MIRCSmallBoatsHead

InstructionsforSafetyBoatDriversandAssistants

Background

Theracetakesplaceoveracourseofapproximately2500metres(seemapappendix1).

Threemainsafetyboatswillbeonthewaterfortheevent,twoclubboatsandoneprovidedbyanexternalcompany,plusoneadditionalclublaunchinthefinishmarshallingareawhichcanalsoprovidecover.

Thetwoclubboatswilllaunchfromtheclubby8.00ampriortothefirstdivisionboatingataround8.15am.TheRIBrescueboatwilllaunchatthepublicslipwayatAllingtonLockandmotorupstreamtotheclub(approx.15minutesat3knots)intimetocollectradiosfromthesafetyboatco-ordinatorby7.45am.Therewillbeabriefingforsafetyboatdriversat8.00am.

AllsafetyboatswillbeinradiocommunicationwiththeRaceUmpireonthesamefrequencyastheumpires.IntheeventofanincidentbeingreportedbyanumpiresafetyboatsshouldtaketheirinstructionsfromtheRaceUmpireunlesstheyareinvisualsiteoftheincidentinwhichcasetheyshouldrespondundertheirowninitiative.Allboatsshouldcarrytwocrew;thedriverandanassistant.ThelaunchwillcarryaradioandasafetybagwithcontentsappropriatetotheenvironmentandtheguidancelaiddowninRowSafe.

Locationswillbe;

Startsafety;clublaunchatstartmarshallingarea.Positionhalfwayupfirststraightonceraceunderway.Thislaunchwillalsotaketheumpirestotheirlocationonthefirstbend.

Clubsafety;VisitingSafetyLaunchjustbelowclubhousebysilverfootbridgeinapexofbend.Thislaunchwillprovidegeneralbackupforanyincidentalongthecoursenotabletobehandledbythenearestlaunch.

Finishsafety;clublaunchjustbelowfinish

Palacesafety;clublaunchoverseeingfinishmarshalling

Theriverhasbeensplitintozonesforthepurposeoftheidentificationofthelocationofanyincident.Seemaponappendix2.Thefollowingzonesaretheresponsibilityoftheseboats;

Zones1(beforeracestart),2and3StartSafety

Zones4and5ClubSafetyplusbackuptootherzonesintheeventofamoreseriousincident

Zones6and7FinishSafety

Zone7alsocoveredbyPalaceSafetyboatmarshallingboatsatthefinish

Whattodointheeventofarescue

Ifyouarecalledupontoeffectarescuethemostlikelycausewillbeacapsizeofasingleordouble/pair,orarowerindistresssufferingamedicalcondition(asthmaattack,heartattacketc).Onceyouhaverespondedtotheincidentthechiefconcernmustalwaysbeforthesafetyoftherowers,otherriverusersandyourselves.Beawareweusuallyhavealargeentryfromjuniorsofmixedexperience.Theumpireswilltrytokeeptheeventunderwayunlessitisunsafetodoso.

Onceonthesceneassesstheincident.Intheeventofacapsize,iftherowerisattemptingtogetbackintoboatanddoesnotappearindistressyoumayallowthemtodothisbutstayincloseattendanceandstepiniftoomuchtimeelapses.Assumingtheyarenotcapableofthistheneffectarescueoftherower(s)andensureblanketsareusedtokeepthemwarm.Iftherower(s)arenotdistressedandyoucansafelyrecovertheboataswellthendosotocleartheracingline(TheclubRIBSareprobablynotofsufficientsizetotakeevenasinglescullonboard).Atleasttrymovetheboattothebankwhereitcanberecovered.Pleasetrytoavoiddamagetotheboatduringthisprocess.Onceyouhavetherower(s)aboardyoushouldreturntotheclubwheretheFirstAidtentislocatedandhotshowersareavailable.Pleaseusejudgementonthespeedyouneedtousetoreturn.Ifrower(s)notdistressedpleasekeepwashtoaminimumtoavoidprovokingfurtherincidents.

Intheeventofamoreseriousincident,which,inyourjudgement,requiresanemergencyambulancetoattendyoushouldradiothistoCHIEFUMPIRE(HarrySalmon–telephone07970546040)soonecanbecalled,orifyoucannotcontacttheChiefUmpirethendial999yourself.Thisshouldbealastresortbutdonotdelaycallinganambulanceifitisneeded.TheFirstAiderbasedattheclubcanrespondtoanincidentbybikeonthetowpathtoassessifrequired.Ifyouarenotabletomovethevictimsafelyfromthelocationoftheincidentthentheambulanceshouldbedirectedbycontroltothenearestroadaccesspoint(Archbishop’sPalace,TheRowingClub,Monkton’sLane,TheMaltaInn).

PleasetrytokeeptheRaceUmpire/RaceControlfullyinformedastothestatusoftheincidentviatheradioandalsoadvisetheracenumberandclubnamesocontrolcaninformtheirclubcontact.

Breaksandrefreshments

Comfortbreaksandrefreshmentbreaksshouldbestaggeredasfollowspleasetomaintaincontinuousonwatercoverintheareasrequired.Nonclubmembersontheboatswillbeprovidedwithrefreshmentvouchersforuseatthestallintheclub.

Startsafety.Afterlastcrewhasleftthezonesyouareresponsiblefor,collectumpiresfromfarbanklocationsandfollowfinalcrewindivisionuptoclub.OnceatclubpeeloffandletClubSafetyfollowcrewtofinish.Needtobeafloatagainbeforenextdivisioncommencesboating.Breaktimeapprox20/30mins.

Clubsafety.OncelastcrewhaspassedyourlocationtakeoverfollowingthisboatfromStartSafety.Oncecrewhaspassedthefinishpleasewaitwhilecrewsaremarshalledandsentbacktoclub.Followcrewsbacktoclubandthenyoucangoashore.Pleaseremaininradiocontactincaseofanincidentonthewaterrequiringmoreattentionthanthetwoclubboatscanprovide.Needtobeafloatagainbeforenextdivisionstartsboatingandmovingoffdownstream.Breaktimeapprox20mins.

FinishSafety.OnceallcrewsarefinishedyouaretoremainontheTownStraighttoprovidecoverforreturningcrews.Stayafloatuntilcrewshaveboatedforthenextdivisionandthenyoucancomeashorewhilecrewsareassembledforthenextstart.Breaktimeapprox30mins.

PalaceSafety.Yourchiefroleistomarshalboatsbeforetheirreturntotheclubbutalsoactasasafetycoverifneeded.AswithFinishSafetyyoushouldstayafloatuntilthenextdivisionhasboated.Needtobeafloatoncenextdivisionhasbeenstarted.Breaktimeapprox30mins.

IfforanyreasonyouneedtoleaveyourlocationatothertimespleaseadvisetheSBCsohecanreallocatecover.

RadioProtocol

Forthoseofyouwhoarenotfamiliarwithusingashortwaveradiothesearethebasics

Onlyusetheradiowhenitisnecessary–avoidunnecessarychatter

Allradioswillbesettothecorrectfrequencybeforeyoucollectthem.Thiswillusuallybechannel1.ItisrarebutImayaskyoutoswitchtoanalternatechannelifIwanttohaveaprivatediscussionwithyouandavoidclogginguptheradioforotherusers.Don’tforgettoswitchbacktochannel1afterwards.

Itcansometimesbedifficulttoheartheradiooverthenoiseoftheoutboardsokeepthevolumelevelonfull.

Tocallsomeonedepressandholdthebuttononthesideoftheradio.Keptithelddownwhiletalkingandthenreleasetohearthereply.Theremaybeasmalldelaybetweendepressingthebuttonanditbeingreadytotransmitasweuseabasestationattheclub,sodepressandwaitasecondbeforespeaking.

Tocallsomeone,firstusetheircallsign(name)toalertthemthatthemessageisforthem(sayingthenametwiceishelpfulasitismorelikelytoattracttheirattention)andthenidentifyyourself.Thenawaittheiracknowledgementbeforesendingyourmessage.Aftereachtransmissioneithersay‘over’ifyourequireafurtheransweror‘out’ifyouwanttoendtheconversation.Don’tuse‘overandout’.

EG.

HarrySalmon,HarrySalmonthisisSafetyFinishOVER

HarrySalmonreceiving,sendtransmissionOVER

Wehaveascullerinthewater.LocationonTownStraight.Weareresponding.Scullerisnumber52fromMaidstoneOVER

ThankyouSafetyFinish,pleasekeepmeinformedastoyoursituationOUT

Or

SafetyFinish,SafetyFinish,thisisHarrySalmon,OVER

SafetyFinishreceiving,sendtransmission,OVER

SafetyFinishwehaveacapsizeundertheHighLevelrailwayBridge.Pleaserespond,OVER

WearerespondingnowandwillconfirmdetailsassoonaspossibleOUT

Appendix1–COURSEMAP

Appendix2–ZONEMAP