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What to do if a Man falls Overboard!

It is probably the worst nightmare of every sailing yacht renter… You are not yet completely familiar with the boat, let alone that the crew fully knows how the boat works.
And then it happens… the Skipper falls overboard in an unguarded moment!

Now it’s up to the crew to pick up the skipper from the water, but how?

Start the motor? how is it going on this boat?
Ironing sails? which trap should I have, or how do I roll away the sails?
Call for help? which channel, and how does the VHF actually work?

A lot can go wrong if the skipper in charge falls overboard.
When the engine is started, there can still be a line in the propeller if you are not careful, you can accidentally make a clap jibe with all the associated risks.

Safety while sailing is very important at Happy Sailing. The “man-overboard maneuver” is therefore standard with our Sailing lessons on a sailing yacht in Hoorn.

If your crew is inexperienced, ask one of our skippers for a morning or a full day of training. Here, these safety aspects, as well as mooring in a harbor, box or lock, are discussed again so that everyone on board knows what to do in unexpected situations on the water!

Below is the correct method to get someone out of the water while sailing. This is the safest method and everyone should know this!
It feels a bit strange to first sail away from the drowning person, but by creating this distance you can easily and calmly fish the drowning person out of the water with the sailing yacht!

man overboord

Rent a sailboat and man overboard

This diagram clearly shows that it is best to first sail half wind to about 20x the ship’s length from the drowning person.
Make someone responsible on board to keep an eye on the drowning man! Have this crew member point to the drowning person so that the interim skipper always knows immediately where he or she is in the water.
Then put in a tack and sail a light wind slightly downwards. Now try to estimate when you need to lift up to approach the drowning man on a downwind course. By playing with the shots, the speed of the sailing yacht can be regulated.

Keep a long throwline handy, preferably with a lifebuoy or fender to throw it at the drowning person so that he can climb back on board via the swim ladder.

Look here for our ships and book a skipper for the first day now!