When I was in the Navy we practiced recovering a man overboard and had exacting procedures in place. The only time we never recovered anyone was if they went overboard without anyone seeing it or if there was a storm blowing. (I remember reading about a Marine that went overboard a few years ago. They didn't see him go overboard and he was found three days later by a fishing ship. He stayed afloat by making a life preserver out of his trousers, a trick we are taught in boot camp.)
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