My understanding is that you are much more likely to drown if you are dragged ''behind'' the boat than if you are dragged at the side. So make sure your jackline terminates forward enough so you don''t end up behind the boat. The other thing I''ve done is to drag a ''step'' on both sides of the boat. Basically, I just leave a 4'' length of jackline past its attachment point, put a loop into the end of that end, and drag it overboard. Now, if I fall overboard, get dragged to the aft end of the
line, I have a loop to step into and pull myself back on board (or so the theory goes ;-).
...Chris