What to wear
Wearing the right clothing to keep you warm and dry is the first requisite to maximising enjoyment afloat. There is a wide variety of specialist clothing available for the fashion conscious, but almost any waterproof jacket will keep the spray off. Protect yourself from the sun by slipping on a long sleeved tee-shirt, slapping on a hat and slopping on plenty of high factor sun cream. In wetter, colder climes, take account of the wind chill factor – the speed of the boat can lower the ambient temperature by several degrees, so wrap up well and wear waterproof trousers as well as a top if you think you might get wet.
Children get cold much quicker than adults. Ensure that they keep warm and dry and plan your trips accordingly.
The other priority is a lifejacket that will keep you afloat with your head above water in the event of a dunking. Self-inflating lifejackets are not suitable for use in open boats because they inflate whenever they get wet, and not just when you fall overboard. They do, however, provide an additional safety measure on larger powerboats.
Buoyancy aids are available to match all shapes and sizes. They are even available for pets. Make sure that your choice is type-approved by your national standards authority, sized to match your body weight and fits comfortably over your oilskins.
Buoyancy aids sold in the European Union are CE tested and approved. Buoyancy aids are usually ‘50 Newton class’ flotation aids (CE code 393), providing a minimum of 50N (11lb/15.5kg) of buoyant force. Some buoyancy aids classed as ‘100N’ have the force to flip a swimmer over onto their back, include a neck support and are usually worn by children or inexperienced swimmers.
In the USA, choose a buoyancy aid that is type-approved by the United States Coast Guard. Type II buoyancy aids are recommended for confident swimmers. Type III flotation aids have 69N (15.5lb/17kg) of buoyant force and include a collar to keep the face of an unconscious person out of the water.
Sailing offshore requires rather more protection than taking a spin around a lake or harbour, and the better the clothing, the more you will enjoy it. When you are on an overnight passage or longer, clothing has to keep you warm and dry in the cold of night as well as daytime.
Staying warm and keeping dry are really two sides of the same coin as far as thermal insulation is concerned. Cotton underclothes for instance can absorb up to 100% of their own weight in water or sweat, and with this moisture next to the skin, body heat is sapped out 30 times faster than with a dry fabric. By contrast, hollow-fibred, polyester thermal undergarments have the unique ability to wick perspiration away from the skin by capillary action into the outer garments, thus keeping the skin warm and dry. The decks can get very wet and slippery, so good boots with nonslip soles are another priority.
Personal protection
- Wear enough clothes to keep warm
- Always have sufficient protection from the sun, and wear good quality sunglasses
- Always wear footwear with closed toes when outside the cockpit. There are many trip hazards on the deck and it is all too easy to injure yourself.
- Wear a lifejacket and encourage others to do the same.
The golden rule on any vessel is to ‘keep one hand for the yacht. . . and one for yourself’. The latest self-inflating lifejackets, with all-important crotch straps, will keep you afloat with your head above water indefinitely, but it is far better to avoid falling overboard in the first place.
Left: A self-inflating lifejacket with safety harness and quick-release carbine hook. Right: A buoyancy vest.
The best lifejackets are those that incorporate a safety harness with a 6ft (2m) line and self-locking quick-release carbine hooks at each end for you to attach to jack stays or tether points around the cockpit, flybridge and deck
It is a good rule to insist that crew members always wear their lifejacket whenever they don their oilskins when they come out of the cabin. A good rule is when not to wear a lifejacket, rather than when to wear it.
The lifejacket should have a minimum buoyancy of 150 Newtons, and should be tested when first purchased by being inflated orally and left for a period, and then annually.
Keep spare gas canisters onboard. The skipper must ensure that the crew has been issued with lifejackets / harnesses and instructed on their use before going to sea. Whilst at sea, the crew shall wear lifejackets:
- when the skipper requests
- on deck at night
- in fog
- if the individual wants to
- if the individual is a non-swimmer
A lifeline attached to a jackstay or safety point will keep you connected to the boat in the event of you falling overboard.
Other personal safety equipment to be kept ready to hand in the pockets of your oilskins are:
- knife or multi-purpose tool
- LED flashlight
- whistle
- personal man-overboard beacon (MOB) if the vessel is equipped with a MOB receiver
- orange smoke flare.
A quick release safety line attached to a strong point on the boat.
Kill cord safety line between helmsman and console.
The kill cord is an engine cut-out device that slides in behind a spring-loaded button on the engine control of most open powerboats. The other end is attached around the helmsman’s leg or lifejacket and will cut the engine should he or she fall overboard.
The engine will not start unless the kill cord is in place.
Always carry a spare kill cord in the boat so that the engine can be re-started and driven back to pick the person up.
Before casting off, give the crew a safety briefing.
- Wearing and use of lifejackets
- Flares and first-aid locations
Crew briefing showing safety equipment and rules onboard.
- VHF radio – how to send a MAY DAY
- Engine controls and use of kill cord
- Basic boat handling
- Anchoring
- Show them where you plan to go on the chart to familiarise them with their surroundings
- Explain the dos and don’ts onboard
- No riding on the bow when the boat is in motion – if they fall overboard they will finish up as mincemeat in the props!
- On large power cruisers, no one goes forward to the bow without the OK of the helmsman
- Beware of climbing up to the flybridge when the boat is in motion
- Use of the marine toilet – a dark art to most novices!