There can be no doubt that highly-excited feelings always stand in the way of exact discipline, and especially of that prompt, hearty, and thoroughly confiding obedience to the officer under whose orders we are serving.

Such obedience is necessary on this occasion, above all others, and is essentially required, in order to accomplish the purpose in view.
Different officers will, of course, devise different plans for the accomplishment of the same end.

Every one who has been exposed to the misery of seeing a man fall overboard must remember that by far the greatest difficulty was to keep people back, there being always ten times as many persons as are required, not only ready, but eager to place themselves in the situations of greatest risk.

In executing the duties of a ship-of-war, there should be no volunteering allowed.
Every man ought to have a specific duty, or a set of duties, to perform at all times.

But these duties, in the case of a man falling overboard, must, of course, vary with the hour of the day or night, with the circumstance of its being the starboard or the larboard watch on deck, with the weather being fine or tempestuous, or with the course the ship is steering relatively to the wind, the quantity of sail, and so on.