SAILING SAFETY COURSE

Safety on board!

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Here’s an interesting aspect inherent to the practice of sailing! But what is it really, and why does it change so often? I am often asked this question during courses dedicated to safety in sailing,

"And if you fall overboard, what should we do?"

Just imagine for a moment, the skipper aboard a sailboat falls overboard with a crew made up of tourists who have no knowledge of sailing or sufficient understanding of how to use the VHF radio. To make matters worse, the skipper who fell into the sea wasn’t wearing a life jacket! This scenario could happen hundreds of times along our coasts, islands, and overseas territories... and it would most likely have a tragic outcome. Now add to this scenario darkness, strong winds, powerful waves... and stress! Suffice it to say, it’s a lost cause.

Cruising sailing schools aim to train future sailors in search of thrills, escape, and freedom. In this training, we learn to rig, tack, luff, and navigate. It is absolutely essential to understand and assess the risks associated with sailing. I would like to talk to you about prevention and forecasting, and therefore about passive safety and active safety. In passive safety, risks must be anticipated by taking precautions beforehand. In active safety, action must be taken once the risk occurs, using preventive measures adapted to all situations (water ingress, fire, man overboard, etc.).

Passive safety

This encompasses all measures taken to prevent the emergence of a risk. These measures largely pertain to the following areas:

• Weather and Tides
• Equipment carried on board
• Port maneuvers
• Steering and right-of-way rules
• Maritime navigation marks
• Anchoring

In 2015, on the Atlantic coast, there were 9 fatalities, including 5 recreational sailors, as well as:

• 77 injuries requiring rerouting
• 10 injuries treated on board without rerouting
• 20 medical evacuations
• 34 sanitary evacuations

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The weather

Weather and tides inevitably impact navigation. As a volunteer with the SNSM, I often witness both seasoned and less experienced sailors running aground in areas where special attention should have been paid due to the falling tide. During the summer season, it happens almost daily. It is crucial to understand tidal calculations, especially when dealing with tidal ranges exceeding 5 meters.

Weather can also warn of potentially complex situations. Before setting out to sea, and as a preventive measure, make sure to check the weather forecast well in advance. Today, numerous websites are available to help you plan your navigation safely. The best approach is to compare at least two websites to confirm the information provided. And, of course, on the day of departure, double-check the accuracy of the forecasts to ensure they align with real-time conditions.

The equipment

The equipment carried on board must comply with maritime regulations. Be aware that these regulations are constantly evolving for the benefit of both recreational sailors and professionals. The list of required equipment is not exhaustive, and it is wise to enhance it with additional items as you see fit. For example, the signaling mirror, which is no longer mandatory by regulation, is still part of my onboard safety gear—and it hardly takes up any space!

I am firmly convinced that many boaters are hesitant to leave the harbor in wind conditions of Beaufort 5 to 6, particularly due to the stress of port maneuvers during departure and arrival. These maneuvers often generate significant anxiety! It is essential to learn to work with the wind and use it as one of your reliable crew members—the one that supports the bow of the boat to help with your maneuver. Yet, too often, the opposite happens, as evidenced by the alarming shouts of skippers who can sometimes be too authoritarian with their crew.

The Licenses

It's true, no license is required for sailboats, only for motorboats. So what do our day boaters do when they want to sail on a boat without a boating license? They rent a sailboat, of course! And yes, often the deposit goes along with it. Do you know the cost of an hour of towing by the SNSM? 600 euros per hour. Yes, the bill could end up being a bit steep by the end of the day, between the deposit, towing fees, and all that could sometimes have been avoided with some regulatory knowledge provided during the training for a coastal boating license, particularly regarding maritime navigation markers.

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Anchoring

And anchoring: the art of anchoring a boat with the precaution of not dragging. It is certainly an important phase where one must analyze the situation from the beginning to the end of the maneuver. Often, simply dropping the anchor is enough for some to think the boat is anchored, but no! The anchoring procedure is much more comprehensive and requires consideration of all phases.

Active safety

Nautical forecasting involves the attitude to adopt and the actions to take when a risk is present.

In particular, you need to know the safety maneuvers to quickly secure the crew and the boat.

During onboard incidents, it is essential to develop reflex actions to quickly stop the chain reaction of disasters.

Improve efficiency without wasting time during a sea alert.

And finally, for a man overboard,

• Act with awareness
• Use the most suitable method
• Know how to handle a man overboard
• Performing a medical assessment is essential
• The use of radio communication is undeniable

However, having worked in many cruising schools as an instructor, I have noticed that for man-overboard situations, often only one method is taught!

These same schools even believe their method is magical because they were trained with it, they know it perfectly, and therefore they teach it enthusiastically, claiming it works better than all others.

It is, therefore, a fallacy to believe there is only one method for recovering a man overboard! Indeed, everything depends on the circumstances, causes, and individual abilities.

“Man overboard!” shouted one of the crew members, panic sets in, even for an experienced crew, which will lose about 50% of its capacity at best, given the circumstances. The life of the man overboard depends on three connections:

• The visual connection, which allows you to maintain contact
• The psychological connection, which reassures both the victim and the crew
• The physical connection, which facilitates the recovery of the man overboard

These three connections undoubtedly help keep a man overboard alive long enough to allow for their recovery.

Is the man overboard conscious or unconscious? It gets more complicated if they are unconscious! Yes, you will have to stop the boat to hoist them back onboard. Hoist them! But with what?

• A block and tackle
• Maybe a halyard!

In any case, an effective method is essential because a man overboard weighing 80 kg will weigh significantly more when soaked in clothing. Without a Personal Flotation Device, they will typically be face down in the water, so you will need to quickly turn them over.

This may involve sending someone into the water, tethered to the boat, to ensure they can be turned over and their airway cleared.

This is certainly debatable, as you are putting a second potential victim in the water. Suppose you manage to recover them, hoist them onboard, and they are still unconscious and not breathing.

In fact, recovering the man overboard means you’ve completed 50% of the task. You now need to treat the victim, alert rescue services, and prepare them for possible airlift evacuation.

We will discuss "man overboard" in more detail in a future article.

It’s a nightmare scenario, and it might feel like fate has conspired against you, but no—unfortunately, you must prepare for all eventualities.

Such situations are often the tragic result of significant incompetence, whether due to taking too long, the crew member not wearing a life jacket, or simply assuming it couldn’t happen to you and therefore not being trained.