The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) has issued a clarification after several newspapers reported that it had labelled the term ‘man overboard’ offensive.
Numerous media outlets picked up a story published by The Telegraph on 13 September 2025, titled “‘Man overboard’ is offensive term, says Royal Yachting Association”.
The original article stated that the RYA has deemed the phrase man overboard “an offensive term that should be avoided” to “honour and value” women and non-binary people, and has suggested it should be replaced with “person in water”, a term from its inclusive language guide.
The RYA’s inclusive language guide was developed in 2022 and published in 2023. It is not clear what prompted The Telegraph to publish the story this month.
Within 24 hours, stories on the subject had been published by numerous outlets, including GB News, LBC, the Daily Star and Joe.co.uk, all with headlines incorrectly claiming that the RYA had deemed the term ‘offensive’. An op-ed later appeared in the Spectator asking ‘Will inclusion sink ‘man overboard’?’.
John Hayes, a Conservative MP and the chairman of the informal ‘Common Sense’ policy group, was quoted by several outlets as saying: “Many old sorts would be turning in their graves if they saw such balderdash.”
The RYA is the UK’s national governing body for sailing and water sports, including dinghy and sail cruising, windsurfing, racing and personal watercraft.
In response to the headlines, the RYA issued a statement aimed at quelling confusion, making clear it is not asking sailors to avoid using the phrase ‘man overboard’ in emergencies, and does not consider it offensive.
The RYA stressed that safety procedures remain its priority, noting that ‘man overboard’ is a standardised command embedded in training, equipment and international protocols, and therefore must remain unchanged in emergency use. Its language guidance, it says, is designed to offer suggestions for more inclusive terms that can be used in non-emergency situations.
“You may have spotted the RYA making headlines this week, and we want to clarify our position,” the association stated. “To confirm, our guidance states we recommend the use of the phrase ‘man overboard’ as it is a universally recognised term and one that is tightly woven into emergency procedures, electronic equipment, training and official documents. This has not changed.
“We do, however, recognise that the language we all use is continually evolving. The ‘RYA Inclusive Language Guidance: Modern Day Manners’ was created and made available for our network of clubs and centres online back in 2023. It exists to offer a range of alternative terms we can all use in non-emergency situations for when inclusive language might feel more appropriate, so that everyone feels welcome both on and off the water.
“As always, we thank you for your valued support and hope this provides reassurance as safety will always remain at the heart of what we do at the RYA.”
The RYA Inclusive Language Guidance: Modern Day Manners was developed in 2022 and can be viewed online. RYA says the guide was “highly requested” by numerous stakeholders of the RYA.
The guidance also includes suggestions such as using “chair” or “chairperson” instead of “chairman”, “cooking and cleaning duties” instead of “mother duties”, and “sporting behaviour” instead of “sportsmanship”.
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