Dear Club Member,
With the spring now with us, it is perhaps timely to remind members of the importance of safety at Sutton Bingham. Without Safety Cover, sailing at Sutton Bingham is not possible and we all have a duty to ensure that the safety of members and visitors is protected at all times. If you have a duty allocated, please make sure that you fulfil your duty on that day.
Our OODs are a vital part of ensuring that all of our activities are conducted in a safe manner; both on and off the water. It is easy to become complacent, especially if you have been undertaking safety duties for many years, but an incident can happen very quickly and without warning. Your first priority is the safety of persons using the water and all other duties are ancillary to this.
Remember that you need to be capable of reaching an unconscious sailor in the water within three minutes if you are to have a chance of saving someone from drowning. I would therefore ask all OODs to ensure that they have all sailors in sight at all times and, if you are not patrolling the water, then you need to be able to reach a distressed person within that time.
Please ensure that safety boats have sufficient fuel and that engines are warmed up and ready to go, with the appropriate safety kit, at short notice. Time wasted in starting a cold engine can be life threatening. You should be suitably dressed to undertake your duty and be willing and able to enter the water to assist someone. The revised Operations Manual has a section dedicated to OOD activities for your information.
Ensure that all sailing boats are kept in sight and don’t be afraid to issue instructions to casual sailors to ensure that they remain in a stretch of water that is reachable by a safety boat within a reasonable time. Remember, as OOD, you have absolute authority over the activities of members and visitors on the water. If you are not comfortable with any of the sailing that is taking place then you have the backing of the Committee to call a halt.
Finally, remember too, that dinghy sailing is a sport that should be enjoyed by all. Please do your bit to ensure that we continue to have sailing available at Sutton Bingham by keeping everyone safe.
Phil Bailey
Commodore