Yacht racing safety

[William_H]

For those involved with running regattas and safety boats. These recommendations have been made for the Americas Cup big Catamaran racing after a capsize and death in training recently.
http://www.mysailing.com.au/news/ac...-iain-murray-makes-his-safety-recommendations
Part way down the LH column is a link "more details" to a PDF.

Note 2 large rescue vessels required for each competitor. Rescue boats to carry medics and divers.
Crew to each carry harness restraint gear. Quickly removed buoyancy, body armour, helmets and breathing apparatus. Plus locator beacons both for underwater and surface. Fortunately money is no object in this kind of racing but I wonder about crew carrying underwater emergency breathing gear while racing. Anyway it is just a recommendation. Certainly different to our kind of sailing. olewill

 

[Norfolknick]

I wonder if BAR (Ben Ainslie Racing) will have all of this in this weekend's RTIR???

 

[rob2]

It would be cheaper to just return to racing real boats, not these unstable "catamarans". It has always been the case that high finance racing has engendered dangerous designs which kill people! Whilst yacht racing has over theyears spawned advances in design and materials, the limitations of these advances are defined by the fatalities. Stupily thin keel forms on long mounting stubs with depleted uranium bolted on the bottom comes to mind.

If all the recommendations are adopted for this race series, the safety flotilla will be better equipped than the US Coastguard!

Rob.

 

[Neil_Y]

I wonder about crew carrying underwater emergency breathing gear while racing. Anyway it is just a recommendation. Certainly different to our kind of sailing. olewill

As I understand it they all had under water breathing equipment, a small bottle and mouthpiece to give them a few extra minutes. I think this came after the Oracle capsize.

 

[st599]

Bart Simpson had underwater breathing gear on him - the new recommendations are for bigger tanks.