Man overboard: the manoeuvre that saves lives
Alert, spotter, MOB button, return under sail or power, hoisting back aboard: the man overboard procedure step by step, and how to actually drill it.
The man overboard procedure comes down to four immediate actions: shout "Man overboard!" to alert the crew, assign one person to point at the casualty and never look away, throw the horseshoe buoy and anything that floats, and press the MOB button on the GPS. Then comes the return manoeuvre, and finally the hardest part: getting an exhausted person back on deck. Every step is prepared beforehand, not improvised.
The first ten seconds
Everything is decided early. A head in the chop disappears from view within tens of seconds; in rough seas, almost instantly. Hence the absolute priority of the spotter: one crew member whose only mission is to point at the casualty, responding to nothing else. Simultaneously, throw the horseshoe buoy with its self-igniting light — even if it lands far away, it marks the area — and press the MOB button on the plotter to record the exact position of the fall.
With a short-handed crew or an uncertain recovery, alert early: a Mayday on channel 16 is easy to cancel, while a late alert is hard to make up for. The radio procedure is detailed in our VHF guide.
Returning under engine
Under power, the manoeuvre is simple in principle: slow down, turn back keeping the casualty on the helm's side so they never leave your sight, come back head to wind and sea, and approach dead slow with the person on your windward side as the boat drifts gently towards them. The golden rule: neutral as soon as the casualty is anywhere near the hull. A turning propeller a metre from a swimmer is a mortal danger — more certain than drowning itself in the first minutes.
On motorboats and RIBs, beware of how fast a light hull drifts: it escapes downwind quicker than a swimmer can follow.
Returning under sail: the loop that works
Under sail, the method taught today is the quick stop: the moment someone falls, luff up and tack without releasing the headsail, leaving it aback — this kills the speed and keeps the boat within a few lengths of the casualty. Then bear away onto a beam reach, and come back up to stop head to wind alongside, sails flogging. The classic alternative — sailing away several lengths before returning close-hauled — offers more control but takes you dangerously far from the point of the fall.
In practice, if the engine starts within seconds, most crews drop or ease everything and finish the manoeuvre under power: less elegant, perfectly reasonable — as long as no line trails in the water near the propeller.
Getting back on board, the real challenge
Bringing the boat alongside is only half the job. A clothed person, shocked by cold water, cannot haul themselves over a one-metre freeboard — and no crew member can lift 90 dripping kilos by hand. Plan mechanical solutions:
- the bathing ladder, if the sea allows and the casualty can climb;
- a loop of webbing or sheet hung in the water as a step;
- the mainsheet tackle or a halyard on a winch to hoist;
- on a sailing yacht, a sail lowered into the water as a cradle for an unconscious casualty.
This is where wearing a lifejacket changes everything: someone floating effortlessly, head clear of the water, can cooperate in their own recovery. Our guide to lifejackets and harnesses explains why the harness keeps you from getting here at all.
Equipment that genuinely helps
Three items have proven their worth, in increasing order of impact: the dan buoy and lighted buoy, which mark the area; a floating heaving line, which lets you reach a nearby casualty without centimetre-perfect boat handling; and the personal AIS beacon worn on the lifejacket, which displays the casualty's live position on your plotter and on neighbouring vessels' screens. Expect 250 to 350 € per beacon — a reasonable budget against what it changes in a night-time recovery, especially on sailing yachts running with short-handed crews.
Train for real
A procedure never rehearsed does not exist. Once a season, in manageable weather: throw over a fender weighted with a bucket, shout the alert and run the whole sequence — spotter, MOB button, manoeuvre, winch recovery. Time it. Have every crew member take the helm, because the first person overboard is often the skipper. Then repeat at anchor after dark, with lifejackets and torches in real conditions. Two hours of drills a year turn an anxiety-inducing theory into available reflexes — exactly what a prepared crew looks like.
Frequently asked questions
What should you do first when someone falls overboard?
Shout "Man overboard" to mobilise the crew, immediately assign a spotter who points at the casualty and never looks away, throw the buoy and anything that floats, and press the MOB button on the GPS. These four actions come before any manoeuvre: a head disappears from view within tens of seconds.
How long can a person survive in the water?
It depends mostly on temperature. In 10-15°C water — typical of the Atlantic much of the year — hypothermia impairs movement within tens of minutes and threatens life within a few hours. Initial cold shock and exhaustion drowning often kill before hypothermia does, which is why the lifejacket is vital.
Should you send a Mayday for a man overboard?
Yes, as soon as recovery is not immediate and certain: an unrecovered man overboard is a life-threatening situation, which is exactly what Mayday is for. If you recover the person quickly, cancel the alert on the same channel. Alerting early then cancelling always beats alerting too late.