Dave's maneuvering sounds like it would take a bit of time to do. The reaching off would definitely take the boat away from the victim, making it more difficult to keep him in view. Our club held a MOB drill during a race last month. The Sailing Instructions called for each boat to be issued a watermelon to serve as "victim". Watermelons are about the size of a person's head, and don't blow around the way cushions or other "victims" might. About half way up the first windward leg, the RC announced over the
radio for all boats to jettison their melons. It was blowing about 18 knots, with a 2' chop that made keeping the victim in view realistically difficult. The first boat to retrieve theirs used the Quick-Stop method, and got it back on board in about 30 seconds.