This survival course is organized for commercial fishermen, so the overboard recovery suggestions are based on having crew. Even though most cruisers sail without crew, there are some interesting lessons to learn from this teaching process.

Dug "volunteered" Carina (Ryan’s twin) to be the person in the water (this also served as her immersion suit training). In the real world, the person in the water would not be wearing protective gear, but hopefully would have on a floatation device.

Fishermen in this part of the world work in appalling conditions. They continue to work their trade in weather that most cruisers would consider survival storms. Falling overboard is an ever present risk, so MOB training is taken seriously. Many of these professionals also wear floatation gear when working on deck – either a Mustang style float coat or an inflatable floatation device.

Our intrepid instructor is modeling a Stormy Seas inflatable vest (cool color too). These are very light and barely noticeable. They auto-inflate if immersed – you can pull a manual tab or blow into them. They are not Coast Guard approved, which is why they are so much more comfortable.

A more traditional, and Coast Guard approved PFD. This will be less comfortable to have on and so less likely to be used.

A close up of an auto inflate mechanism. There is a tablet inside of here which melts in water, triggering the CO2 cylinder to inflate the buoyancy chamber. You can see the red manual pull handle as well.

OK, back to our MOB practice.

The first thing is a spotter has to keep his or her eyes on the victim (and never take their eyes off the victim, even to communicate with the helm).

Some sort of throwable device should then be tossed near the victim. The first device thrown to the victim shouldn’t be tied to the boat, unless it’s the only floatation you have. We do not carry a life ring as we’ve always felt our Life Sling would cover this need, but now we can see a ring or throwable cushion, in addition to the Life Sling, would be a good idea. Dug, on the right, is pointing out what is going right and wrong with our approach.

In our scenario, the victim is injured, so Ryan gets into his immersion suit to help retrieve the victim. Now in the water in the photo above, Ryan has a line tied around his waist and back to the boat. He is going to place the Life Sling around the victim.

We then use a 4-1 tackle to hoist the victim aboard. Carina is sitting on the swim step, Ryan is on the ladder. Bo is protecting victim Carina’s head from the stair treads as she is being hoisted.

This process was made easier by our boarding platform and ladder into the water. From a fishing boat, in rough seas, this has to be a very difficult and dangerous operation, as it would be from many cruising yachts.

We practiced throwing these line bags. The bag is weighted and is tossed with the line inside of it. Side arm throwing motion seemed to work best, but you need to practice to find your own technique. Dug emphasized that if you missed the first time, pull the bag back and throw it again. The water now filling the bag will give it momentum (rather than taking the time to reload the line). Note that the line is "faked", not coiled into the bag. Faking means layering the line back and forth (coiled lines tend to foul as they run out).

Back to the pilot house. At the first MOB cry, the skipper will want to hit the MOB button on chart plotter or GPS, then make a Pan Pan call with vessel name and position of the victim (be sure to cancel this when the victim is recovered).

If the victim is not in sight Dug teaches a "Williamson" turn where the vessel first turns 60 degrees off course, and then comes back around on a reciprocal to the original course. This is thought to be the best way to get back on the opposite track. If the victim is in sight, then a 360 degree turn is suggested. If you are keeping a track on the chart plotter or PC Nav system, then you can run back on this line.

Under sail and shorthanded, recovering someone overboard is going to be more difficult – which is why using jack lines and proper safety harnesses to stay on board is important. We’ve covered these subjects in detail in Practical Seamanship and Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia, so we’ll not go further here.

To recap a few of the major points:

• Use a safety harness and jack lines to keep you on the boat.
• Always keep one hand firmly planted and the other to work the boat.
• Be especially vigilant in moderate weather when a sneaker wave may catch you.
• Wear flotation gear on deck.
• Set up a MOB procedure appropriate for your vessel, equipment, and crew. Make sure you have a method for getting the victim back on deck.
• Practice your MOB process periodically.
• Maintain Life Sling and other devices exposed to ultraviolet degradation.
• Get a MOB position onto plotter or GPS.
• If there is crew aboard, make sure the spotter never takes their eyes off the victim.
• Practice MOB recovery in a variety of sea states to check drift and motion of the hull near where the victim will be brought aboard.
• Be aware of the prop and its position relative to the victim.
• If you have a counter stern (overhang aft) take care not to get the victim underneath the counter.
• If the victim has to be brought over the side, consider using lashings at one end of life lines that can be cut, so the victim does not have to be brought over the life lines.
• Avoid this problem in the first place by taking your time when working on deck, paying attention to the sea state and vessel’s motion, and having a good harness and jack line system.