Modern Sailing Safety- this channel is dedicated to providing sailors with tips from off shore sailing professionals. Racers from Volvo Ocean and Ocean Race, Vendee, TranSat, TransPac, Chi Mac, Clipper, Sydney Hobart, Fastnet and more.
If you cruise, race or day sail there will be safety tips for all.
We remove opinions from Safety and point sailors to best practices, certifications and international standards.
Today, the combination of boat speed and diminished maneuverability, has created a gap between traditional Man Overboard methods and modern performance sailing. In some situations, stopping a boat to rescue a person may be impossible. Because of this, the time has come to train and certify another specialty of sailors. It is the Sailing Rescue Swimmer, ONLY in this program can sailors learn from the best off shore sailors in the world. This certification program provides procedures, and equipment needed. www.ministryofsailing.com
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&72,00, a seventy two thousand pound boat? One hundred foot long? A lot more than that I would guess.
Thanks for your comment. Today, they are almost half.
My humble, old, heavy displacement 29 foot gaff cutter with full keel and encapsulated ballast won't win any races against these guys, but I'm pretty confident I'll never lose my keel. :) (Different designs for different purposes, I know)
That’s right you can go almost anywhere in the world. The problem is you probably won’t have enough food, but you will get there.
if you think a life jacket or a whistle is going to save you then you are half way to dying at sea, better to sail with no equipment and know your survival is yours to manage. These guys got saved because they fell over right in front of an entire fleet about to pass and were near a port, and they had 21 becons lol. leg straps please, hold on.and grow up. It is amazing how many resources these offshore prima donas consume to keep themselves safe, mariners sail with no help and with no rules except there own. The keel broke off with no warning, so entitled 21 crew didnt notice anything wrong with their machine, joke or at least shitty sailors. back to sabots boys start again
Thanks for your comment. I appreciate all comments and you are entitled to your opinion, but in this case, the research and science seem to be against you. Last week a sailor was saved at night as the PLB worked. The rescue boat drove right to the person and picked them up. In the water at night you have a 40% chance of surviving. Leg Straps have proven to be effective and the exact point is you no longer have to hold on. What kind of boat do you have?
well, it did go much better than the famous Fastnet Race incident event
Stans!!! Thanks for the comment. Hope to see you soon!
You also must be an “old timer” to talk about.that. That is at least if you are talking about the 1979 fastnet. I learned to sail with my father as a kid. At the age of 16 I wa “selected” as a crew member for ship of a crazy, rich, but also drunk owner skipper. The fact was that they did not even ask if you could swim! Fact was that there was NO CREW AROUND that knew how to sail. I am still a fanatic sailer and very happy roles changed and safety matter more than ever!
@@johanreynders3731 I'll be honest... I don't remember the year it happened, 79 sounds about right... but yeah, a lot changed for the better since then. at least when it comes to safety equipment and the attitude towards it. today, the new problem I think the new problem is large bulk-carriers with small crews and a lack of self-awareness... too many big boats do not keep a lookout of any kind, and traffic around Dover is only getting more intense. that's certainly my biggest fear anywhere near the places where the Fastnet course is.
that is what happens when you build a yacht from frozen snot
Thanks for the comment!!! What do you sail?
Great eposide!
Thanks for watching.... we appreciate it. Wait for the next one - "Craziest Man Overboard EVER"
I am a new subsriber, although I have for 40 years on the water with no major mishaps, safety has always been my first concern. Just watching two episodes made me realize how much more I could have done to secure the safety of my crew and myself. Great job to all involved in presenting these briefings.
Welcome aboard! Thanks for the comments. Our main goal is for sailors to understand that there is a knowledge of practice and standards for safety. Thanks again. We are very happy to assist.
What 2 for $99 radios do you buy?
Defender online….
I always wear a personal epirb, whistle. Dye + ,strobe on my flotation vest because its so easy to be flung off. Re capsize, these narrow fins snap off if in contact with something or from fatigue critical for survival is for lifeboat pod + EPIRB to be attached ASTERN, NOT MIDSHIPS, why this is not mandatory makes no sense. Case in point round Faralon island race near golden gate bridge SF. Ca . boat flipped and reason these guys survived is they were able to detach EPIRB from stern of turtled boat in 52° h20. Good job!
EPIRBs have a hydrostatic release option (case). Under one foot, they activate and release.
Another great video. Even in an organized race with loads of safety gear, things still went very wrong. Training is key. Thanks
Thanks, Cuba. It means a lot coming from a seasoned Member of the Airforce. Let’s sail again soon!
How is it possible with all the rules & regulations to get a boat certified to go blue water ocean racing & then the keel falls off. Sounds like the boat was designed by an accountant.
I understand your point, but back then the materials used didn’t always again with the forces the boat produced. For example, during the Volvo Ocean race there was a lot of trouble in the beginning with the Volvo 70s. They spent the time to redesign the Volvo 65 and priced a much stronger vessel, which was more aligned with the forces and materials used. They were able to recover rambler 100 which went out to have a wonderful racing history and this year they actually want the Sydney to Hobart race renamed as law connect.
Thanks for your videos and remind me and every sailor to always be prepared for the worst - greetings from Austria
Greetings from Annapolis I really appreciate your comments and thanks for watching all the way from Austria. I actually have raced against the Volvo 65 out of Austria numerous times did I ever race against you? I was sailing Poland at the time..
@@ministryofsailing no - I just did several years styrian cup, several local regatta in Croatia like Kornaticup - one time with a 55 feet ocean racer, and two times round palagruza as skipper (a 4 days non stop race) ... but during the last 10 years and more "just" family sailing .-)
What about these stupid keels that are killing people?
Thanks for your comment. The World Sailing Offshore Special Regulations has addressed this issue. If you check out appendix L, you will see the inspection requirements that are now in place to help control the loss of keel issue. Inspections post incident and periodic intervals are now in place d7qh6ksdplczd.cloudfront.net/sailing/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/15183818/WS_Offshore_Special_Regulations_2024-2025_1.13.pdf
So many things went wrong here! I also don't understand Why so many modern sailors wear black clothing that is difficult to see, and they don't keep themselves tethered during bad weather. People really feel invincible 😮
The amount of reflective material on fowlies these days is actually impressive. The same with PFDs. It’s another good reason to take Safety At sea because when you’re in the water, you can see all of the reflective material that’s in the inside. The bladder is when they inflate. Please take a look at our tips and tricks and the pros playlist and you’ll see part one and part two of “you can sale at night” there are some very good shots with reflective material looks like at night. you may also want to take a look at our last episode of sailors deep brief 104 where we talk about risk habituation. I think that’s what you mean by feeling invincible.
@ministryofsailing ok, I understand better now. The human mind can quickly adapt to situations. Some sailors adjust rapidly to risky situations and then their brains don't actually register that extra precautions are needed.
I like this way of saying it about to complacency : the risk don't change - the attitude toward it does. That's complacency in a nutshell
Thanks for the comments. Feel free to use it.
I think the "they wanted to jump off the boat" comment is true despite wisdom saying only abandon ships if it sinks, sometimes it can be so frightening and exhausting that you could see this envy to just jump off tu put that hell to rest. In many sea emergencies people have commented about "why did they abandon ships" etc. especially when their ships were found still floating after the emergency event, but the why they decided to abandon in these cases may have someting to do with this psychological trait of the human beeings.
Thanks. A great book that points this out is Fastnet, force 10. This is a great book for any offshore sailor. It’s also required reading for our offshore race crews. Many boats we found after the race, the crew were not. Life rafts were also gone. Read the book. After that 79 race, safety at sea was started!
Even if the other yachts spotted Rambler, getting them off and aboard would have been hazardous, much better the lifeboat. It was Baltimore life boat the Hilda Jarret, a 47ft Tyne class boat. The RNLI are crewed by volunteers, coxswain was Kieran Cotter, and I think I saw Ronnie there, all great Seamen out of the original Baltimore.
Thanks for your comment, Hero status!
I’m a retired commercial fisherman with AMSEA training and I found some of these safety tips invaluable. Thanks for sharing!
So glad you have watched this and I appreciate your reinforcement as a pro!!!!
worse thing to happen to ocean going blue water sailboats is the racing design influence along with the racing attitude.
I understand your opinions. But I do not know what is considered a racing attitude? If a person is an idiot in a boat, they are an idiot on a boat. Check out the playlist we have on Leadership and the four rules of team work. If a team or an individual understands those rules, the attitudes Win or Lose a race, are awesome. One of the gaps in safety and sailing training is how to be a leader. If you know an idiot on a boat, share the series we put together.
What happened the yacht?
She was recovered, the. After a few modifications and name changes became Law Connect and won the Sydney Hobart this year.
An hour and a half to receive Mayday in this major event seems unbelievable.
Yes… it’s very important to fill out the data sheet with a float plan. Each PLB and EPIRB has an online registration form that can be updated for each event. If filled out, for instance using this race as an example with : Mary Jane will be sailing in the Fastnet Race located between England and Ireland on (dates) - the likelihood of a faster response is increased. Often, rescue assets try to verify as much information as possible before committing assets. I’m sorry to say that there are more false alarm alarms than actual emergencies. If the data section is not filled out, then usually the Rescue centers will call the emergency number first before they deploy an asset. When the data section is filled out with specific float plan, instructions emergency response will be much faster and most likely the emergency number will not be called.
@@ministryofsailing the small amount of racing I did, we had the boats constantly giving position reports... like three or four times an hour, depending on the conditions... I cannot imagine being stuck for many hours and no one knowing... in a race that is so tight with many boats and many monitoring channels, that's just baffling
Nowadays, many ocean racers wear black clothes and safety gear. Who can rescue them? 😮😮😮😮😮😮Obviously, they don't care about their own lives😮
Even in the case where dark clothing is used, please note that there is solace reflective, tape all over their hoods shoulders. Wrists and PFD’s also have reflective material all over them as well as you can see in some of the videos.
A word from the seakayaking community (I lived near Baltimore and have been out to Fastnet several times): 90% of sea kayaks are yellow or orange. Your personal waterproof VHF belongs fully-charged on a lanyard in your PFD (lifejacket) pocket. Carry a personal EPIRB. Keep at least two flares (smoke and handheld) plus a strobe on your person. Wear a dry (immersion) suit if going offshore, even in summer. Declare that Mayday when things go wrong, not when you can no longer cope.
Thanks for that. We appreciate all comments for all persons who love the water. Please dont forget those first two rules. :)
A word of caution. Yellow disappears in the fog more quickly than red or orange.
The NZ Coastguard encourages booties to place reflective tape on the boats bottom. Wonderful for night searches
That’s also a great comment. Yes Solas tape is a great addition. Note our sailing at night episodes on the tips and tricks from the pros series.
I think you mean "boaties"
A previous keel loss on a maxi racing yacht, happened back in the 80's. The Fastnet was being used as a shakedown prior to the Whitbread round the world race. Yacht's name was Drum.
Take a look on our play list “cool stuff on sailing”. Simon Lebon of Duran Duran tells his story.
The Fastnet doesn't go anywhere near the Irish Sea. The Irish Sea is basically bounded by the North Channel (roughly the Mull Of Kintyre to Northern Ireland) at its northern end and St George's Channel (between Pembrokeshire and County Wexford) at its southern end. The Fastnet is raced within the English Channel and the Celtic Sea. Rambler capsized in the latter.
Yes… That was totally incorrect and thanks for that. The Celtic Sea was intended. We will fix that. Please forgive us… I owe you a Guinness. Send me an email and I will Venmo you a beer.
Grab bag ?
Yep. That could have been Useful. The important item is that boats are actually designed better. If you look at the maxis now, you can see that the sterns all have rafts that can be removed externally from the boat, while inverted. Email us and I’ll send you a photo. The Offshore Special Regulations also dictate contents of the grab bag. We go over that in Episode 102 the Baliwick sinking
Excellent video and good conclusions. It’s making me think of improving my safety technics on my little boat. thanks.
Thanks, this is the best kind of comment. Our goal is to point people to the standards…. We see many opinions out there.
What an absolutely idiotic design. Like designing a car with square wheels.
That boat now Law Connect, just won the Sydney Hobart. Canting keels have changed a lot since then.
@@ministryofsailing No, that is not what I meant. I wrote design. It's a very shallow boat with very very bad seagoing characteristics. All safety has been sacrificed to gain speed.
Who designed the Rambler?
I originally had that information in the script… it was left on the edit floor. I guess in catastrophic failures, this would be important for the curious sailors. Argentinean designer, Juan Kouyoumdjian designed her and she was built by Cookson Boats. Thanks for watching.
Good video. Conclusion was well done ❤
Glad you enjoyed it. It took a lot to get it focused as you know. Thanks for your help and comments. Thanks for teaching me how to sail, I love you Dad!
I believe it was a jib halyard that chafed at the sheave. Have to wonder if a main halyard would have had a better chance of being successful. Having a second track on the mast for the trysail usually means a spare halyard is already rigged and readily available, with the angle to the sheave from the aft side of the masthead more favorable and less apt to chafe.
They used the main halyard to get him out of the water. And, yes, the sailing instructions mandate a second halyard for the main, and a second track for the Tri sail!
Well done, but the music in the background is distracting for such important information.
Agree, we don’t do it any longer.
Hindsight has a habit of being 20-20.
So does the Sailors Debrief.
Not just the victim, the entire crew should have reminded him.
Yes, crew resources management skills are very important for any vessel. Thanks for your comment.
@@ministryofsailing Spare me the Management Speak please, it's basic common sense. I'm from a family been on the water since the dawn of time, Orkney and Vikings before them. The first people to cross the Atlantic, Iceland-Greenland-Vinland. That double talk doesn't impress me, hiding behind American Acronyms. I could have used it, but that's half the problem, they lost tract of being real. Sailing's about responding to anything that gets thrown at you flexibly, and the old PPPPPPPP is part of it.
Great video and advice. I was skippering my Hunter 54 in a race ❤ across Lake Michigan at midnight with light air chute up and hit by 90 knot micro burst. We had only 6 crew onboard from the normal 10+ and my highly my fore deck guy was able to wrangle in the .5 ounce spinnaker after 30 - 40 mins after several knockdowns. Winds settled in at a steady 40 knots+ and we flew staysail & triple reefed main. The short stick 60ft+ and narrow beam 12ft saved us. Totally trusted my old 54 which I miss.
This must be the Hunter Legend. The first year out the Legend won its class in the Chicago Mack… great boat. I wish they still made them. Thanks for the comments. Did the chute live?
You are so right to run a line under personal changes against president unchanging situations. I have been guilty of taking short cuts myself 🛶thanks SV Skoiern IV
This highlights the fact that monohull sailboats with open transoms are much safer because it is so much easier to get back aboard when you are in the water. This is true at a quiet anchorage when swimming nearby the vessel and is also true in Man Overboard situations. Many older sailboats can be modified to become an open transom design and it's well worth doing as it makes the boat both better and safer.
This really depends on sea state. A heaving boat is very dangerous, even more dangerous in an COB situation. It’s important to know your vessel and have plans on crew overboard recoveries based on multiple factors. Thanks
Interesting story however the editing was jarring.
We are sorry about the edits… we are sailors… please forgive us. We appreciate the comment and are working on doing better.
I started sailing in the 1960s, mostly dinghy and near shore racing. My first overnight deep sea race was in 1968. The most striking (and important differences between then and now are the emphasis on safety! Looking back I am truly amazed that I survived! Much current equipment did not exist back then, but we did not even have much of a safety first culture.
Thanks for your comment. It is the sailors in your generation that really set the framework. We appreciate your support. I hope you are still sailing, or involved. Please feel free to share the races you sailed.
@@ministryofsailing Hello again, I just came across a post (not a sailing/boating one) that reminded me that some of the other things we did as kids in the 60s, 50s and earlier would never be allowed today. I recall my 11 year old self riding my bike alone a couple of miles across town at 4:30am to deliver newspapers. If I allowed my 11 year old grandchild to do that I would throw myself in jail! Times change, on the water and elsewhere.
Interesting -- QUESTION -- We are planing to spend a few years going around the world in a Catamaran or a Sailboat. We have watched all the SV Delos type channels on youtube and they rarely ever are "clipped in". When exactly are you supposed to be clipped in? Oblivious people who live on sailboats like SV Delos, do not need to clip in, right? Is it just during storms? Also, the clips in stuff won't stop you from falling overboard and may drag/drown you just like what happened to this captain. He dragged underwater due to the rope around him?
Thanks for your comment and these are very good questions. I personally know the Delos crew and I’ve spoken with them many times about this. It is important to always wear a PFD. As you gain more experience, then there are times that you may modify this rule. For instance, while we race our rule is if there is a reef in, or at night, PFDs are d Clipped in. You may also note that many people clip into jacklines that run in the gunnels. We do not recommend this. Run the jacklines to that when the tether is fully extended, the sailor is still on the deck. Use doubles so as you move forward, you can clip in to the next jackline, prior to unclipping from the previous one. When aft, make sure you clip in to the hard point so it keeps you in the cockpit. By making this a habit, you can control the e dragging scenario. Enjoy your travels and thanks for including us in your regular viewing. Wait for the next one!! Even better!!!! We are almost done.
@@ministryofsailing ...lots of good info for sure.. What about Catamarans? Since they don't lean over, do you clip in? Watching Zatara on youtube and their cockpit is massive like a living room and they are never clipped in. Can I ask what are your thoughts about safety on Catamarans?
Interesting clip, but edited poorly.
Thanks, we are working on it.. we are sailors first!!! Hope you understand. Please don’t ever forget that if it wasn’t for rum pirates would rule the world.
@@ministryofsailing - I am a film maker first. But that doesn't mean to say it would be okay for me to bump into things with my boat. Once you've finished an edit, go back and look at it. Fix all the mistakes before you post it.
Just reading a script. Not very interesting.
Skipper was obese, 5' 10" and weighed 250-300lbs. That was why they couldn't get him on board. Very likely he died of a heart attack. Crew is not at fault.
Weight really wasn’t the issue. There are many ways to get people out of the water. And in the end they were successful. They were unpracticed! They take home we are trying to drive home is to be clipped in with a vest, and practice COBs using all three phases. Thanks for watching
@@ministryofsailing Thanks, I'm not a sailor but found this interesting.
@@ministryofsailing Yep, the last stage, getting person on board, is rarely practiced.
I thought offshore racing boats carried a pole with a weight, a flag and a float to help keep an eye on the man overboard. He goes over, and a guy next to the pole throws it overboard. Often there is a horseshoe shaped float attached to the pole.
Also note that COB poles are still used but the Offshore Special Regulations for this race mandate A MOM, man overboard module, or Dan Bouy. They are modern day www.landfallnavigation.com/mom-8-man-overboard-module.html
@@ministryofsailing That is an outrageous price for a simple apparatus.
glad to hear all are safe. live and learn doesn't work if you can't manage the stay alive part of learning from mistakes. there is no safe substitute for experience at sea.
Thanks for the comment
I'm no racer , just a retired sailor with years of sea time. even I know the primary , most fundamental, core seamanship skill is safety. tough story when the crew actually finds the man overboard but is unable to rescue him in seventy degree water. A slack crew is always a problem when things go wrong, and perhaps the captain shouldn't have elected to have gone sailing with a bunch of hobby sailors suitable for fair weather only. I wasn't there in the weather , but to have contact without rescue is hard to figure.
Thanks for your comment. The crew met the requirements for experience in the race, the issue, besides not wearing PPE, was they were not prepared nor practiced on getting a person who was incapacitated on the vessel. Thank you for your comments to report of this assistant is also located on our website as well as the US sailing website if you would like to read it in full.
Pretty sure he would have went overboard with or without PFD. What is this nonsense? He wasn't tethered in, I'm pretty sure that was the issue there.
Agree! I don’t think we made the inferences that if he had a PFD on, he would not have gone overboard. You are correct the tether is the key
If you're tethered in, with a wave like this, you will still go overboard, unless you have a very short tether - which might be unpractical when you are working the lines. If it's daylight and there are other crew members on deck, I prefer PFD with beacon, and no tether. I am terrified of going overboard and yanked or entangled, hitting the side of the boat hard, and being dragged along by the boat. If you are alone on deck, or in bad weather, or at night, a tether is absolutely necessary.
Hear hear! Well done. Long time ocean racer here
Thanks
C'moon all you Karen's! Give this good, well intention man a break from criticizing his presentation or voice/manner speaking. He made the effort to produce this video, makes good points to remind us to be careful. Hopefully it may tickle just one person, one day to clip in... and a life will be saved! And if I may add something to the conversation. Risk is only one aspect to consider on the ocean. CONSEQUENCES should always be right up there. In this case risk homeostasis allowed him to feel comfortable to know he has never been thrown overboard in rough seas. *Really* think through the consequences, vividly. I would assume that IF I were to be thrown without being tethered so I could not go overboard or without a PFD, I would assume I'm going to be lost at sea in 15+ breaking swells. It would be a terrifying way to end an otherwise enjoyable life. Kudos to his crewmembers for stopping and finding him at all.
Hope I get the meet you. Thanks Sail fast!!! Sail safe
'Karens' ;facepalm: x's 1000
The skipper endangered the entire crew by not following on deck protocols. On deck, off shore, you must ALWAYS be clipped on. If your harness has only one hook, add one so you can move about without ever being unhooked. I heard of a guy swept over board while changing his single hook. Hate to hear stuff like this.
Thanks for your comment. Appreciate your experience and please be a leader! You can have safety without it.
LOL. In 50,000 nm, mostly of ocean voyages, I clipped on maybe twice, and wore a pfd zero times. I do wear a pdf when ocean kayaking. I also never carried a broadcast capable radio. Of course, I never flogged the boat to win a race. Since the temp of the water was 72 degrees (F I assume,) I have to wonder what killed him? It wasn't hypothermia. Maybe he banged his head and died of drowning while unconscious?