Things that make your (modern) boat safe

[Gargleblaster]

Re range of safety cover, RAN out of my home port had no problem fishing Tony Bulimore out of the icy water a mere 2000NM due south of here. About 3 days at combat speed in a modern destroyer with gas turbine auxiliary engines ( for go fast). And yes they had to dispatch an oiler to refuel the destroyer so it could get home again. RAAF have SAR responsibilty from Fremantle to mid Indian ocean (half way to Durban) So if I were ever to venture far away I would never feel out of range of help. But no that is not going to happen so don't worry. I seldom venture far. olewill

Ah yes but the Australian Search and Rescue will not come out to non celebrities. Several years ago, I lost my mast coming into Great Keppel Harbour on the Great Barrier Reef during Cyclone 'Joy'. I didn't call for rescue but someone watching from the Hotel at the resort called up the coastguard at Yeppoon and suggested there was a boat in trouble. They were told the winds were too strong for them to attend. In the event I was able to recover my mast without damage to the boat and made it into the harbour and anchored without assistance.

I'm a great believer in Blondie Hasler's idea that sailors in trouble should 'die with dignity'. He believed that in ocean racing boats shouldn't carry radios as it might tempt them to call for assistance.

 

[Billjratt]

A safe boat and crew

Odd that nobody seems to have mentioned the RNLI SEAcheck (Safety equipment advisory check) which is available free to anyone who asks for it.
A trained advisor will visit your boat and go over a tick list with you, encouraging you to not just "have" the equipment, but be able to find and deploy it efficiently.
The scheme takes into account that we have a wide variety of boat types and uses.
Contact your nearest station.

 

[chrishelen]

A gimbled cooker with a cage to keep hot things like kettles of boiling water falling on you when heeled.

a proper boat.

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

The Nic 38 I sailed on struck me as a bit short of sail area, but was almost comfortable one October night in a F7 to 8 off Fair Isle.
Nic 38
It wasn't a boat called Rowena was it, owned by a chap who runs RYA courses from it out of Plymouth. If so, its the same boat I went directly to Spain and back in last June.
Almost poetry in motion in a real blow accross Biscay.

 

[fishermantwo]

Safety at sea is always about understanding you, your boat and its equipment. Its not about having equipment to make your boat safe. In fact having many additional safety features can make your life more dangerous. This has been demonstrated many times through various tests. Its what lies behind the joke that Volvos are always in accidents!

In a nut shell a human being who believes there is a real danger does not take risks, but one who believes he is protected takes greater risks. I cant explain this but you will find that it is true if your look into the psychology of human risk taking. I have been exposed to this in many years of oil and gas HSE training.

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I agree. If your car or boat is fully insured you are more likely to take risks. During my annual inspection on my fishing vessel by the "authorities", I in variably get into an argument. After the check that I have everything onboard they ask dick head questions like "how would you fight an engine fire?" My usual reply is that I would point the boat for home, throttle full forward, engage auto pilot. Issue a Mayday call and then load all my gear, including my epirb into my dinghy. Fishing boats here have to carry liferafts or hard dinghies. 20 years in the navy and 26 as a fisherman my choice is obviously for a hard dinghy.

My boat is uninsured and as I explain to the inspectors, uninsured boats don't sink or have engine fires. When I ask for details of any uninsured fishing boats they know about sunk they have not heard of one.

My boat sinks then I am dead.

 

[srm]

Hello SRM I certainly agree one should be self sufficient no question. I was more thinking of what has changed in safety of recent years. Certainly all the usual requirements for a robust boat are a priority.
However, re radio here small boats are not permitted more than 3Nm of shore without an appropriate radio.
Re range of safety cover, RAN out of my home port had no problem fishing Tony Bulimore out of the icy water a mere 2000NM due south of here. About 3 days at combat speed in a modern destroyer with gas turbine auxiliary engines ( for go fast). And yes they had to dispatch an oiler to refuel the destroyer so it could get home again. RAAF have SAR responsibilty from Fremantle to mid Indian ocean (half way to Durban)

The rescue was very impressive, and no doubt a good training exercise for the military.

However, it also makes my point in that the yacht suffered a catastrophic failure. In my philosophy it (and this applies to many other modern Round World race boats as well as a few ARC competitors) is not fit for purpose if it can not make a safe haven without outside help.

As to your local regulations about radio, I understand that the reasons given when applied to foreign flagged yachts was to save the cost of extensive SAR operations should the vessel get into trouble. However, if someone chooses to sail without radio there will not be any SAR operation in the first place as they will not be shouting for help.

There is a contrary philosophical argument here that not allowing radio coms to leisure vessels would significantly improve on board safety as crews would have to focus on sailing with in their capabilities and look after themselves. This was elegantly stated by the late Blondie Hasler - I do not have the exact quote, but it was along the lines that if we chose to go to sea we should be prepared to 'drown like gentlemen'

 

[Salty John]

Quote: "....were told the winds were too strong for them to attend".

This happened to me off Cape Town. We didn't ask to be saved, just notified the CG we were out there, but the CG said they were going to launch the lifeboat and tow us in. Ten minutes later they called to say it was too rough to come out!

This illustrates why you have to be self sufficient if you go offshore in a small boat.