In this month’s episode of Cruise Further, Cruise Safer we demonstrate four techniques for recovering a man overboard
This month on Cruise Further, Cruise Safer, we take a look at arguably the most stressful scenario you can encounter as a skipper: one of your crew has just fallen overboard.
Dealing with this situation can be even harder if the sea state is rough or your boat is not easy to reboard, so in this video we demonstrate four techniques for recovering a man overboard.
Editor Hugo Andreae draws the short straw and dons the lifejacket for our demonstration, giving us a casualty’s-eye view of the situation.
RYA instructor Jon Mendez talks us through his tips for getting Hugo back on deck, starting with the most straightforward: deploying the bathing ladder.
But what if you boat doesn’t have a bathing ladder? Next up is the improvised solution, as Jon ties a loop in a mooring line, which Hugo can then use to get a leg-up.
Our third solution is the dunk technique, in which the man overboard is pushed down into the water and then their natural buoyancy helps them pop back up into an easier position to be recovered.
And finally, we show how to recover a man overboard by using a lowering bathing platform. This technique is particularly useful for injured MOBs, but make sure their limbs are kept well clear of the mechanism.
To see our top tips for recovering a man overboard, click on the video above. And for our full guide to each of these techniques, pick up the June edition of Motor Boat & Yachting, which is out now.
