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SafetyEquipmentComplianceIn the two weeks in Las Palmas prior to thedeparture of the ARC fleet all participatingyachts are visited by one of the team ofinspectors to check that they are carryingthe required safety equipment. The itemsrequired are listed in the ARC Conditions ofEntry, which are published in four languagesand are readily available in the ARC SkippersHandbook, the pre-entry information packand on the ARC website. These requirementsare based on ISAF/ORC regulations and havebeen progressed over the years by the teamwith their unique experience of the event. Forthe racing division the RORC/ISAF OffshoreSpecial Regulations for category 1 with RORCPrescriptions also apply.

The role of the inspector is to help and advisethe skipper, not just to tick off boxes on a list;it is a learning system for both sides and isnot intended to be an ordeal by fire for theskipper. The inspectors aim is to help makethe ARC a safe experience for all the crews.

Dont Delay Book An EarlyInspection

The sooner a yacht can be inspected theeasier it is for any missing items to be sourcedand the crews attention can then be focusedon to the other preparations for the crossing,

and on enjoying their time in Las Palmas. Theinspectors will often find small items wrongand will return to a yacht at a later date oncethese have been rectified, but this can betime consuming for both the participant andthe inspector, so it is better to be right firsttime. A serious breach of the regulations mayresult in a yacht being required to leave theRally.

The inspection normally takes about an hourand the boat should be prepared to ensurethat all the gear is either easily accessible orlaid out ready to be inspected. An abridgedlist is produced for this purpose but any itemon the list in the Skippers Handbook may bechecked. It is good for the inspection to bedone with the crew that are taking part in theARC, not a delivery crew. It is important forall crew, including children, to be aware ofthe safety equipment and its stowage. It isstrongly recommended that the skipper holdsa safety briefing for all the crew when in LasPalmas and crew should arrive with plentyof time for preparation, not the night beforethe event. No inspector expects a yachtto be immaculate, all yachts need regularmaintenance and we appreciate that there isalways plenty of preparation to be done.

The Safety Equipment list should be worked

through well before the yacht sets off forLas Palmas; after all, the trip down has asmuch potential for problems as the crossing.Although nearly everything can be purchasedat the chandlers, Rolnautic, this can be a timeconsuming process as the store does get very

busy with 225 yachts in the ARC each year.

Look After Your Equipment

Remember many items of safety equipmentneed maintenance, salt water is a corrosivemedium and can do considerable damage,lifejackets should be regularly inspected,washed and all systems, lights, inflation etcchecked.

Do not skimp on safety equipment, thereare many products on the market and thecheapest is not necessarily as good as othermore expensive items. Life jackets are a casein question, it has been found that in manycases the more refined the jacket is the morecomfortable it is to wear. All yachts shouldhave a policy for the wearing of lifejackets,the best is to wear them at all times whenon deck and therefore the more comfortableit is to wear the more inclined crew are towear them. The same applies to the crotchstraps and safety tethers. Every crewmembershould have a lifejacket allotted to them, sothat they are responsible for its fit, stowage

and maintenance.

Have the Right Attitude to SafetyOnboard

James Pearson, one of the ARC 2007 SafetyEquipment Inspectors commented after theARC on the importance of having the rightapproach to safety onboard. One thingwhich I found shocking was the lengthsthat a minority of skippers would go to getaway with just the bare minimum of safetyequipment reflected in an attitude begrudgingcompliance because we have to, not becauseit is important. This I feel is bad seamanship

and in some cases negligence to their crewwho in most cases were not as educated asthe skipper/first mate about the importanceof the equipment in the safety check list.Skippers should always endeavour to get thebest possible kit within their budget.

Remember the Safety Equipment compliancecheck is intended to be an assistance to theskipper and crew and does not remove his or

q Flaredemonstration atLasPalmas

q Liferaftdemonstration

atLasPalmas

SAFETY EQUIPMENT

World Cruising Club Magazine Spring/Summer 200818

The ARC SafetyEquipment InspectionTeams Top-Tips

Spend the time on the trip down to LasPalmas familiarising the whole crewwith the safety equipment and practisingemergency procedures such as MOB,flooding, and fire. Each crew membershould know exactly what to do and what

their role is in each of these situations

Have a clear location diagram postedup on the yacht containing a plan of theyacht showing where all safety equipmentis stowed, where all safety critical itemssuch as sea cocks, batteries etc arelocated.

Have several emergency procedure cardsposted up detailing what to do in theevent of an emergency, a MOB forexample.

Complete the ARC checklist before leavinghome. Getting equipment and spares isfar harder abroad, not to mention a hugeamount of hassle having to queue in thebusy chandlery in Las Palmas!

Do not leave crew changes too late.All crew need time to settle in and becomefamiliar with routine and equipment.

Make sure that a full safety brief is heldwith the whole crew present, this shouldinclude contingency plans for things suchas rudder failure.

Make sure that you have a copy of yourinsurance certificates onboard.

Book your safety equipment inspectionfor as early as possible which will saveyou frantically running around looking forspare parts a day before the ARC departs.

Open up safety equipment regularly, suchas lifejackets, and check for fatigue andbreakages.

Remember to check whether crew havespecific medical requirements, and ensureyour yachts medical kit and grab-bagreflect this.

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SAFETY EQUIPMENT

The Top-Ten CommonFailures Found During

ARC Safety EquipmentInspections

1. Lifejackets: often found without crotchstraps or spray hoods. Both are nowrequirements and essential to any realsurvival prospects. Few owners were reallyfamiliar with their jackets in terms of checkingthat the inflation bottle was charged, therewas no wear on bladder, lights work etc. Nothaving lifejackets assigned to individual crewmembers always easier than struggling toput on and fit a jacket in an emergency. Somelifejackets were found still in wrappers soobviously had not been used on the trip toLas Palmas (around 1,000 nm voyage) or hadbeen stowed wet and become corroded.

2. Jackstays: attachment shackles were notseized with wire/cable ties (one inspectorfound 5 jackstays with very loose pins, justready to fall out); jackstays well beyond theiruseful life due to abrasion and UV damage

3. Man Overboard Equipment: not having thecorrect combination of MOB equipment andparticularly not having the required whistles,drogues, reflective tape fitted were common

failures.

4. Searchlights: these were ofteninadequate for the task required searching the sea at night orrough weather. They must bepowered directly from the yachtspower system as battery operatedlamps only last 20 minutes incontinuous use.

5. Stoves: often were not secured toprevent them dislodging in the event

of inversion. Easy 2 minute fix withseizing wire.

6. Emergency Steering: tillers found stowedin a very inaccessible locations or the coverplate had seized up

7. EPIRBS: often skippers did not know howto test their EPIRB; several were found withfaults and had to be replaced.

8. Guardrails: split rings missing fromguardrails were quite a common failure.

9. Bolt Croppers: found to be completelyrusted up, or insufficient size/type for theyachts rigging. Cutters where the bladescross over with a hook arrangement are best;croppers where the blades meet are no goodon wire rigging. Larger rigs should considerangle grinders/shroud shooters and a way of

knocking the pins out of the shroud bases.

10. Softwood Plugs for Hull Fittings: thesewere often missing, or not secured to therelevant through hull fitting.

www.worldcruising.com Spring/Summer 2008 World Cruising Club Magazine 19

q Alllifejacketsshouldhave

crotch-strapsandspray-hoods

q Theleftclipwillnot

accidentallyunfasten

q TestyourEPIRB

regularly

p Grabbagcontents

p Secureallshacklesagainst

accidentalrelease

q Attachwooden

bungstoallthrough-

hullfittings