MOB | MAN OVERBOARD | What to do?

Brief Your Crew

Sailing isn’t a hugely dangerous sport, and you don’t want to scare your crew, but it pays to discuss Man Overboard. If you have a regular drill in place, then you could buy yourself valuable time should the unthinkable ever happen.

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.