Guidance for
RBYC Cadets
Safety Boat Drivers and Crew
Royal Burnham Yacht Club CADETS
Saturday 13th May 2017
The aims of today …
What is it …

Provide guidance for drivers
and crew of a safety boat
operating in familiar waters at
the Royal Burnham Yacht Club
What it is not …

To cover all aspects of safety
boat operation or to teach you
how to drive and crew a safety
boat.

If you want to learn more, you should read RYA publication G16, ‘Safety Boat
Handbook’, which comes with a DVD, and covers everything from mark laying
to the rescue of different types of craft.

If you haven’t already done so, RYA Powerboat Level 2, THEN use it, gain
experience – and do RYA Safety Boat
THANK YOU …
Your role is essential,
as without safety boat cover,
no Cadet racing or training can take place.
Giving up your time to man a safety or support boat
is greatly appreciated by the club and those who are
then able to participate.
Just one thing to remember throughout this
session and every time you step in a
powerboat …
We are providing you with a lethal weapon

Treat it with the respect it
deserves

Learn your skills

If you are unhappy with a
situation,

PULL THE KILL CORD
Key information for club boats

The two RBYC ribs – bought through RB Cadet
Fundraising and maintained through proceeds
from RBYC Sea School and the RBYC, are for use
by the following, in order of priority:

RBYC Cadet events/training

RBYC Sea School

Informal use for RBYC Cadets support

Use by other RBYC classes or associated groups
for events

Use by individual members of the RBYC (by
arrangement)

Requests for use of RIBs through Lizzie Brown
[email protected]
Where it is all kept?

When not ‘in use’, the RIBs will be kept in Yardleys Shed (code 1615)
and launched following liaising with Lizzie Brown.

If RIBs are ‘in use’, they will either be kept on the pontoon or on a
mooring; keys should be kept in their canister/bag in the Sailing Office.
When the RIBs are not in use, the keys will be kept in secure cabinet.
Likewise for VHF radios.

Fuel is stored in the secure Fuel Store (code 1812). The combinations
for the gates to the dinghy park are 1171 (car park) and 1072 (sea wall).

There is a maintenance programme for the ribs – please see Lizzie
Brown or Dawn Smith
WE ALSO RELY ON MEMBERS FOR
THE USE OF THEIR BOATS FOR
FURTHER SUPPORT OF OUR EVENTS
– WITHOUT THESE, WE COULDN’T
RUN THE RBYC CADET SECTION …
The Essentials

Two persons on board

One adult, other at least 16

Driver min RYA PB2 (or under supervision),
full member of club

VHF qualified

Suitable clothing and buoyancy aid (if you
need to enter water)

Work together, think position in boat,
keeping proper look out, not blocking view
Arriving for duty

Launching rib (check what needs doing)

Arrive one hour before

Take a briefing from Race Officer, coach or safety officer for Cadet Week

See Safety Management Plan

Special marks

Be afloat and on station prior to any dinghies being launch
Boat Preparation

Which boat?

Collect keys, yellow first aid bag, white
canister in lead boat

Carry your own knife

Check paddles, anchor and lines on board

Check fuel

Lower and start engine – and test kill cord

If you break down whilst on station, call the
Race Officer (or Safety Officer during Cadet
Week) on M1 or 37A. If possible tie up to a
mooring buoy, or drop the anchor.
Safety Boat Equipment Check List

Fire extinguisher

Paddle

Distress flares (2 orange smoke, 2 pinpoint red, or 2 day/night flares) – lead
boat only

Sharp knife, preferably serrated (the expectation is you carry your own knife)

Tow rope

Waterproof first aid kit containing (minimum) 2 large wound dressings, 2
medium wound dressings and triangular bandages

Spare killcord

Abandoned Boat Marker tape
Getting Under Way

The driver should ALWAYS wear the kill-cord whenever the engine
is running.

Please remember that this is the easiest way to stop your engine,
and if you are in any doubt – use it to stop the engine.

Switch on the VHF –generally M1 or 37A.

HAVE YOUR RADIO WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY HEAR AND USE IT!

Radio check and say you are on station

Please do not exceed 3 knots or create wash

The speed limit in the moorings is 8 knots.
When on Station

Keep a good lookout at all times.

Lay marks but be prepared to abandon mark
laying if assistance is required

Keep a look out for large commercial vessels

Keep a look out for other river users that may
cause a hazard to the sailors

Stay well clear of the start line

Stay ‘outside’ the course area

Stay upwind in your zone – it is always easier to
attend a situation quickly going downwind rather
than upwind
During the Race

Keep a good look out over the whole fleet

You will have been given an area to supervise – front
of fleet, back, or zone around a mark of the course

Please keep to your area, and if you come ‘off
station’ for any reason, communicate.

If asked to be lead boat, stay well ahead of the lead
boats and proceed no faster than the dinghies are
sailing. As you go through the start /finish line at
the end of the first lap peel away and leave the
dinghies to race.

The Race Officer may ask you to notify the race
fleet of a change of course.

If there is more than one race, the Race Officer may
change the course between races, so be prepared to
reposition special marks.
At the back of the fleet!

You may be asked to offer some coaching to the
back of the fleet (streamers on sails)

Do not coach those you have not been asked to
coach. If you feel there is a sailor who needs
assistance, but this would not give them an
unfair advantage, ask for permission.

The Race Officer may also ask you to finish a
very slow boat that is trailing a long way behind
the rest of the fleet.

You are not part of the race management. This
means that you cannot tell competitors that
they have infringed rules or act as an on water
judge, unless specifically asked to do so by the
Race Officer.
Bringing boats into
the pontoon

If you are the person on the pontoon, please
take the painter of the rib, not the boats
being towed

ALWAYS TAKE A TURN around a cleat
At the end of sailing

When all dinghies ashore

Pick up any buoys

Ask if tallied and then permission to stand down
Packing-up The Boat

Secure to pontoon or mooring.

bow and stern lines plus springs if mooring alongside the pontoon.

If using a mooring, please use two bow lines, preferable ‘one high,
one low’.

Switch off the engine and put the keys and kill-cord back into the
cylindrical box or bag.

Raise the outboard (however, if leaving alongside for short amount of
time – leave engine down)

Buoys in shed

REPORT any issues

The RIBs should not be left in the water for more than one week

Once a RIB is retrieved, the boat and trailer to be washed down
thoroughly, engine flushed through and returned to Yardleys shed.

Where possible, hatches and seat should be left open.
The expectation is that if
you use the rib, you will
help to retrieve them
from the water and put
them away … it’s all part
of the volunteering role!
Emergency Action
Plans

Safety Management Plan/Risk
Assessment with Crouch Harbour
Authority.

Circulated to other club

Make yourself familiar with it

Request a copy
Safeguarding – we have a policy – it is on the website and the
board, but here is a Good Practice Guide

Avoid spending any significant time working with children in isolation

You should never:

Do not take children alone in a car, however short the journey


Do not take children to your home as part of your organisation’s
activity
engage in rough, physical or
sexually provocative games


Where any of these are unavoidable, ensure that they only occur with
the full knowledge and consent of someone in charge of the
organisation or the child’s parents
allow or engage in
inappropriate touching of any
form

allow children to use
inappropriate language
unchallenged, or use such
language yourself when with
children

make sexually suggestive
comments to a child, even in
fun

fail to respond to an allegation
made by a child; always act

do things of a personal nature
that children can do for
themselves.

Design training programmes that are within the ability of the
individual child

If a child is having difficulty with a wetsuit or buoyancy aid, ask them
to ask a friend to help if at all possible

If you do have to help a child, make sure you are in full view of
others, preferably another adult

Restrict communications with young people via mobile phone, e-mail
or social media to group communications about organisational
matters. If it’s essential to send an individual message, copy it to the
child’s parent or carer.
Bringing Someone On Board

Approach (crew calls you in) and switch off the
engine

Check for loose lines

Best method for bringing a person on board? You
decide

Once in boat, keep them warm (think windchill)
and get them ashore

You can abandon the dinghy (red/white tape), but
let the team know
First aid – cold and others

Injuries are generally best treated
ashore. Carry out only immediate
first aid on the water, for example
to stem bleeding while quickly
bringing the casualty ashore.

Do not try to right the boat. Notify
the Race Officer or Coach (or Safety
Officer) if you are taking a casualty
ashore. They will assess and either
notify shore themselves, or ask you
to do so when you are closer,
depending on the seriousness of the
situation. In a major emergency,
follow the Safety Management Plan
flow chart, whereby other
emergency services will be notified.
Coming alongside a dinghy whilst it is
sailing

Communication with the sailor is key – let them know
to hold their course

Crew to ‘call in’ driver

Approach from windward, do not let the dinghy ‘cross
your bow’

Crew to hold dinghy alongside (engine behind the
dinghy)

Maintain upwind or close hauled direction

Daggerboard up
Approaching a Capsize

ALWAYS, your first priority is the safety of the person(s) in the water.

When approaching a capsized dinghy ensure that you can see the
sailor(s) who were on board. ‘Count heads’.

Entrapment is the biggest risk

Once you are satisfied that the dinghy crew are safe, remain standing-off
while they right the boat.

They need to have their sheets uncleated, kickers off and spinnaker
stowed, and check they are back in their boat

If they are struggling, make a judgement call but remember, your
assistance is the end of their race

Safety boat driver is between himself/herself between any people in the
water and the outboard motor. Work with propeller away from people

If you need to assist, “walk” your way down the mast (forestay)

If inverted, lift bow

Watch out for sail catching the wind as it rights
Righting a capsized boat

Sometimes the dinghy sailor just cannot get
the boat to right and the sail lies on the water
surface or just below.

If just capsizes, lift the mast to beak the
surface tension

If inverted, or concerned about entrapment,
lift the bow – THIS SHOULD BE DONE WITH THE
ENGINE STOPPED

You can manoeuvre the dinghy so that its sail
is broadside on to the tide. The tide will then
assist lifting the mast and sail towards the
surface.
Mast impaled into seabed

Always pull the dinghy mast out of the river bed
the same way it went in. Pulling in the wrong
direction can only make matters worse and you
risk badly damaging the boat!

If there is room to manoeuvre continue to pull
the dinghy in the same direction until you are in
deeper water. Always take care when working
close to a lee shore. Do not allow yourself to be
drifted on to a lee shore.
Towing

You may be called upon to tow one or
more dinghies to and from a training area
or you may have to tow one or more a
dinghies back to the shore that cannot
make their way under their own power.
How you do this will depend on weather
conditions, the size of boat being towed,
the number of boats to be towed, etc.

Most dinghies should have a suitable
painter, but be prepared to use your lines

Lasers will use their mainsheets

TAKE A TURN

Only tie off a line if you really have to
Towing line astern

A good way to tow a number of boats some distance
or to and from the training area but manoeuvrability
and control can be difficult in anything other than a
straight line unless the towed boat is steered especially in heavier seas (only the last boat in a line
of boats should be steered).

It is preferable for them to take your tow line (if you
have one) so that they can let go quickly and easily.

If towing using the boats’ painters, you can tie
around the base of each boat’s mast, however, you
are always loading the boat next to the safety boat

You need to be careful when slowing down so that the
towed boat does not run into the stern of the safety
boat.
Towing Optimists

An Oppie does not have any
attachment points for towing.
The painter must be used. Only
ever tow an optimist by the
painter.

If sailors are not left in their
craft, remove the dagger boards
and replace with the rudder to
provide directional stability.
Mast and sail should be removed
and loosely rolled in the boat.
Use the main sheet to ensure
they don't come out.

If sailors stay in the boats then
masts can be left up, and sailors
should maintain sufficient
pressure in the sail to prevent
flogging.

For towing a line of optimists where painters should be 8
metres long, use a bowline in the end of each painter. The
weight is then distributed through the line. Alternatively, use
a loop just forward of the bow.
Towing a dinghy on its side

This method works very well with Toppers when the safety boat is a RIB.
Simply pull the mast down and lay it over the tube and seat, keeping the hull
close to the tube. Quick and easy to set up, it provides good directional
control and it is quick to release once your destination is reached. It is
possible to put one boat either side of the safety boat but not recommended.

This is also the same method used for “towing” windsurfers

IF YOU CAN, always turn into the wind
Carrying an Optimist

As an Optimist is a small square boat that can be de-rigged fairly quickly, you
can lift it aboard the safety boat and rest it across the safety boat on the
tubes. It is possible to stack a second Oppie on the first (but not
recommended unless in an emergency) but two should be the limit to avoid
damage.
Towing alongside

Towing alongside gives the greatest
manoeuvrability in tight spaces and for a
quick fix pickup

Get the sailors to help – take the painter
around the bollard on the front of the rib.
Springs and other lines can be used later

Outboard must be astern of the boat being
towed.

This method can also be used to tow two
boats - one each side of the safety boat.

IF YOU CAN, always turn into the wind
Safety Boat Notes for Optimists

Although a relatively simple boat, there are some
things that safety crew need to be aware of particularly if they are not used to Optimists.

It is recommended that you look at a race-rigged
and club boat before you launch on safety duty.

When an Optimist capsizes it will ALWAYS invert.
And very quickly! A small sailor may require
assistance to get back on the hull and to right the
boat.

The bailing system on an Optimist in manual (the
sailor has to do it!). Sometimes if a boat has
nosedived or after a capsize a small/tired sailor
may not be able to bail quickly enough to get the
boat moving again. Hold them alongside the safety
boat and help them to bail and regain confidence.
Some Key Facts

The mainsheet is attached to the boom by a quick
release shackle (race oppies – GBR sail number) On
club oppys (coloured sail) this is a standard shackle.

The sprit is held up by an uphaul on the front of the
mast. It is held by a jamming cleat. There should be
a handle on the end of the line for ease of use.
Release the uphaul, remove the sprit. This depowers
the sail quickly.

The kicker is a wire strop attached around the boom,
with approx 2 feet of 6mm cord, which passes
through a jamming cleat on the aft side of the mast.
It should just pass through the jam cleat (on the
mast) passing bottom to top. Some sailors have
extended kickers that allow the cord to pass over the
boom.

The mast is always attached to the boat. This is a) so
that it doesn't get lost when it capsizes; b) so that it
doesn't break the thwart because the foot has come out
of the mast cup. There is a small deck cleat on the
thwart immediately forward of the mast: this is used to
attach a line around the mast above the kicker cleat.

Most racing Oppies will also have a mast clamp. This
fits under the thwart, as high as possible to minimize
lift. It will normally be attached to the deck cleat by a
thin line. The clamp end is attached to the release
lever of the clamp. Pull it to release the clamp, which
can then be undone and removed. The mast is then
free to be lifted clear of the boat. Do NOT attempt to
lift a mast with the sail full of wind. It WILL overpower
you and break the thwart!

If there is time, please remove the sail from the mast,
and roll it around the boom before towing in - they cost
around £400 each, and a fast tow ruins the sail if it is
left to flog.
Let’s go afloat - Objectives

To have practiced coming alongside a dinghy whilst
sailing, and put in alongside tow

To practise bow to bow situation

To recover a person from the water

To assist in righting an inverted boat
Debrief