Cruise 2023, Day 17 at sea - We took some time today to conduct a full Man Overboard drill prior to our arrival in Samoa. While we practice Fire & Abandon Ship drills on a weekly basis, this was the first official Man Overboard drill we conducted during this cruise. Our cadets assigned to bridge duty have been practicing their Williamson turns, and this time we actually threw Oscar (our beloved MOB dummy) overboard, lit the buoyant smoke signal, and sent off the Fast Rescue Boat to retrieve Oscar (all shown below).  

Our Bosun tossing Oscar overboard with much flair and gusto. 

Cadets promptly lit the bouyant smoke signal to mark the vicinity where Oscar went overboard. Along with deploying the smoke signal, someone (ideally multiple people) must maintain a clear view of Oscar while pointing in his direction to help others locate him.

Fast Rescue Boat was then deployed - see the cadet pointing in Oscar's direction. 

Oscar was quickly retrieved and brought back to the ship thanks to our FRB team. 

Oscar was then met by medical staff, who brought a rescue stretcher to use to carry him down to Sick Bay.

Oscar was then removed (very gently) from the Fast Rescue Boat and brought down to be examined by our Nurse Practitioner and medical team.

All in all, the drill was successful and Oscar lived to see another day on the TSGB.

 

Check back often and follow the voyage with our blog series that gives the latest news from Summer Cruise! The TSGB will travel to Los Angeles, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Apia, Samoa, Hilo, Hawaii, and Astoria, Oregon prior to returning to Vallejo on July 7.

Stay tuned for updates to the Follow the Voyage blog.