In an emergency the skipper gives the orders, but the first seconds often belong to whoever is nearest. Learn the first actions by heart, and how to call for help if the skipper cannot.
What should I do first if someone falls overboard?
Shout "Man overboard!", throw the lifebuoy and danbuoy, point at the person without looking away, and press the plotter's MOB button to mark the position. The radio call comes after these four.
A head among the waves is very easy to lose, which is why the alarm, the buoys and the marked position come before anything else. The radio call comes after them. If it is the skipper who is in the water, you do the same four things.
Can I put water on a burning pan of oil on a boat?
No: water makes burning oil erupt. Turn the gas off and cover the pan with the fire blanket. Fuel fires need powder, foam or CO2, wiring needs the power off first, and only fabric, wood or paper takes water.
What you put on a fire depends on what is burning. Water is right for some fires and makes others much worse.
| What burns | Use | Never |
|---|---|---|
| Oil or fat in a pan | Gas off, cover with the fire blanket | Water: the burning oil erupts |
| Diesel, petrol | Powder, foam or CO2 extinguisher | Water: it spreads the fuel |
| Fabric, wood, paper | Water, and plenty of it | — |
| Wiring | Power off, then powder or CO2 | Water |
There's water over the floorboards: how do I tell where it's coming from?
Taste it: salt water means the sea is getting in, so check the seacocks and their hoses, the heads and the engine space. Fresh water means a leaking tank or pipe, which empties the tank but will not sink you.
Water over the floorboards: tell the skipper at once, then help to look for the source. Pumps only buy time; finding and stopping the leak saves the boat.
Below the waterline: where the sea can get in.
Taste the water. Salt means the sea is coming in: look at the seacocks and their hoses, the heads and the engine space. Fresh means the boat's own water tank or its pipes are leaking, which empties the tank but will not sink you.
How do I send a MAYDAY on the VHF if the skipper can't?
Press and hold the red DISTRESS button until the set confirms, then on channel 16, high power, say MAYDAY three times, the yacht's name three times, your position, what is wrong, the help needed, people aboard, and OVER.
If the skipper cannot make the call, you must. First the red DISTRESS button under its flap: press and hold it until the set confirms. It sends an automatic alert with the boat's identity and, if a GPS is connected, her position.
Then your voice: channel 16, high power for the longest range. Press the button on the microphone to talk and let go to listen.
The position comes first, read off the plotter, so that help can set out even if the radio then fails. Speak slowly. No answer: say it again.
How do I treat a burn or scald on a boat?
Cool the burn under running water for 20 minutes, then cover it loosely with cling film, and tell the skipper, who can get medical advice by radio.
You are not the doctor. Make the person safe, do the simple right thing and tell the skipper, who can get medical advice by radio.
| Problem | Signs | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Hypothermia | Hard shivering, blue lips after time in the water | Shelter, dry clothes, blankets, a warm sweet drink if alert. No alcohol |
| Burn or scald | Red or blistered skin | Cool running water for 20 minutes, then cover loosely with cling film |
| Blow to the head | Confusion, the same question again and again | Keep them still, watch them, tell the skipper now |
| Heat exhaustion | Headache, dizziness, heavy sweat, pale clammy skin | Shade, lie down, cool with water, sips of fluid |
| Long seasickness | Sick for hours, keeps no water down, little urine | Small sips often; tell the skipper |
Someone unconscious but breathing normally goes on their side in the recovery position: the airway stays open and vomit can drain out. Stay with them.
When should we leave the yacht and get into the liferaft?
Only on the skipper's order, when the yacht is really going down: stay with her as long as she floats, since she is bigger, drier and easier to see. You step up into the liferaft, not down.
The yacht is the best lifeboat you have: bigger, drier, easier to see, with water, food and a radio. A liferaft is small, wet and cold. So you leave only on the skipper's order, when the yacht is really going down.
| Situation | What you do |
|---|---|
| Damaged or taking water, but afloat | Stay aboard: pump, call for help, get the raft ready |
| Sinking under you | Step up into the raft |
Stay with the yacht as long as she floats. You should step up into the liferaft, not down.
Questions from this topic, as the app asks them. Open one to see the answer.
The skipper makes you the spotter while the boat turns back. What is your job?
B. Point at the person and never look away
The spotter keeps eyes and an arm on the casualty until they are back alongside.
A pan of cooking oil catches fire on the stove. What do you do?
A. Turn off the gas and cover it with the fire blanket
Smother a fat fire; water makes burning oil erupt out of the pan.
You go below and find this. What do you do first?
D. Tell the skipper, then help find where it comes in
The skipper must know at once; finding the source matters more than pumping.
After 'MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY, this is yacht ORCA…', what do you say?
D. Position, what is wrong, help needed, people aboard
Where you are comes first, then the problem, the help you need and how many are aboard.
How do you look after this crew member?
A. Shelter, dry clothes, blankets, a warm sweet drink
Warm them gently: out of the wind, dry layers, a warm drink if alert — never alcohol.
A guest wants to get into the raft right now. When do you get in?
C. When the yacht is going down — step up into it
Stay aboard as long as you can: you should step up into the raft as the yacht sinks.
All 20 questions of this topic are in the app: practice by topic with the reason after every answer, your mistakes brought back, and a timed mock exam. Free, no sign-up, in the browser or in Telegram.