I think the low expectation for the number of drownings due to falling overboard from a 26-40' sailboat is because falls overboard are themselves exceedingly rare. Life-lines, jacklines & tethers, numerous hand-holds, non-skid decks, and the high occurrence in modern boats of "all lines led aft to the cockpit" help keep crew on the boat. Add granny bars in the older boats, & then roller furling & reefing headsails and mainsails, all designed to minimize the risk of being pitched overboard while tending the sails, etc. When you do read the occasional magazine article of husband overboard, etc., the wife manages to get the boat back and to get him back aboard. So, well placed MOB recovery equipment and recovery practice routines really only backstop the existing very low likelihood that a crew (at least a non-racing one) will even fall overboard to begin with (and then drown) if using common sense and the devices in place to help one remain aboard.
That said, some of this discussion has nevertheless made me think about being in the water as a MOB when the wind and sea are up. Namely, trying to face toward the boat while bobbing and getting washed over. Perhaps not too hard if your back is toward sea and the boat downwind of you; but what if you get downwind of it? Your comment on diving suggests to me that a snorkel and a small pair of goggles be included in a rescue (MOB) pack so the victim could at least breathe and see what's going on around him/her w/o salt spray in the eyes and mouth. One cannot really "climb aboard" one of those life rings. A proper LJ should keep your head and mouth out of the water (if you're wearing one when you hit the water--but most people do not wear one aboard), but what about wind blown spray or, forbid, spume?
