Nationals Championships Sail Training at Middle Island: Safety Boat Training for Volunteers

Sail Training at Middle Island: Safety Boat Training for Volunteers

WORDS: LUKE VAN DER KAMP | IMAGES: VIVIAN NGAN AND LUKE VAN DER KAMP

he Club provides a vast array of training for those interested in volunteering at regular and large scale Club racing events. These include race officer seminars, mark laying workshops, judging seminars to name a few. On water training for race management volunteers is also provided in the form of the RYA Safety Boat course.

The RYA Safety Boat course was originally designed as a course to support the many volunteer driven sailing clubs around the UK. It has a dinghy racing focus but the skills covered are transferable across most types of racing. The two day course is split in to two parts; dinghy rescue and recovery is the first part and race management tasks the second.

The first day of the Safety Boat course primarily focuses on the main role of safety boat crews: ensuring the safety of those racing. Activities include practical man overboard drills, VHF communication and practical experience in rescuing, righting and towing a range of dinghies and small craft.

The second day of the course focuses more on the roles of race management support boats. GPS usage and mark laying exercises to start the day, introductions to start line support and mark rounding recording afterwards. The second day of the safety boat course will normally finish with either a practical observation of Club racing or a long navigation passage.

So who can join the Safety Boat course at Middle Island? The prerequisite for the course is only to have completed the RYA Powerboat Level 2 qualification before enrollment. Participants do not need to carry a PVOCC to attend. Non-members are also welcome to join.

During the recent HKRNVR Memorial Vase regatta in the harbor, six lucky participants in the Safety Boat course on two RIBs had the chance to experience the roles of safety boats at one of the Club’s premier regattas. Shadowing the primary safety boats and work boats for the regatta, the students experienced monitoring the pin end of the start line for OCS boats, shadowing the fleet, providing escorts for commercial traffic, recording mark rounding times and even a casualty evacuation drill. The invaluable experience gained has helped them understand the ins and outs of sailing regattas and prepared them for in a real world scenario for their safety boat careers!

RYA Safety Boat courses will be scheduled in the lead up to major events such as Hong Kong Race Week, International events and the Around the Island Race. On top of these, Safety Boat courses may be scheduled to coincide with Club racing events to provide practical regatta experience.

DID YOU KNOW?

After successful completion of the Level 2 Powerboat Course and Safety Boat Course, RHKYC Members on the Approved RIB Helm List may apply to the Sailing Committee for subvention of the course fee to a maximum value of 75% of the cost. Subvention will be dependent on the member assisting at Club events as a powerboat driver within 12 months of their course completion, with 25% of the cost credited per event-day. Please complete and return the subvention form to sailtrain@rhkyc.org.hk and this should be returned after fulfilling the subvention criteria. Scan here or go to https://www.rhkyc.org.hk/events/ Volunteers20202021.aspx for more information on volunteering at RHKYC Events.

Scan here or go to https://rhkyc.cinolla.com/ sailtraining/courses/category/pb for more information and schedules for RHKYC Power Boat courses.