The OneUp Pro is a rescue collar that inflates automatically when it comes into contact with water
The biggest nightmare of all sailors comes true when a crew member goes overboard. The maneuver to steer the boat back to the person in the water is one of the most important subjects in any sailing school and is practiced even more intensely than mooring and casting off. The ability to maneuver the boat back to the buoy (which represents the person in the exercise) and to stop next to it is also decisive for passing the test for the recreational boat license.
With the POB-Net, a hypothermic person can be gently taken out of the water horizontally. This works even when she is unconscious and only one sailor is on board
Nevertheless, the MOB maneuver only covers half of what is necessary to save a fellow sailor in a real emergency. Because after the boat has been steered to the person in the water, they must finally get on board again. In the best case scenario, she simply climbs up the bathing ladder and comes back on deck on her own.
USafe has reinvented the lifebuoy. Instead of throwing it far or maneuvering the yacht into position, the MOB is quickly brought back to the boat by remote control
However, this can be difficult or even impossible with wet clothes and exhausted from a strenuous day of sailing and swimming in the water. Especially in spring, cold water comes in with only a short period of mobility. If it is then impossible to get on board, special rescue equipment can help.
We have tried three new systems that promise help in the case of MOB: the POB-Net when rescuing a hypothermic and incapable of action, the USafe to get them back to the yacht, and the OneUp, which is supposed to work like a conventional life collar. We tried all three under real conditions with a test person in the water on the Flensburg Fjord.
