshore or coastal passages. Current RYA and MCA guidance is available at rya.org.uk and gov.uk/mca.
