Episode 3 – Keeping track of a Man OverBoard

In INSIGHTS Episode 1 we looked at the man going in when we were sailing to windward and how we would get the boat back to him and then a retrieval method using a 6 part tackle.

In INSIGHTS Episode 2 we looked at what we might do if the man went in while we were running downwind under a big downwind sail, a spinnaker or a cruising chute.

In Episode 3 we will look at how we can keep track of a man overboard as we make our way back to him.

The Scene:

Naturally we will hit the MOB button on the chart plotter the minute the man goes in and this will give us a spot to return to. But of course, the man won’t be there for long. He will drift with the wind and the tide or current.

The Reaction:

We can throw markers onto the water – lifebuoys, danbuoys – and detritus – cushions, charts. Anything to mark the area.

But it would be very useful if the MOB had some device with him that would let us or indeed someone else know his position.

A beacon of some sort.

Options:

Systems that alert the mothership: 

There are devices, apps and systems that will alert the mother ship of a man overboard and some of them will provide a bearing and distance to the MOB.

Crew Watcher is one such app that uses a sensor on the crewman linked to a mobile phone via Bluetooth. When the sensor senses water, or if it loses signal from the phone, it activates the alarm. From here the position of the MOB, the bearing and the distance to him are displayed on the phone so you can navigate back to him. The App is free, but 2 Crew Watcher Beacons will cost around £300 for the pair.

There are other similar systems, such as:

• the OLAS wrist tag – £195 for 4 wrist tags;
• NASA Marine MOBi, which seems to just alert you if someone has fallen in, cost £256 for base unit and 3 fobs; and
• MOBOS, a MOB alerting system from Seareq.de that alerts the base station when contact is lost with the beacon.

Systems that alert others of a MOB: 

Stepping up a gear from alarms that let the mother ship know that someone is in the water, or indeed how to get back to them, are those beacons that let others know that a man is in the water.

Here we have 3 options in the leisure sailing world;

1. AIS
2. AIS with DSC alerting
3. Personal Locator Beacon (PLB)

1. AIS Beacons

Automatic Identification System (AIS) beacons are triggered manually in the case of the McMurdo S10 and some of the Weatherdock AIS beacons, or semi automatically in the case of the McMurdo S20, and the Kannad R10, or automatically with the Weather dock auto system. Prices ranging here from £190 to £550. They send a signal via VHF to all AIS receivers nearby giving the lat/long of the MOB and bearing and distance from receiving vessels to him.

2. AIS with DSC Alerting

AIS with DSC alerting sends a DSC call prior to the AIS signal. All AIS/DSC models are capable of sending a full Distress Alert to All Stations but all are governed by the broadcast regulations of the countries in which they are registered.

Rules regarding what DSC transmissions are allowed:

Clearly there is no point having an AIS/DSC MOB device in France or Latvia. Canada are thinking about what to do, but until they have decided, they don’t accept automatic DSC transmission from AIS/DSC beacons.

There are two models in the affordable category (I am classing the Weatherdock Easy Rescue Pro – see right – at £500+ as being expensive).

In the affordable category we have the Ocean Signal MOB 1 and the Weatherdock EasyOne.

The Ocean Signal MOB 1 is semi-automatic. It is activated by the action of the lifejacket inflating. If the lifejacket fails to go off the MOB 1 will not activate, unless the MOB can get to it and activate it manually. If the MOB 1 is not fitted correctly to the lifejacket it also may not activate. It is necessary to have a lateral pull of the tag at 90º to the beacon. And if the lanyard that goes round the uninflated bladder of the lifejacket slips upwards as the lifejacket inflates which can happen in certain lifejackets where the bladder tapers towards the neck then the tag can jam and the beacon will not activate.

I have always been keen on the MOB 1 and the very useful addition of the DSC call to the mother ship or a full All Stations DSC Distress Alert but having seen many MOB 1 installations in lifejackets and noted that they simply would not activate with the inflation of the jacket because they had been wrongly installed by the owner, I am of the view that MOB 1’s should be fitted to lifejackets only by a properly trained lifejacket service centre.

So, when I discovered a number of years ago that Weatherdock were developing an automatic AIS/DSC beacon I was keen to see the end product. I have not been disappointed. The EasyOne AIS/DSC is fully automatic. There is a pill which dissolves on contact with water which activates the unit. You can programme the EasyOne to do anything from an Individual station call to the mother ship, to a group call to a full All Station DSC distress alert, depending on where you register it and the local regulations.

3. Personal Locator Beacons (PLB)

On the Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) front, there are no fully automatic or even semi-automatic models. All models have to be activated manually. So if you hit your head when you fall in and are unconscious, well tough.

The neatest PLB has got to be the Ocean Signal PLB 1.
The most expensive will be the Breitling PLB watch at about £12,000.

A PLB, like an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), sends a signal to the satellites. The PLB 1 finds out where it is and then sends its GPS position and identity up to the Cospas Sarsat weather satellites. This is then sent to the coastguard at Falmouth which will mount the rescue.

So, which type of MOB beacon do you need?

That depends on where you are sailing.

If you are in coastal waters an AIS, or AIS with DSC, is going to attract the attention of a lot of people including the mother ship. A PLB will attract the attention of Falmouth Coastguard only and won’t actually let the mother ship know that there is a man overboard.

An AIS Beacon mid-Atlantic may not alert any vessel other than the mother ship. Similarly an AIS with DSC. A PLB will alert Falmouth Coastguard, but how long will it take for help to arrive?

The most sensible option for my crew and me is the EasyOne AIS. The mother ship will be notified by DSC and then by AIS and can go back and rescue the man. Whether we are in coastal waters or mid-Atlantic the mother ship is likely to be the best and closest rescue option available. The mother ship then should have an EPIRB, because if the mother ship goes down we need to let someone know as we take to the liferaft.

Everyone will have their own view – but that is my ‘Two penny worth’.

I would add that this is not an exhaustive product review – but then you have probably noticed that by now.

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Other MOB Articles by Duncan Wells:

• MOB Episode 1: Return to the man when sailing close hauled and retrieval on board.
• MOB Episode 2: Return to the man when sailing downwind with a large downwind sail set and retrieval onboard.
  
• MOB Episode 4: The Mayday (coming in February 2021).

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About the Author:

Duncan Wells is an RYA instructor and features writer for Yachting Monthly, Sailing Today & Practical Boat Owner and author of Stress Free Sailing, Stress Free Motorboating and Stress Free Navigation. Duncan runs an RYA recognised training centre in Bucks, UK and also created the MOB Life Saver.

• Author – Stress Free Sailing
  
• Author – Stress Free Navigation
  
• Author – Stress Free Motorboating
  
• Author – Stress Free Mooring
  
• Creator – MOB Lifesavers (approved for all current models of SeaSafe, Spinlock, Crewsaver, Baltic and Ocean Safety lifejackets)
• Principal – Westview Sailing
  

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Other INSIGHTS can be found here.

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.