Don’t Become a Man-Overboard Statistic

While having a casual conversation with a group of fellow offshore fishermen and captains, a question was posed to the group: “What is everyone’s single greatest fear while fishing offshore?” After hearing a few joking answers regarding losing a tournament winning marlin or having to put up with a problematic guest, I related my biggest fear. That is, falling overboard at night unnoticed and watching the boat steam away. The thought of such an occurrence is terrifying to me, and after mentioning this to the group most everyone agreed. Not only would it be scary, but in most situations, it could be deadly. Especially when there are rough seas and chilly water.

There are some stories of the miraculous survival of a manoverboard at sea. One was the commercial boat captain who fell overboard off Panama City Beach, Florida, during the summer of 2022. At 2 a.m., while the rest of the crew slept, the captain stepped outside to relieve himself and fell over. With no life jacket, the captain tread water for over seven hours before a local charter boat stumbled upon him—still alive.

One of the most recent man-overboard situations happened when an intoxicated passenger fell off a Carnival Cruise ship offshore of New Orleans, Louisiana. He was in the water nearly 20 hours before being rescued. The U.S. Coast Guard said he was “at the limit of human survival” when he was plucked from the water by the rescue swimmer.

“One of the main things I stress to my crew and my guests is to never go out in the cockpit alone while underway, even during the day,” says Capt. Jim Little. Little runs the 64’ Viking, Set A Course, out of Panama City Beach, Florida, and regularly makes multi-day trips into the Gulf of Mexico. “We also always have two people on the bridge at night while running. If either person needs to climb down the ladder, they always have another set of eyes in case something goes wrong. If the seas are rough, losing your footing or grip up in the bridge is a real possibility, and if I was by myself up there and fell over, no one would know for quite some time,” he says.

No one wants to leave their survival in Lady Luck’s hands.

Drinking alcohol can also compound the risks of making an ill-fated decision and falling overboard while offshore. Capt. Little relates that he keeps a close eye on any guests that may have had a little too much.

A center console can pose the same risks of losing someone overboard. However, the situations where someone could fall over unnoticed are a little different due to the open layout of the vessel and the proximity to other passengers on a smaller boat. The most dangerous man-overboard situation on a center console is a solo operator with no passengers. Something as simple as stepping away from the helm to grab a drink, check a trolling bait or use the restroom could result in a person in the water. Wearing a kill switch while underway is necessary, and with the variety of wireless kill switches available such as those offered by Fell Marine and ACR, the hassle of being strapped to the dash is a thing of the past. Those operating solo should also always wear a PFD. With the small and comfortable nature of modern self-inflating jackets, there is simply no good reason not to.

Capt. Chuck Bonner operates a 26’ Regulator out of Destin, Florida. Bonner regularly runs across the Choctawhatchee Bay before and after daylight transiting to his dock to pick up guests. In addition to always wearing a kill-switch and PFD, Bonner also keeps a strobe light and personal locator beacon zip-tied to his PDF. 

“My main concern in an overboard situation in the bay is being struck by another vessel. There are all kinds of boats in the bay, and in hours of limited visibility or thick fog, I want to be as visible as possible in the water to avoid being run over,” says Capt. Bonner.

The causes and exact details of each man-overboard occurrence are always slightly different. However, complacency is a contributing factor that’s common to almost all of them, especially those which happen on fishing boats with experienced crews. A reason for survival in these man-overboard events is almost always luck coupled with an incredible will to survive. No one wants to leave their survival in Lady Luck’s hands. I urge you to take your safety seriously. Think through your plan for both yourself and your crew to avoid ending up a statistic. Just remember, everyone thinks it won’t happen to them until they are watching their boat slide over the horizon without them.

This article first appeared in our InTheBite Sportfishing Magazine. If you like reading this you’ll love reading our magazine delivered 8x per year. Don’t delay Subscribe today. Click Here