Crew over board 1.

When we practice a crew over board drill, we normally throw a fender over the side and recover it with a boat hook.

In practice, a person's weight would make a boat hook useless when attempting to retain contact with the person in the water.

You really need a rope with a loop in the end. Many people will struggle when under pressure to tie a Bowline so this is not the best knot to train your crew to use in this situation.

If the rope's end is doubled over and a simple overhand knot tied, a loop is created that can be quickly adjusted to a suitable size. The person in the water can then be secured to the vessel whilst you work out how to recover them from the water.

This approach has the advantage that anyone can learn to tie a loop in seconds.

This action must be included in your training drills at some point in an attempt to make the drill a close to what you would do in the real situation as possible.

 

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