|
Never underestimate the power of Mother Nature! When you embark on sailing and motor yacht charters, you're her guest, and even on the most relaxing of sailing days,you need to be respectful of her capacity for pure brute strength. You should never go sailing on a bareboat
or in conditions that exceed your experience and comfort
level, you should expect the unexpected any time you
head out on the water. Like they say in the Boy Scouts
- be prepared. Making sure that you have the requisite
skills and boating safety equipment to handle whatever
happens on your bareboat is the only safe way to approach
bareboat
sailing holidays. Having fun when you're on holiday
is easy. Being prepared is what this section is all about.
Specific items of boat safety equipment are required
to be carried on all bareboats (Class 1F vessels)... Your
bareboat charter company briefer will be familiar
with the equipment and its storage location on the specific
bareboat you are chartering, and will review the use
of all boat safety equipment with you during your briefing.
You need to be aware of your legal responsibility to
only use safety equipment in an emergency situation,
and that it is an offence to put to sea in a bareboat
(or any vessel for that matter) that does not have the
regulation safety equipment onboard.
Carrying the right safety equipment and knowing how
it use it is essential... this section looks at a
charter
boats safety equipment in detail - but before you
start thinking of safety equipment... and you plan a
bareboat
sailing charter... be aware of the danger areas as
you move around your bareboat.
Be aware of the danger areas on a bareboat
- Anywhere in the plane of the boom when it swings across
in a jibe or tack...
This warning includes all the associated rigging, including
the boom vang and the mainsheet... See diagram on right.
- Anywhere outside of the cockpit where you walk or stand.
- At the bow and the stern. If you must go to these
places, hold on tight, because the motion of a boat is accentuated
at the ends.
- In the path of the jib and jib sheets during a tacking
manoeuvre. This path runs from the foredeck all the
way back on either side to where the jib sheets go through
pulleys heading for the cockpit. During a tack (or jibe),
when the headsail flaps in the wind, the sailcloth and those
ropes are like whips.
- In the "slingshot target zone" of pulleys
under high load. If the block were to break loose, it
would go flying.
- On the leeward side of the boat. The leeward,
or downwind, side is especially dangerous if your bareboat
is heeling (leaning away from the wind); that side
is closer to the water, and gravity is pushing you that
way.
- Shiny areas, such as varnished wood or plastic hatch
covers. Those areas are probably as slippery as they
look, look where you step. Sails on deck are also very slippery.
Yes, you figured it out... the safest place in a sailing
yacht is the cockpit (as long as you stay low and watch out
for that boom). The deck can be treacherous during manoeuvres
or in rough seas at any time.
Make sure that anyone in these areas is aware of the potential
danger and, if the situation warrants, tell them to move and
explain the reason why. If you're the helmsman on a bareboat
yacht, make sure that everyone is in a safe position before
manoeuvring.
A golden rule of sailing is that the captain or skipper
is responsible for the safety of his crew. Unlike the Navy,
where orders from a superior are unbreakable, the identity
of the person in charge isn't always clear on a bareboat
charter yacht. Everyone on board is expected to look
out for his or her own comfort and safety and to communicate
any concerns or questions to the skipper and other people
on board. But no matter what role you have on the boat,
you can't leave common sense on shore.
Life jackets (PFD1 offshore)
 Wearing
a life jacket increases your chances for survival in the water
- that's why they're called life jackets... About 80 percent
of boating-related deaths are from drowning. Life jackets
(called personal flotation devices or PFD's) are on board
all charter boats - one for each crew member.
The life jackets found on every bareboat are known as a
'PFD1 Offshore Jacket' and are constructed so that
when worn all the buoyancy is located at the front of the
body with a buoyancy collar behind the neck and head.
This arrangement causes the wearer, even if unconscious,
to float face upwards in the water -the buoyancy collar keeping
the head out of the water, preventing drowning.
Regulation life jackets are not suitable for babies and
small children - as they can slip off in the water. It is
recommended that if very young children are on your bareboat
vacation, that parents consider their needs and bring
a properly fitting life jacket or safety harness.
To learn more about children's safety... Refer to
Cruising
with children
PFD 1 (offshore life jacket) |
PFD 2 (buoyancy vest) |
PFD 3 (buoyancy garment)
|
 In
Australia, all types of PFD's must be identified as 'approved'
by an official label of Standards Australia and comply
with Australian Standard 1512. |
Life buoy & life buoy light
This Australian Standards Approved
life buoy is provided with 30 metres of light floating
line and attached life buoy light. One life buoy and light
must be available on each yacht
charter boat 7-15 metres in length.
 If
you have a person overboard it is safer and easier to throw
the life buoy to the person and haul them back to the boat,
rather than trying to manoeuvre the boat to the person.
This is especially so if the boat is near coral, or a dangerous
condition exists near a shore or obstruction. Refer to Emergencies
and other mishaps
The orange life buoy light has a top Signaling light to
assist in marking the position (especially in overcast or
storm conditions and at night) if a person goes overboard
- this is a valuable guide particularly if the boat takes
sometime to get back to the rescue point.
To activate the light
- Loosen domes by turning anticlockwise (to the left).
- Remove domes and tighten lamps. Both lights must
work when signal is upright.
- Replace domes and tighten them by turning clockwise
(to the right).
|
