Emergencies and responses Man overboard Distress signals Losing someone overboard is one of the most dangerous events in sailing.  If someone goes overboard : If you have a motor, start it at about step 5 to give  you more control on the approach. Make sure the motor is in neutral however when you attempt to get the  victim back on board, it would be unfortunate to suck a person or a rope into the propeller! Getting the victim back on board will not be an easy task. Sailing boats have high sides and the victim might  be injured or unconscious. Use every available hand to pull them on board. If you cannot find the victim, don’t hesitate to put out a Mayday call on the radio (see Radio below).  If you need to signal for help there are a lot of ways you can do this :  Also possible - flag upside down, strobe, dye marker, orange flag (so be careful what you hang on your  washing line!) 1. Alert the rest of the crew by shouting "MAN  OVERBOARD" as loudly as possible 2. The helmsman immediately heaves-to if  possible (i.e. tack the boat but do not tack  the jib, and reverse the helm) 3. Throw the victim any thing which might float:  life jackets; life rings; cushions; eskies;  inflatable sex toys; etc. 4. Someone who is not steering points at the  victim (it’s very easy to lose a person against  the background of the sea) 5. If the person is not recovered immediately,  the helmsman falls off onto a  beam reach ,  sailing downwind of the victim (someone  must still point at them!) 6. Turn into the wind and tack, heading back  past the victim (keep victim on your  windward side, always upwind of you) 7. When the victim is close, into the wind turn  into the wind and drop the jib (effectively  slowing or stopping the boat).  8. Coast up to the victim and bring the person  on board. 1. Mayday on radio 2. Continuous sound signals from a horn or bell 3. Firing a gun at repeated intervals 4. Rocket or handheld flare 5. Orange smoke 6. Open flames on deck 7. Code flags "NC" 8. SOS by any means 9. Raising both arms over head (straight up i.e. “pick me up”) 10. Square flag raised above or below a ball Wind 7. 1. X 2. 5. 6. 8. Figure 9