Not always. Man overboard happens in all kinds of weather and if there’s calm weather and a big swell, you can easily lose sight of them. The thermal camera will spot someone in the water, especially in poor light. It’ll have to be fairly close though. You should see some of the Volvo ocean race shots for windy conditions!
Wow! That’s so hardcore. I wonder what they thought the chances of getting that drone back were? Surely that’s pushing the envelope…rain! Salt water? Wind? Landing by being grabbed from the sky? The sailing looked awesome though…
That first link - incredible, especially getting the drone back 
They probably had a box full of Phantoms down below. The boat’s worth millions so what’s a few drones? 
WEIGHT! … and space! Speed is all important!
If you saw how little personal stuff each crew member is allowed to take - and how little space they have to live - I can imagine some crew being jealous of the space taken up by one drone.
That’s amazing. Puts into perspective our fear of putting the MP up under sail with 20kts wind.
I hadn’t thought of that Dave. We usually have two trolley loads for a 2 day trip!
Doesn’t it? I was scared s***less in a slight breeze. Mind you I think a Phantom’s pretty easy to catch 
For situations like this, the Risk Analysis necessary for any professional activity should include the use of drones as a main tool for Search & Rescue (SAR). However, the current UK restrictions determined by the CAA (who’s role is to protect airspace, mainly above 100ft) does not permit the use of them in most UK environments.
The CAA infer that it’s safer to assess the roof of a house with a man up a ladder than it is to send up a 350gram drone equipped with a camera. They would not permit the use of a remotely controlled drone at 100ft above sea level if you couldn’t actually see it, so categorically rendering them useless in most situations.
However, there is a question that needs to be asked about the use of 360 degree cameras (e.g. Samsung Gear 360) on drones because they would enable a remote pilot BETTER than the same visibility, as an onboard pilot and this hasn’t yet been addressed by them.
Drone rescue success
I saw that. Looks like a nice bit of kit.
Moved your post to a thread where it had already been mentioned.
Another positive bit of good news…
