13:03.284N 065.06.910W Safety is Paramount
Irene IV - World Adventure
Louis Goor
Wed 26 Jan 2022 22:12
Before setting sail for our ~1,000 nautical mile passage to the San Blas
islands, Panama, Stuart presented a thorough safety briefing to the whole
crew. Sailing is one of the safer sports until you start stretching your
crew and the boat to its limits, or when safe practices are slap dash or
simply ignored. When an accident occurs on land there is usually someone
close by, or easy access to safety facilities and personnel. At sea it is
different. The crew needs to rely on each other and on their knowledge of
the safety equipment onboard. Fortunately, Irene IV is well equipped with
all the best and well serviced safety gear. Stuart is, we are often heard
saying, the voice of reason onboard. He is a comfort perfectionist who will
never overstress the boat or the crew.
''Because the sea provides us with little, our ability to survive depends on
how well we have prepared, our ingenuity, our training and our will.'' -
Keith Colwell, Sea Survival Handbook
Firstly. Stuart demonstrated the ins and outs of our lifejackets. He did his
very best airplane flight attendant impersonation! However, unlike on an
aircraft, we did pay attention. Each crew member is assigned a designated
lifejacket. The jackets are very comfortable and as unobtrusive as is
possible. They inflate on contact with water, but also have a manual
inflation lever in case of a failure. They are fitted with an AIS (
Automatic Identification System) transponder, which allows emergency
rescuers to locate and keep track. The jackets have crotch straps, a must to
keep the jacket from slipping over your head in the water. The boat has
clip-on rings (pad-eyes) in the cockpit area and behind each binnacle
(steering and navigation pedestal). The jackets are equipped with
elasticated straps and heavy duty clips, so that, in the event of a fall the
person remains attached to the boat. Stuart went on to explain that the
number one rule of sailing is to stay onboard! Most deadly sailing accidents
happen by drowning when a person falls overboard. Stuart cautioned us to
stay in the cockpit on night watch and stay clipped on.
Next we moved on the '' Grab Bags''. There are two grab bags, each one
identical. They contain details of each crew member - blood group, medical
insurance, next of kin, and passport nationality and number. They have
food, water, a small medical kit and other pieces of safety equipment, a
torch, some thermal blankets, etc. Stuart instructed us to go through the
grab bags and familiarize ourselves with the contents. As the name suggests,
these are for 'grabbing' in the event of an evacuation. He did explain,
however, that more than likely the safest place to be is onboard.
It is a requirement for participation in the OWR (Oyster World Rally) that
each member of the crew complete a Sea Survival or Safety at Sea course and
a Medical First Provider or Marine First Aid and CPR course. Both courses
are rigorous and filled with horrifying information. You wonder are they
trying to put you off ever setting sail again. When I did my Safety at Sea
course in San Diego, California, I was in the illustrious company of some of
the most accomplished sailing racers on the planet. They were about to take
part in the Trans Pacific race, which had been postponed the year before.
They had stories of daring rescue operations, some that had had sad endings
and some heroic. International Maritime Law states, ''The master of a ship
at sea which is in a position to be able to provide assistance on receiving
a signal from any source that persons are in distress at sea, is bound to
proceed with all speed to their assistance, if possible informing them or
the SAR (Search and Rescue) service that the ship is doing so.'' The Good
Samaritan Law applies equally at sea, so a ship and its crew are exempt from
any liability. So far our only good Samaritan mission has involved asking
our OWR rally colleagues, the crew of Makara, who were stuck aboard their
vessel, if they needed any supplies. We delivered them a half dozen onions!
The Safety briefing continued with information and location of the 2 four
person life rafts, how to operate both hand held and rocket flares, location
of the extensive medical kit and, very importantly, the whereabouts of the
fire extinguishers and fire blankets.
Aboard Irene IV we are going the extra nautical mile and have incorporated,
as part of our daily safety protocols, conscientious, well informed,
eco-friendly practices. Crew are, at this point, well versed in washing out
plastic bags for reuse, questioning where a particular piece of garbage or
recycling belongs, and tut-tutting when packaging is excessive and
non-recyclable - which, sadly, it almost always is. Regardless we are
committed to our self-education and activism.
In the words of Greta Thunberg:
''Every single person counts. Just like every emission counts. Every single
kilo. Everything counts. So please treat the climate crisis like the acute
crisis it is and give us a future. Our lives are in your hands.''
With our watch system in place and heads filled with emergency information,
we set sail at 16:15, under a clear sky, warm conditions, and lively winds.