Rescue Boat Liability?

I'm not a solicitor - my knowledge of the law comes as an electronic engineer who always mindful of liability. My shoulders are pure teflon, steeply sloped and I am keen to keep them this way.

I have a feeling that the RYA or ISAF has something to say about racing. If you are an RYA registered club then there is a stipulation as to the provision of rescue craft for an event. Certainly, at BYC if there are no rescue crews available, racing is cancelled. I beleive that we have to observe a certain ratio of rescue boats to competitors. All our rescue crews are have powerboat tickets, most have safety badges as well. If it isn't an RYA stipulation it will be a condition of our insurance. We are a coastal club facing NE with the prevailing wind offshore so we perhaps are in a different circumstances to others. Dunno.

If you launch your dinghy in 40 knots I would question whether any insurer would feel obliged to cough up.

Any fool can set to sea. It takes a real sailor to know when to stay ashore.

There is a second point here that has not had much discussion. Jamie600 has come in from playing with a hole in and a scuff on his boat and went straight for an insurance form. Is this how the rest of you go about your sailing, I was under the impression that most sailors would ger the boat fixed by a local chap or get the tool box out. I treat insurance as a last resort for the unlikely BIG problem, as may have happened had the boat ended up on the dam wall.

Don't forget the insurers are in this to make money, claim too often and you will pay in the long run.

H