Man overboard rescue turn

[2] The man overboard rescue turn is often carried out as part of regular drills on merchant ships as a requirement of the SOLAS Convention.

For Sailing ships, the quick turn is the traditional response to a man overboard emergency on a sailboat.

Certainly when the crew is shorthanded, or when the vessel is in heavy weather, the quick turn method has a lot of merit because it avoids a jibe.

On a sailboat it consists of the following steps: The Williamson turn is an alternative manoeuvre used to bring a ship or boat under power back to a point it previously passed through, often for the purpose of recovering a casualty at sea.

However, according to Uncommon Carriers by John McPhee, the maneuver was originally called the "Butakov pipe" and was used in the Russo-Japanese War as a way of keeping guns at the same distance from an enemy.

[5] The Williamson turn is the most preferred maneuver by navigating officers onboard ship as it can be used in any condition of visibility and weather.

when the heading is 20 degrees from the reciprocal course, the rudder should be placed amidships and engines stopped to bring the vessel alongside the casualty.