Man overboard at sea.
Documented man overboard incidents from the Logbook — 16 records, each with sources, lessons, and the SeaWise procedures that address it.
← Search & filter the full LogbookA crew member in the water is a race against cold, distance, and the crew's own panic. The man-overboard incidents here turn on the first thirty seconds — eyes on the person, a mark dropped, an alert raised — and on whether the recovery was ever practised before it was needed. Nearly every good outcome shares two things: a life jacket, and a crew who had drilled the turn.
Late on 27 June 2026, a couple moored to a buoy off Langholz in the Baltic's Eckernförde Bay went below in a thunderstorm; their sailboat broke loose and drifted. As DGzRS rescuers towed it in, a gust to force 10 capsized the boat and threw both into the water. The crew pulled the pair from the dark sea unhurt.
On the stormy night of 27–28 June 2026, a couple sheltered below on their sailboat, made fast to a mooring buoy in Eckernförde Bay on the western Baltic. The mooring failed and the boat drifted; a DGzRS lifeboat found them aboard and began a tow. Then a second thunderstorm hit with gusts to force 10, capsized the boat under tow, and threw both into the dark water — the lifeboat crew pulled both out unhurt within minutes.
Around midday on Monday 29 June 2026, a sailboat capsized on the Traunsee near Traunkirchen in Upper Austria. The single person aboard stayed with the boat and was recovered unhurt by fire and water-rescue crews, who ended the operation after about 45 minutes. The cause of the capsize was not established.
On the morning of 27 June 2026, the Penghu-registered yacht 'Daily Ocean' took on water in rough seas about two nautical miles off Dongji Islet, then lost power and capsized on a diving outing. All four aboard, including a captain surnamed Lee, went into the water and were pulled out by the nearby fishing vessel 'San Chuan Fa' before the coast guard arrived.
Around midday on Saturday 20 June 2026, a sailing yacht caught fire approaching Palma harbour, Mallorca, with four people aboard. Two of the crew jumped into the sea to escape the flames and were pulled out by Real Club Náutico de Palma marina staff, alerted over the port radio channel. One man was seriously hurt — a deep, bleeding leg wound, and semi-conscious — and the Palma fire brigade extinguished the blaze. The cause is unknown.
On Saturday 16 May 2026, a sudden strong gust capsized a sailboat on the Lippesee, a lake near Paderborn in Germany, putting its three-person crew into the water. A DLRG rescue boat already on patrol nearby reached them quickly and brought all three out of the water safely. No injuries were reported.
On the night of 12 April 2026, a sailboat overturned at the entrance to Oceanside Harbor, California, spilling its two occupants into strong currents and breaking surf. Oceanside lifeguards aboard a Marine Safety vessel pulled both from the water. One person was taken to hospital in stable condition and the other was treated at the scene; neither was seriously hurt.
Three of the four crew were thrown from the cockpit of the 10.8 m yacht Mollie Louise when she was knocked down in heavy seas 25 nm off the Humber estuary; all wore lifejackets but no safety lines, and one of the three died before the rescue helicopter recovered them.
The 40 ft Beneteau First Cheeki Rafiki lost its keel and capsized 720 nm SE of Nova Scotia during a delivery passage; four British crew lost.
At 0027 on a dark, rough night on 18 June 2011, the skipper of the Reflex 38 racing yacht Lion went over the bow 14.5 miles south of Selsey Bill — wearing a lifejacket and clipped on. Still attached by his 1.8 m tether, he was towed at 9 knots, pinned against the leeward side, before the crew could slow the boat. It took 16 minutes to recover him to deck, where he was pronounced dead.
David Cottle was washed overboard during gale-force conditions and recovered by a Liberian-registered tanker after 70 minutes in the water.
On 21 June 2006, during a sailing-club race off Holyhead, the skipper of the 8-metre yacht Huw Jars fell overboard. He was not wearing a lifejacket. The crew recovered him within about ten minutes, but he had drowned. The MAIB urged the club to require lifejackets, ensure a competent backup crew member can take over if the skipper goes over or is incapacitated, and establish man-overboard procedures and equipment.
On the night of 17 March 2006, during a delivery of the 9 m yacht Pastime from Hamble to Plymouth, the delivery skipper went overboard at about 2330 — not wearing his lifeline. Electrical failures had knocked out the GPS, and the VHF soon stopped working, so the owner could not pass a position. Three RNLI lifeboats, five merchant ships and a coastguard helicopter searched; the skipper's body and the yacht were eventually found.
On 21 June 2005, ending a delivery from southeast Spain to Ipswich, the 11.2 m sailing yacht Siesta ran aground at night on the Long Sand in the Thames Estuary. After attempts to heel and motor her off failed, the skipper went over the side with a rope around his waist to lay a kedge anchor; the line fouled the propeller and dragged him under. A crewman freed him, but he died despite a helicopter evacuation.
A sailing student was knocked overboard by the boom when the Etchells 22 keelboat Wahoo gybed accidentally off Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. Two instructors following in a diesel launch could not recover him from the water; though he at first reported no injuries, he quickly tired, lost consciousness, and — despite continuous resuscitation — was later declared dead.
On 7 August 1999 the yacht Bluebell of Warsash was struck on her starboard side by the bulbous bow of an unidentified ship about 23 miles south of The Needles, Isle of Wight. One of the four crew threw himself over the side just before impact and was recovered; three crew were injured, two airlifted to hospital. The yacht reached the Needles, met an RNLI lifeboat, and was towed to Yarmouth. The ship was never identified.