Safety on board
Completing a 3 days Three Day Basic Safety Training with the Irish fishery board (
BIM) was an opportunity for me to revisit the subject of safety at sea, on which, as a fleet manager for Ireland largest sailing school, I had been lecturing regularly many years ago. This led me to review some of the safety procedures and equipment on board Apsara.
Now, as back then, I view safety at sea as an attitude of mind that starts with the awareness of the risks we encounter going out to sea.
So in this post, we are going to look at the risks, how to minimise them, and what to do when shit happens in order to minimise damage, or at least, get out of it alive
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Risks
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Prevention
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Cure
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| Falling over board
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Falling overboard is one of the most frequent causes of fatal accidents at sea. Less than 25 percent of people who fall in the water are recovered alive.
- Be aware, don’t take risks
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Wear a safety harness and a life jacket anytime you might fall over board and especially at night. On Apsara, every crew is allocated a life jacket when they arrive on board and shown how to use it.
- Train your crew in MOB manoeuvres and procedures
- Carry a PLB or AIS beacon with you when working on deck. I’m particularly found of AIS beacons, which alert the rest of the crew if you fall overboard, and guide them back to your position.
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Fire on board |
Every year, boats are abandoned by their crew because there’s a fire on board.
- Store flammable material responsibly. Keep engine room and galley tidy.
- Don’t leave naked flame (especially in the galley) unattended, turn off the gas when not in use.
- No smoking and no candles allowed on board
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- Carry up-to-date firefighting equipment (Apsara carries four fire extinguishers and a fire blanket)
- Make sure everyone on board knows where the equipment is and how to use it.
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| Navigation error, bad weather |
At sea, ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time means you may lose your boat or even your life.
- Plan your trip properly, taking in account tides and weather forecasts.
- Check your position regularly using all means available.
- Make sure the boat is adequately equipped, and the crew properly trained and experienced for any of the conditions they are likely to encounter. Any boat crossing an ocean must be ale to cope with storm condition in open sea.
- Get the forecast before you go out. Long range forecast are now reasonably accurate up to five days. If crossing an ocean, have some means of satellite communication to enable you to get weather information offshore.
- If in doubt, don’t go out!
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Carry a liferaft and several means of calling for help : satellite distress beacons (there are three different types on board Apsara), VHF, flares, and even mobile phones for coastal cruising. |
| Collision with another vessel |
- Keep a proper watch using all means available as necessary (visual, AIS, radar)
- If a close situation looks like it’s developing, take early action, and / or contact the other vessel on VHF in good time to inform them of your intention and ask about theirs.
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Carry a liferaft and several means of calling for help : satellite distress beacons (there are three on board Apsara), VHFs, flares, and even mobile phones in coastal waters.
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| Equipment failure |
- Safety at sea means being prepared. Maintain your boat properly. Check and test your equipment regularly.
- Redundancy : a sailing boat can usually reach shelter under sail even if its engine is no longer working. Even in heavy traffic, I could sail without my AIS OR without my radar, but sailing without either in bad visibility would be playing Russian roulette, etc.
- Carry plenty of spares
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Call for help in good time ! |