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The most fun the sailors of the Caribbean 1500 had today was watching a six-man Switlik liferaft burst into form in the hotel pool and red-hot flares be set off. After a morning of safety seminars, the display offered some levity. But the laughs at phallic jokes about a half-inflated Jim Buoy were nervous ones with each participant understanding that if they saw these items over the next two weeks, things would not be so funny.
“Concentrate on the preparation of your boat so you don’t have to get in the life raft,” said Davis Murray, a crewmember aboard the Hylas 70 Archangel, and who has been doing these demonstrations for 20 years. “We do this because a lot of people don’t know what will happen when you pull the cord.”
Murray leapt into the raft, showed the group the survival pack, step ladder and how to right the raft if it capsizes. He said, “These things roll over pretty easy, both ways.” He also deployed a M.O.M, the man overboard module that contains a horseshoe tethered to a Jim Buoy, which didn’t inflate all the way. The 14-year-old device had not been inspected and served as wake up to those with older safety equipment.
The demonstration was educational to all, including lessons learned about opening flares – don’t look directly into them and never wave them above your head – but the earlier seminar laid out some basic guidelines to either keep emergencies at bay or know how to deal with them effectively. And the main message preached by chief safety inspector Peter Burch was loud and clear: be on alert, work at prevention and be self-reliant.
“It is amazing how many times people get into a life raft and their ship is found weeks later still floating,” said Burch to a standing-room only audience this morning. “There are only two reasons to get in a life raft: if you’re sinking and have to step up into it, or if the boat is on fire.”
After addressing the topics anticipating emergencies, man overboard and fire, Burch tackled the abandon ship scenario. He went down the list that eventually went from sending out a Pan Pan to a May Day. “Think very carefully about using a May Day,” he warned. “You start a process with the Coast Guard and they start immediately committing resources.” Once this is set in motion, he said, you must do exactly what the Coast Guard tells you.
Burch’s message tied directly into the two key elements of the cruising rally format: preparation and the resources of the organizers and fellow participants. He pointed out that even with all of this, the human element is most important in preventing emergencies. “It’s really easy to be alert and sharp when things are rough,” he said. “You’re senses are keen then. It’s when life is relaxed, the sun is shining, when we let our guard down. We have to be aware.”
Even the most seasoned participants were nodding their heads today in agreement throughout the seminar and demonstration. Burch, Murray and organizer Rick Palm talked to the group as equals yet stressed the importance of certain criteria as firmly as you would to a family member.
Throughout this long day that taps into that place of worry in everyone’s heads, Burch gave an automatic confidence booster. “Your first and biggest safety decision was done years ago when you selected that wonderful seaworthy boat out there,” he said pointing to the fleet. They are all good boats. Remember to save the ship.”
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