Safety briefings

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peterb

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Following up Nigel's poll about what you do before you leave (including safety briefings), what do you put into a briefing?

In particular, if you were going sailing with a complete novice, perhaps in the Solent with a forecast of F4-5 wind, what would your safety briefing consist of?
 
Use the Tommy Tippy Cups when bringing the coffee from the galley.

Let Go!

Let Go!

Will you please take your arms from around me now!!!
 
How to use the heads, and if you block it, you unblock it.
Here are the lifejackets - wear one if you like, and certainly if I tell you to.
Don't fall in. Stay in the cockpit unless we explain carefully what to do.
Ask if you don't know. Do what I say, but you can point out something I might not have noticed.
Show them the radio (with Mayday instruction card), GPS, flares, liferaft.

More if its a long passage, or they are very clueless or very nervous. Otherwise the rest as we go along.

This assumes that the regular crew can sail the boat without assistance, so the novice's help is not really required, though we'd normally get them to do as much as they are comfortable with.
 
I think I would have something in there about the dangers of the boom, 'one hand for yourself, one for the ship', something about avoiding getting hands trapped, staying warm, asking if something was said that wasn't understood and taking them from bow to stern on the boat pointing out the key things they should note - not too many cos they wouldn't remember. Done it with some novices in December on a day sail from the Hamble. Made them all wear lifejackets since it was a full 5.
 
Fair question I think, and one that I have had to deal with. You need to tell them what to do if something goes wrong, but you can sound like a paranoid lunatic if you start talking about abandoning ship, when all you are doing is a sail in the sheltered waters of the Clyde!

I have taken some "newbies" out recently, and my briefings have tended to be:

1. Here is a lifejacket, and this is how it works. Wear it at all times.
2. In case of emergency, drop the sails, and this is how to do it.
3. Start the engine - and this is how to do it.
4. Call the coastguard - here is the radio, and how to use it (instructions are on the door)
5. MOB drill. One person point to the casualty at all time, throw MOB float etc. If its me in the water - call the coastguard as they (the newbies) will probably do me more damage if they try and pick me up!
6. Location of the liferaft - and always step up to it (as someone as already said).

I suppose it gives novices the confidence you know what you are doing, but you don't want to overdo it...

So then, what have I missed?

John
 
I was lucky with the skipper I first crewed with as a Novice...

We had to tender out to the boat so lifejacket use was covered on shore, Skippers attitude was "I wear one all the time, I advise you to do the same" - especially as I swim like a brick!.
We (just the two of us) were only out for a short day sail around the Solent in max F3 so in his words he only wanted to cover the essentials - otherwise he could easily have gone on for hours. The main points he covered were locations of safety kit, how to start the engine and how to call for help. He worked on the basis that this info would cover us if he was knocked overboard or unconcious - anything else he would deal with if we needed to. For a nervous novice this was just the right amount of info to take in and <u>retain</u> at a single sitting.

The other stuff he covered did the most to put me at ease given my lack of experience. He said there should never be any need to rush anything (over simplistic I know) and if we did have to rush anything that was his fault for not telling me what needed to be done soon enough. He also said that if I did anything wrong that was also his fault for not explaining what needed to be done clearly enough.

The result was a relaxed but keen new crew membe and we had a great day out on the water.

Cheers,

. . Greg
 
I use a similar procedure and back it up with an A5 size booklet on the chart table so the crew can review items once we are under way and have a ready reference should an emergency arise.
 
Agree with most of this,
however one newbie in a panic cos skipper has gone mob, "In case of emergency, drop the sails, and this is how to do it."
will possibly be totally unable to drop sails & could be another casualty if up on deck doing this. Best just to dump all sheets.

Radio - yes, with emphasis on making sure CG are told position. Good reason for DSC & more important than bothering with sail dropping (why not get crew to just simply turn around or toward you? if the boat gets damaged, but stays close by, its is still a better haven than a liferaft & easier for CG to find your location). Letting someone else know, is probably the most important thing to do & easy to remember.

Engine- yes, how to start, + how to use throttle/gears, how to steer back to MOB & also how to stop engine/put into neutral.

Also, what about flares, lights?
Don't forget Gas discipline & heads correct use of.

Make any safety brief simple for newbies, in an emergency most will be forgotten.
 
Not sure I agree with some of that Alan....

A newbie with sails up still could get themselves into a whole load of trouble.... I wouldn't want to be in the water with a newbie sailing straight downwind onto me... panicking because the boat has suddently powered up... I personaly think that the risk of them trying to handle the boat with sails up is greater than the risk of them trying to dump them....

I just show them how the furling Genny works... easy enough... and then instruct them to just dump the main halyard, and let it all fall to the deck.....
 
I tend to think in terms of risk
Likelihood of boat sinking, or me going overboard - very slim.
Likelihood of newbee remembering list of complex instructions on MOB or sinking - slim to none.
Likelihood of heads getting blocked by someone not informed how to use - PROB 100%
Likelihood of injury due to holding on to a loaded line or trying to pull / hold off boat when mooring - very high.

So I brief - use of heads, rope / mooring safety (i.e if in doubt let go - you won't break the boat). and a brief discussion about the radio. maybe a quick discussion on MOB. point at the victim, chuck stuff at him.
Everything else can be discussed as we go.
 
The dear friend who taught me to sail many years ago said to me on our first outing;

This boat carries no safety equipment whatsoever, If you fall overboard I will not come back for you. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
That was when Skippers were "men" and we all believed individuals were responsible for themselves. Not any more no safety equipment = negligence.
 
If you try to cover everything you wont have time to go sailing.

I think that for an initial safety brief location and use of Lifejackets /safety harnesses.

location /use of flares

"" "" Liferaft

How to send a simple Mayday

Position of fire extinguishers

First Aid kit.

very brief MOB instructions

Position of seacocks

Use of bilge pumps.

A waterproof card with all you think you need on it for your own use in the briefing then the crew can go round the boat with it at their leisure while you do your own preperations.
 
Dropping the sails is an issue if you don't have "cruising gear" on, but in cruising mode we have a roller reefing string to pull, and lazy jacks which catch the main. So it should be easy.

I should have said that so far I have always had at least one other person who has some idea of what they are doing.

I would be hesitant about taking a complete novice, or novices, without some instruction, as well as the safety briefing. I suppose the question is where to you draw the line between the airline style safety briefing which we can all recite cos it is so simple, and the full week's of sail training so that the beginner can deal with an emergency themselves.

John
 
Hi Bat21!

Tee Hee! Very similar to the first skipper (and close friend) I went sailing with, who said cheerfully as we left Plymouth for my first overnighter to Brittany, "If you fall overboard, you're DEAD!".

Yes, these days we carry all the safety stuff we're supposed to, but I've never forgotten those words - something I always repeat to any new crew on my boat.

Jerry
 
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