What should you do if someone falls overboard from a sailboat?

Shout "Man overboard", have one person point at them and never look away, throw the lifebuoy and dan buoy, and press the MOB button on the GPS. Send a Mayday, then turn back and approach slowly on a close reach to stop right beside them.

Within seconds of someone falling in, they are hard to see and the boat is sailing away from them. Act at once, in this order.

1. Shout "Man overboard" so the whole crew knows.
2. Point. One person points at the person in the water and keeps pointing, and does nothing else. A head among waves is very easy to lose.
3. Throw the lifebuoy and the dan buoy (a floating pole with a flag), so the person has something to hold and you have something bigger to look for.
4. Mark the position with the MOB button on the plotter or GPS.
5. Send a Mayday on VHF channel 16 straight away. If you get the person back quickly you can cancel it.

Getting back. Under sail, a simple method is to sail on a beam reach for several boat lengths to give yourself room, tack, and come back on a broad reach, passing a little downwind of the person. When the person bears about 60 degrees off the wind from you, turn towards them so the final approach is on a close reach. On a close reach you can control your speed: let the sails out to slow down, pull them in to speed up. Another method is the quick stop: turn straight into the wind and tack without letting go of the jib sheet, so the backed jib stops the boat close by.

The approach. Come in slowly and stop with the person beside the middle of the boat. Under engine, put it in neutral well before you get close, and keep it there until they are out of the water.

Getting them aboard. Get a line to them first so they can't drift away. Use a boarding ladder, a sling, or a halyard clipped to their lifejacket and winched in. Then get them warm and dry, and call for medical help if they are injured, very cold or have breathed in water.

The commonest mistake is coming back too fast and sailing past. Practise with a fender until the crew can do the drill without thinking.

More in the book: Chapter 12, Man overboard