KNOWLEDGE OF: 

• Recovery of Man Overboard

UNDERSTANDS: 

• Cold shock
• How & when to raise the alarm

CAN: 

• Take immediate action 
• Observe the man overboard
• Carry out correct return with awareness of propellor
• Approach and recover the 'man' in the water (small weighted buoy)
• Demonstrate both drift down and into wind approach method
• Switch engine off

Aim: To recover a person (dummy in this case) safely from the water

PREPARATION:

• Brief crew (tasks such as pointing to the MOB, simulating VHF Mayday Call, preparing 1st aid kit if required)
• Establish direction of wind (only)

APPROACH: 

• Position the boat 6 - 8 boat lengths down-wind of the MOB
• Approach into the wind at a dead-slow speed

MANOUVERE:

• Boat to be stopped in the water with the MOB approximately 1/3 to 1/2 way from the bow, ideally on the opposite side to the throttle when crew are onboard 
• When contact is established remove the killcord therefore turning off the engine. 
• MOB retrieval

ESCAPE:

• If travelling on the wrong approach or too quickly so you are unable to end up stopped next to the MOB decide early and change direction or put the engine into neutral to drift away from the MOB

PREPARATION:

• Brief crew (tasks such as pointing to the MOB, simulating VHF Mayday Call, preparing 1st aid kit if required)
• Establish direction of wind (only)

APPROACH: 

• Position the boat 2 - 4 boat lengths up-wind of the MOB and at 90 degrees to the wind

MANOUVERE:

• Keep the MOB approximately 1/3 to 1/2 way back from the bow, ideally on the opposite side to the throttle when crew are onboard. 
• Allow the boat to drift down towards the MOB leaving the engine running to enable you to make small boat movements to retain position
• When contact is established remove the killcord therefore turning off the engine. 
• MOB retrieval

ESCAPE:

• If you drift out of line with the MOB & you are over 2 boat lengths away adjust your position using Forward / Reverse gear. 
• If you are positioned badly closer than 2 boat lengths away, turn the engine off regardless & allow the boat to drift past the MOB or retrieve them if you are able. 

Regardless of whether you are teaching the 'approach from downwind' or 'Approach from upwind' method there are a few key teaching points to remember:-

- Introduce contacting the emergency services early - much of the time this subject is loosely brushed over but it is essential and therefore should be covered in significant detail. The most important part being WHEN you contact the emergency services - if you are operating coastally it is essential to call in a MAYDAY as soon as you realise you have an MOB situation, it is better to then contact the Coastguard to cancel the MAYDAY than to wait until you have retrieved the MOB with precious and possible lifesaving time lost in the process. In addition, dependant on the number of people onboard the craft, if you are the one actively taking part in the person recovery process or if you are needed to give first aid how are you going to find the time to then make a MAYDAY call, inbetween rescue breaths? Fairly unlikely... 

- In previous years we always taught our students to immediately 'turn towards the MOB' to make sure the prop is as far away from them as possible. This originated from large ships where if someone fell there was significant time for this procedure to impact the MOB - with smaller powerboats this is fairly pointless as by the time you realise you have an MOB they are usually a fair distance behind you. It is therefore stated that there is no need to teach this in the procedure. 

- Which side to recover your MOB? - it is fairly standard practice to pick up your MOB on the opposite side to the controls (throttle) but do you know the reason why? The thought behind this is that if for any reason the engine is not turned off at the moment of contact that either the throttle may be knocked into gear by crew moving around the boat (a particular issue on those throttles that do not have a neutral lock) also because if the MOB is concious they will be grappling for anything to hold onto to aid them in getting back onboard. This could not only cause a risk of engaging gear but also of damaing the controls. Lastly, the advantage of getting your students to pick up on the opposite side to the controls is because the helm will be required to physically move away from the console to assist in the recovery of the MOB - by doing this if in the 'heat of the moment' they have forgotton to turn the engine off their movement away from the controls will pull the killcord out thus stopping the engine. Primarily we will always teach our students to turn the engine off through use of the key or pulling the killcord but we must also be aware that we need a secondary back up as a 'real' MOB situation is extremely stressful and it is unlikely they will remember every step of the procedure so by having as many 'back up' plans as possible will always help!

Update Feb 2013:- ALL RYA instructors must now include information on Cold Water shock risks to their courses

Corkscrew recovery

With the MOB facing the boat with hands over head, cross your forearms and using a hand to wrist grip lift and twist the MOB up and onto the gunwhale of the boat. 

Feet first

Making sure the lifejacket is inflated, float your MOB onto his back, lift his feet over the side of the boat, pull them forward so the back of the knees are butted against the side of the vessel, straddle the lower legs, bend forward, grasp the upper arm of your MOB and roll the MOB forward until they are in a sitting position on the side of the vessel.