Man overboard.
Watch them. Mark them. Get back to them. The third part is the procedure — the first two are the discipline that makes it possible.
Eyes, mark, alert. In that order.
The first three seconds matter more than the next ten minutes. Don't take your eyes off them.
- 1
Maintain eye contact. Point at the MOB.
One crew member becomes the spotter — that's their ONLY job. Arm extended, finger pointing. They do not look away.
- 2
Press the MOB button on the GPS.
Marks the position. Your single most useful piece of data if you lose sight.
- 3
Release MOB gear and alert the crew.
Dan buoy, life ring, strobe, drogue, anything floatable — overboard immediately, toward the person. Then shout "Man overboard!" to wake the whole boat.
- 4
Decide your scenario — seen under sail, seen under engine, or NOT seen.
Different scenario, different procedure. Pick now.
Which scenario are you in?
Seen or not seen — and if seen, under what power? The procedure splits three ways.
Seen — under sail.
MOB in sight; you're sailing.
Go to steps ↓Seen — under engine.
MOB in sight; you're already motoring.
Go to steps ↓Not seen.
The crew check came up short. No one saw them go.
Go to steps ↓Crash stop — heave to, drift to MOB, or drop sail and proceed under power.
Heaving to stops most cruising boats and drifts you slowly downwind. If the engine is available and the prop won't endanger the MOB, drop sails and go to power.
Keep the MOB to leeward.
Always. The boat drifts faster than the person. If they're to windward, you'll drift past them.
Prepare recovery gear and brief crew on your plan.
Lifesling, boarding ladder, harness. Brief everyone — who throws, who steers, who climbs down.
Approach the MOB with engine in neutral.
Final approach: engine OFF if possible. A propeller and a person in the water are a separate emergency.
Make direct contact or deploy a lifesling.
Within arm's reach is best. If too rough, lifesling and circle until they grab the line.
Use the swimming platform if seas permit, otherwise recover from amidships.
The lowest freeboard point. Avoid trying to lift them at the bow — boat motion is amplified there.
Consider deploying the dinghy if recovery is hard from the mother boat.
If sea state makes the parent boat too dangerous, a stable inflatable closer to the water can work.
Assess MOB condition; administer first aid as needed.
↗07Medical EmergencyPerform a single, round turn that brings you back to the MOB.
Williamson turn or quick-stop turn — the boat handling defines it. The goal is to come back to the MOB pointing into the wind for a controlled approach.
Keep the MOB to leeward.
Same principle as Scenario 1. The boat drifts faster than the swimmer; you want to drift toward them, not away.
Prepare recovery gear and brief crew on your plan.
Lifesling, boarding ladder, harness. Brief everyone — who throws, who steers, who climbs down.
Approach the MOB with engine in neutral.
Final approach: engine OFF if possible. A propeller and a person in the water are a separate emergency.
Make direct contact or deploy lifesling.
Within arm's reach is best. If too rough, lifesling and circle until they grab the line.
Use the swimming platform or amidships, whichever the seas permit.
The lowest freeboard point. Avoid trying to lift them at the bow — boat motion is amplified there.
Consider deploying the dinghy if needed.
If sea state makes the parent boat too dangerous, a stable inflatable closer to the water can work.
Assess MOB condition; administer first aid as needed.
↗07Medical EmergencyHeave to. Stop the boat.
Don't keep sailing on. Every minute you continue is another quarter mile of search area.
Press the GPS MOB button now.
It marks the CURRENT position. Imperfect, but it's a starting point.
Note last course and speed.
From the log, from the helm, from memory. Reconstructing the track gives you a search corridor.
Alert crew. Make a definite headcount.
Confirm who is missing. Confirm when they were last seen.
Debrief the crew on where the MOB was last seen; estimate where and when it happened.
Two minutes of interviews can shrink a 5-mile search area to a 1-mile one.
Transmit Mayday.
↗14Emergency CommunicationsDon't wait. You need Coast Guard and other vessels in the search.
Turn to reciprocal course and restore route, accounting for leeway and current.
Backtrack the way you came. Adjust for drift since the estimated incident time.
Mark the estimated event location on the plotter and plan/execute the search.
Visual search corridor on screen, between current position and last MOB position. Assign sectors to crew.
Assign all hands to observation sectors with binoculars or any observation aids.
Cover 360°. Don't all look at the same patch of water.
If the MOB is still not found after the initial backtrack: initiate an expanded search pattern based on current and wind.
Expanding box, sector, or parallel — pattern depends on conditions. Continue until rescue arrives or you exhaust your search.
Once the MOB is recovered:
Get them out of wet clothes. Wrap in dry blankets. Warm liquids if conscious. Watch for cold shock and hypothermia — both can follow a recovery by minutes.
↗07Medical EmergencyIf the search exhausts without recovery:
Continue while practical. Search-and-rescue may continue after you. Document your search pattern and times for the Coast Guard. The job is not over.
↗14Emergency CommunicationsGear for this moment.
The equipment we'd want aboard if this alarm went off right now. Each piece earns its place against a specific step above.
Thrown the instant someone goes in — a tall, visible marker that drifts with the person and shows at night.
View gearThe proven way to make contact and get a tired, cold person back aboard without a second casualty.
View gearWorn, not stowed. If a clipped-on crew still goes over, a personal locator beacon puts your search on a position, not a guess.
View gearAuto-activates in the water and paints the casualty on your own chartplotter — the difference between a search and a recovery when no one saw them go.
View gearSeaWise may earn a small commission on these links — it helps keep the procedures free. We only list gear we'd carry ourselves.
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