This is the
accepted RYA Yachtmaster crew drill in the event of
a Man Overboard:
- Shout ‘man overboard’
to alert the crew.
- Press the MOB button on the
GPS.
- Throw a life buoy and dan
buoy to the MOB. Mark the MOB with a buoyant
smoke flare.
- Allocate a crewmember to
point at the MOB in the water.
- Send a DSC distress alert
and a Mayday.
- Keep pointing; don’t lose
sight of the MOB.
- If the motor has been
started,
- Prepare a throwing line.
- The skipper will bring the
boat alongside the MOB, with the boat pointing
into the wind and the propeller stopped.
- Get a line around the MOB
and get them aboard.
The man overboard (or fender
in this case) should be to leeward as you approach
Man Overboard Manoeuvres
So that’s the crew briefed, now comes the tricky
bit: actually pulling off the manoeuvre. A good
method of practicing is by throwing a fender
overboard weighted down with a bucket or a coil of
rope. Just make sure the crew don’t lose sight of
the fender!
Under Power
If you’ve got a motor, and it works, you’re
going to want to use it in an emergency, so let’s
deal with that scenario first:
- Sheet in the mainsail and
heave to in order to take the way off your boat
pass buoyancy to the casualty and mark with a
dan buoy. Instruct a crewmember to point at the
MOB. Retrieve any warps from the water and start
the engine.
- Furl or drop the headsail.
- Make ready the throwing
line.
- Manoeuvre the boat downwind
of the MOB, keeping the MOB in sight.
- Approach the MOB into the
wind, so that the mainsail is depowered. Pick up
the MOB on the leeward side, aft of the mast.
Under Sail
Now comes the really tricky bit! There’s a
definite art to coaxing your boat gently into the
breeze and coming to a standstill alongside your
target. Getting it right is a great feeling.
Even if you weren’t concerned about safety, it’s
a trick that’s well worth mastering and the fact
is that a man overboard situation is EXACTLY the
time when your motor will decide not to start, so
it’s in your interests to get this one nailed
down.
On a close reach you can
spill and fill your mainsail to control your speed
- As before, sheet in the
mainsail and heave to, passing buoyancy to the
casualty and marking with a dan buoy. Instruct a
crewmember to check for warps.
- Turn away onto a beam/broad
reach and sail away.
- Sail away for about five or
six boat lengths, ensuring that you do not lose
sight of the MOB.
- Tack, aiming the leeward
side of the yacht at the MOB. Let out the
headsail and mainsail sheets. The mainsail
should flap; if not, bear off downwind to change
the angle of approach. Point the boat back at
the MOB until the mainsail flaps.
- The angle of approach
should be a close reach so that the sails can be
powered and depowered. Drop the headsail if
there from the mainsail alone.
- Fill and spill the mainsail
and slowly approach the MOB. Pick up the MOB to
leeward, aft of the mast.
Man Overboard Recovery
The final sticking point is recovery: if your boat
has any kind of freeboard at all, you’ll soon
realise that trying to get them out of the water is
not as simple as it looks.
If your boat has a bathing platform on the transom,
then you might be able to get them back aboard via
the ladder. It is worth bearing in mind that in
rough conditions this will be a dangerous place to
attempt to recover a MOB, as there is a risk of
being drawn under the stern.
Parbuckle
This is set on the side of the boat with the foot
attached to the gunwale. The head is attached either
to a handybilly (block and tackle) or straight to
the halyard.
MOB Recovery Raft
These are purpose built for the job. Again,
you could use the halyard or, if your boat doesn’t
have a solid kicker, the boom and mainsheet.
You’ve got to hope it never happens to you, but
the key thing is simply to be prepared and then you
can go out on the water with confidence and enjoy
yourself.”
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Nieuwsbrief
