When it comes to safety at sea, your crewmates, family and friends play a huge part in ensuring you come home and dry. Simply put, your community is your lifeline. That’s why this short film was kindly voiced by two fishermen, Brian, from Northern Ireland, and Simon, from Norfolk, who are right at the heart of their communities.
From starting fishing as young lads, to now both acting as Chief Executives of local fishing organisations, they’ve been part of the community and industry all their lives – have a read of their stories and safety advice below.
Overwhelmed by all the safety advice available to read? Unsure what equipment you need, which drills to run, or how to complete a risk assessment? We have compiled the key information you need to help avoid MOB into a single toolkit.
Click the link to download the file. Save it to your phone or bookmark this page for quick access at any time.
How long could you stay afloat at sea? The Man Overboard (MOB) training course run by Seafish and the RNLI is designed to test exactly this, helping you to understand, in a realistic but safe environment, what going overboard could be like.
From practical advice on how to wear a PFD and use life saving equipment, to what steps to take to avoid MOB in the first place, the course is designed to give you the best chance of coming home and dry. Hear from crew mates, single-handed fishermen and training providers below to find out more about the day.
Brian Chambers is a single-handed, 8th generation fisherman, fishing for crab and lobster from Annalong Harbour, Northern Ireland.
“As an 8th generation fisherman, going into the profession was never much of a choice,” shared Brian. “It was always a passion of mine, I was always out during the summer holidays as a kid with my dad. It is a rare opportunity to make a living doing something you love.
Safety is also hugely important to me having lost my cousin at sea. He worked on a small under 10m crabber, similar to my own boat, and that has driven my passion to enhance safety at sea.”
Simon Bywater fishes for crab and lobster on a 19ft vessel from East Runton, Norfolk. From starting in the family business to turning his hand to training, Simon is at the heart of fishing life across the East coast and beyond.
“My brother’s boat, with 2 on board, sank in May 1981 – they had one life ring and a spare buoy and were picked up by the lifeboat 40 minutes later in the late stages of hypothermia. They were very lucky.
My advice for anyone to prevent MOB would be to think what could go wrong when shooting pots and take preventative actions. Do risk assessments, separate ropes, have a knife on you, know what to do if you go over and always wear a life jacket with PLB.”
Fishermen’s Safety Trainer from Man Overboard awareness event.