Man Overboard - Recovery

Recovery

Most hulls have the lowest and clearest side decks mid-ships and this is where the casualty should be brought back aboard. If the guard rails are wire, there should be rope lashings at one end so that the lower, or both, wires can be freed to make recovery easier. All crew members involved in recovery should be harnessed on if the sea conditions that led to the first fall could lead to further people ending up in the water. The answer to a person overboard is never for more people either to jump over to 'help' them, or to fall in themselves by accident.

The recovery operation is different for a conscious compared an unconscious casualty, but in either case there are two rules to be aware of. First, after a very short time in cold water, even a fit conscious person will have lost considerable strength and agility and will need help to get aboard, especially in heavy wet clothing. Second, the condition of a person in the early stages of hypothermia can be made considerably worse by hoisting them vertically so that what circulation they have drains from their head into their feet. It is much better to recover the casualty as horizontally as possible. Various pieces of equipment are on the market to help short-handed or weakened crews deal with this problem, but really nothing beats the combined efforts of several strong hands gripping various items of clothing on the arms, body, and legs, and hauling in unison. In a rough sea, the waves that caused the fall can sometimes help by lifting the floating person up within easy reach of the sidedeck as the boat rolls. Care must be taken as to what to do as each wave subsides if the person is not yet aboard, as their weight can pull unsuspecting helpers in themselves. Loops of rope passed under the arms and behind the knees on one wave can be held during the trough and hauled again during the next rise, if this is possible.

A fitter casualty may climb a ladder more or less unaided, although the dangers of approaching the stern of the boat in a rough sea should be considered if that is where the only useful ladder is. A fitter casualty may be able to get a foot onto a simple loop of rope and lift themselves to the rail. A hypothermic, injured or unconscious victim may be quite incapable of helping themselves. In this case netting, slings, an inflatable dinghy or liferaft may be employed, with or without the additional assistance of a 4:1 or better tackle. Such a tackle may be fashioned from a mainsheet, a boom vang (kicking strap), or may be purpose-made for the job and stored in case needed. The yacht's winches may also be of assistance.