RYA safety boat presentation

1
RYA safety boat presentation

• Suggested methods for dealing with small craft in
  a sheltered environment

2
Guiding principles

• Count heads!
• Ask if help is required, and if so, what.
• Recover and return students to shore if the
  situation is becoming serious.
• Leave the craft tagged to let other crews know
  it has been dealt with.
• Dont become another casualty yourself .

3
Guiding principles

• If students are in the water near to your boat,
  turn the engine off.
• Even if they are not, consider turning the engine
  off.
• Involve the casualties in their rescue.
• Holding or raising the tip of the mast may be all
  that is required if sailors are tired.
• Whilst dealing with a rescue, the rest of the
  fleet may be without cover. Remain alert for them.

4
Kayaks

• If the kayaker needs assistance, get them to come
  alongside the safety boat, its easier.

5
Ensure that you are holding on firmly to the
paddler, before you take their paddles.
6
Get them to sit on the back deck of their kayak,
before shuffling across into the safety boat.
7
Stow kayak either in or across the safety boat.
8
Dealing with a capsized kayak (with the paddler
still in it.)

• Position safety boat alongside kayak.

9
Reach over the upturned hull and grab the victim.
10
Roll them up, then pull them towards you.
11
Make sure that you hold onto them. (no paddles)
12
Dealing with capsized paddlers out of their
kayaks.

• Recover casualty in standard MOB way.
• Position kayak at 90 deg to safety boat.

13
Lift the bow gently.
14
Draw the inverted hull over the safety boat.
15
Keep going until the kayak over-balances itself.
16
Place paddler back in kayak, or return them to
shore.
17
Short board sailors

• Sailors dressed for immersion.
• Likely problems are..
• Gear failure.
• Wind dropped.
• Wind too strong.
• Fatigue.
• So initially ask sailor to de-rig kit.

18
Detach the board from the rig.
19
Detach end of boom.
20
Detach boom (undo clamp)
21
Release downhaul tension.
22
Remove sail from mast.
23
Stow all kit in safety boat.
24
Kites

• Check to see if the sailor is OK, and if not
  apply the first principles.
• Sailor will be dressed for immersion so..

25
Begin the rescue at the kite end.
26
Deflate the leading edge bladder.
27
It may have a valve, so just taking the stopper
out may not be sufficient.
28
Roll up the kite along the remaining inflated
ribs.
29
Detach the strings.
30
Its a larks foot knot.
31
Stow rolled up kite, wind lines onto something
solid.
32
Take the whole lot home.
33
High performance dinghies

• In a training context prevention is better than
  a cure, therefore..
• Use a mast-head float.
• Prevents inversion.
• Doesnt affect performance much.

34
They can be squash containers or in this case, a
canoe air-bag.
35
Just fasten it to the halyard.
36
High performance dinghies

• Apply relevant guiding principles first.
• If one of the crew is missing, lift spinnaker
  pole to create air gap.
• Get the spinnaker down. Ask crew to do this.
• If they cant, ask them how, and do it yourself.

37
High performance dinghies

• In case of entrapment, the priority is to bring
  casualty to the surface.
• Resist cutting lines, sails are easier to manage
  if you dont.
• Use wire cutters as a last resort and then only
  on the trapeze system.

38
Lift either the pole or the stern to create an
air gap.
39
High performance dinghies

• Drop other sails if possible.
• Roll jib if it has that system.
• Put wing/rack over RIB sponson and ask crew to
  sit on it.
• Remove dagger board.
• Pass line around mast.
• Consider spring towline to take strain.

40
Single handers.
41
Lay mast across safety boat, helm or sailor sits
on mast, drive away.
42
Open hulled boats (and open canoes)
43
Retrieve crew in normal way, then..
44
If inverted and no dagger board, use paddle
gently to right.
45
Once on its side, draw hull across..
46
Until high and dry on safety boat.
47
Turn upright, replace rudder, place boat and
student back onto water.
48
Windsurfer rescue (big board, training situation)
49
Work from tip of mast towards the student sitting
on the board.
50
Student gets into boat to help.
51
Position mast forward, student holds rig, then
motor gently away. Flip the rig if going downwind.
52
If conditions allow, two can be managed.
53
Double handed dinghies

• Used on the more traditional dinghy.
• By definition, heavier.
• Harder to right, especially if the crew is light.
• Can also be used if the mast has become stuck in
  mud on the bottom, and if so
• take care to pull it out the way it went in.

54
Attach a line from your painter to the top jib
sheet.
55
and reverse gently away, keeping at right angles
to the dinghy.
56
Maintain an even pressure on the tow-line

• and as the dinghy comes up, the crew get in as
  normal and balance the boat.

57
If the dinghy needs towing, consider towing it
backwards.
58
Once the stern is clear, it will follow the
towing vessel nicely.
59
Thats it, any questions?