Sailing without safety cover

It looks like there is going to be a safety Boat feature... whatever that means at the Dinghy show 2007 so maybe these questions will be answered?

Safety .... Rescue ..... it's all people playing with English and probably wouldn't make a shred of difference if something actually ended up going to court.

In my mind, both terms "Safety" and "Rescue" imply that the club is taking on part of the responsibility for the sailors who are using its facilities. All sailing instructions have the "responsibility of helm for his boats safety etc." in them to cover this.

A much better term is "Patrol" boat, which is the one used by the two clubs I am a member of. The purpose of a "Patrol Boat" is:

1. To assist the race officer with setting the course and other race management duties

2. If required, carry a Jury to perform on the water judging.

3. Attend capsized boats, and if possible provide assistance with recovery of boats or crew in the event of damage or injury.

There should be no expectation on the part of the sailor to expect a Patrol boat to attend to mitigate risks where time is a major factor in saving lives - for example entrapments, man overboard etc. Here the primary responsibility lies with the crew of the boat to self-rescue by carrying the correct equipment eg knives, and knowing the correct techniques eg holding on to the mainsheet if you fall out of a singlehander, or both crew members capable of sailing the boat singlehanded in a doublehander.

Note that 1,2 and 3 are the purpose of the patrol boat from the sailor's viewpoint, those operating the boats should still attempt to attend every capsize as soon as possible, prioritizing highest risk boats first etc. etc.

I do think that people have become far too reliant on "rescue boats" and sail in conditions or boats which are outside their ability / fitness levels. For example, if you are sailing at something like a national championships and cannot right a capsized boat without assistance, there should be no expectation that the "rescue boat" will help you get the boat up, only prevent you dying of hypothermia.

Obviously, a sailing school or other training situation where the aim is to push the boundaries of peoples' ability, the "rescue boat" will be expected to do much more, and this is reflected in the much smaller ratios between "rescue boats" and sailing boats.

Originally posted by MikeBz  Well I'm confused... If a safety boat doesn't rescue you when you're in trouble it's not doing much to ensure your safety...   If a rescue boat rescues you when you're in trouble then it's ensuring your safety... Mike

stir it up a bit mike

I doubt very much that there is a legal distinction between the two (I wait to be corrected) in which case it is semantics... from which you can draw comfort or feed your paranoia depending on your character.

I personally don't think the UK will ever get to the same point of litigation as the US because A, we're too cynical and B, we've seen it happen elsewhere and have mostly guarded against it.

Originally posted by Stefan Lloyd Originally posted by Contender 541 You fail to pick someone out of the water for whatever reason having put on 'rescue' cover then you are leaving yourself open to a whole heap of nastyness. You fail to pick someone out of the water for whatever reason having put on 'safety' cover then you are in a grey area and protected from the law to a greater degree.  You only provided safety cover, you never said you would rescue them. Where did you read this?

There was an article on safety/rescue boats recently (I think it was in y&y, but might have been DSM) which did make a distinction between safety and rescue. I don't think it was from a legal perspective, but that a safety boat is there to ensure those sailing (but not their equipment) are safe, whereas a rescue boat will intervene in less serious incidents in which safety is not at risk.