200712 Man overboard from sailing vessel

Approaching port, sail was beginning to be taken in. The ship was on a run at seven knots under topsails, topgallants, fore and main topmast staysails, wind on starboard quarter, yards squared.

The mate on the foredeck ordered an overweight and inexperienced trainee to join the two people already out on the jib boom to furl the jib. The error was compounded by failure to notice that the trainee was not wearing a safety belt, nor did she put one on before proceeding out on the bowsprit towards the jib boom. The trainee fell overboard from the bowsprit, plunging straight down. She was observed by those furling the jib, who instantly cried 'man overboard'. Fortunately, the trainee overboard did not get run down by the ship: she came up to the surface just in time to grab hold of the anchor cable hanging in a shallow bight from the hawse pipe to the cathead. The helm was immediately put hard down to throw the ship up into the wind and get way off. Life buoys, assorted personal flotation aids and immersion suits were rapidly thrown over the side.

The trainee was unable to hang on as the ship came head to wind but by the time she lost her grip, the ship was nearly stopped. She was sighted about 25 yards off starboard beam, a rescue boat was launched; and the trainee was recovered uninjured in about four minutes from the initial alarm. It took about another 10 minutes to retrieve the plethora of gear that had been thrown over.

Root causes/contributory factors
The master did not properly instruct officers on their responsibilities for safety of trainees. This mate was young for the job, an excellent rigger and a fine seaman by some standards but he turned out to have a real blind spot in dealing with those of lesser ability.
The mate should never have ordered the trainee out on the headrig, let alone permitted her to leave the deck without her safety belt, even if she had volunteered for the job.
On joining the ship, trainees were told that working aloft or on the headrig was optional; however the culture of the ship at the time emphasised service to ship and shipmates and this created some peer pressure to jump into the work at hand.
The footropes and stirrups were too widely spaced to qualify as a net, allowing the falling trainee to slip through.

Corrective actions/lessons learnt
Professional crew training places increased emphasis on responsibility for the safety of trainees. More attention must be paid to assessment of ability and closer supervision.
Trainee orientation places greater emphasis on safety, making aloft work mandatory for the professional crew only and voluntary for trainees with no stigma for non-climbers.
Trainees should be advised that service to the ship includes keeping themselves alive and not becoming 'rig martyrs', that they should speak up if ordered to do something beyond their ability on deck or aloft.
There should be protocols in place for one-on-one instruction and supervision of trainees venturing aloft first time. This obviously improves the trainees' ability and also informs the professional crew about who needs more help or should be restricted to the deck.
Safety belts should be replaced by harnesses which are worn at all times by the climbing members of the watch on deck, avoiding a scramble to don safety gear just before taking sail in. Clipping in to backropes is mandatory and should be watched for by mates.
Improvements should be made to headgear, footropes and net.