Man Overboard drill
This is a drill where an object (representing a person) is thrown out of a boat at speed and you are asked to recover it. Many testing officers have their own variation and it may be wise to check with them first.
Here are some points to consider when performing this activity: Tell someone to watch and point to ‘the person’ all the time until the rescue is complete. A GPS can be used to fix this position. If conditions are such that you cannot immediately turn the boat around, throw a life buoy or something buoyant into the water to use as a marker. This will increase your chances of returning to the right place quickly. Turn the boat around safely and head back towards ‘the person’. When near ‘the person’, bring the boat up into the wind (or into the current if it is stronger than the wind). If you have a quoit and line, heave it to ‘the person’ in the water and haul alongside. If no Line is available, drive the boat close to ‘the person’. Once you have contact with ‘the person’ in the water cut the motor. If this could endanger the vessel then go into neutral and don’t cut the motor (the type of situation that determines this action is bar crossings, very rough weather or there is a problem in restarting the motor). If the boat is a small dinghy, retrieve ‘the person’ over the stern, so as to avoid capsizing the boat. Care should be taken not to injure ‘the person’, with the prop. For other boats retrive ’the person’ at the side of the boat. If there is difficulty getting ‘the person’ on board rig a rope (the anchor line will do if nothing else is available) by trying it onto the boat at bow or stern and allowing the bight to fall into the water where it can be used as a step to assist recovery. |