Responsibilities of the skipper and crew when taking a sailing dinghy on tidal waters with Cody SC
Skipper Responsibilities
The skipper must ensure that the vessel they are sailing is insured with valid third party liability insurance with a minimum cover of £5,000,000 for any one accident.
As skipper of a dinghy, you are responsible for the safety of the vessel and all people aboard.
The RYA 7 Common Senses for safe sailing you will especially like number 5.
Boat Safety
Your dinghy needs to be seaworthy, and should have the following safety features
- Anchor (with tripping line)
- Rigged to be able to be reefed afloat quickly
- A method for getting the water out of the boat after righting from a capsize (could be self-draining, and if not, you need a bucket or other method of rapid bailing)
- A method to slow down a capsize inversion
- Righting lines
- Towing lines
Crew Safety
Ask confidentially if your crew have any health or other concerns that may affect their ability to fully crew your boat, including hidden disabilities.
Report confidentially to the Daysail Leader concerns that you have personally, and concerns that you have of the crew who are sailing with you.
This information may be used by the Daysail Leader to change the sailing plan, and/or change crews around in the boats to balance the capacity and capability of the fleet.
Ensure that you and your crew are appropriately protected from the elements – suncream, warm weather clothing. buoyancy aid and so on.
It is club policy that all participants will wear a buoyancy aid. It is recommended that this is worn outside of the outer layer of clothing as the buoyancy straps over the shoulders help recover someone from the water.
Leaving the fleet
The club recognises that the Daysail Leader’s decision is final and the Daysail Leader should remind participants of this fact if necessary. Should the skipper of a privately-owned boat indicate that they intend to sail against any the Daysail Leader’s decision/advice, the Daysail Leader should ensure they are aware of risks that the Daysail Leader has identified and should remind such skippers/crews that they sail at their own risk and will not have fleet support for their recovery.
Best Practices in dinghy safety
- You need to understand and be able to apply the COLREGS to reduce the chances of collision (1).
- You need to understand distress signals. An illustrated table describing the life-saving signals must be studied in advance of sailing. (2)
- You must pass on information about navigation dangers (if they have not already been reported) to the Coastguard by any means possible.
- If you are in a position to be able to provide assistance on receiving information from any source that persons are in distress at sea, you are bound to proceed with all speed to their assistance, if possible informing them or the search and rescue service that you are doing so.
- Your passage will be planned (3)
- You will not misuse a distress signal
- Where a VHF radio or other maritime radio equipment (such as an EPIRB, AIS, ATIS, Radar etc.) is carried, the equipment must be licensed.
- Where in force, you must follow local byelaws and local regulations
- The RYA publication G2 – International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, available from the RYA shop, has been prepared with the pleasure craft skipper in mind and includes notes to help sailors interpret and apply the rules.
- https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1035412/Life_Saving_Signals.pdf
- https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge/safety/have-a-plan
- https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge/dinghy-trails
RYA Recommendations
Responsibilities of the Crew participating in a daysail.
You are responsible for yourself, and need to work with the skipper to make safe passage and good decisions about sailing and personal welfare.
Your are responsible for informing your skipper confidentially if you have any medical conditions which may affect your ability to do what may be required during the activities that are required – launching, carrying, pulling, recovering after a capsize, handling a VHF radio, and so on.