Safety on board: Prepared for emergencies - 4 checklists for 4 scenarios
Kristina Müller
· 01.05.2024
All content in this security special:
September 2020: The crew of a German yacht on its way from England to the Azores discovers a water ingress that apparently cannot be brought under control with on-board means. They call for help. A helicopter picks up the three-man crew and the boat is left to its own devices.
Fortunately, such dramatic cases are the exception. After all, "yachting is one of the safest leisure activities", writes Keith Colwell in his book "Safety at sea - reacting correctly in an emergency". Nevertheless: "As in any sport that pushes us to the limits of our abilities, there is a residual risk of accidents and injuries. Being well prepared makes it easier for us to deal with emergencies and significantly increases our chances of survival," Colwell continues.
But what does this good preparation look like? And above all, how can small crews arm themselves for an emergency? To what extent do they need to prepare themselves and their boat?
Water ingress
- Useful aids
- Leak plugs (suitably deposited at the onboard outlets)
- Foam leak plug (e.g. True Plug)
- Schlagpütz
- Manual bilge pump
- Sealing compound (e.g. StayAfloat or Leak Hero)
- Acoustic water alarm
- Axe/hammer/cow foot/ crowbar/saw
- Self-sealing rescue tape
- Wrought metal/repair stick
- Underwater epoxy resin
- Squared timbers
- Leak sealers for onboard outlets (e.g. Seabung)
- Water ingress checklist
- Inform crew
- Take the journey out of the ship
- Start machine
- Start bilge pump, drain
- Send radio message: Position to rescue control centre, inform
- Taste test: salt water?
- Start leak detection. Neuralgic points are onboard outlets, stuffing box, echo sounder transducer
- Get emergency signals, tools and leak plugs
- Stop water ingress, e.g. with pads, cushions (see aids)
- If necessary, make the life raft ready
Emergency roles are useful for keeping a cool head and doing the right thing in such and other cases. The checklists for four different scenarios are a good basis for this. However, it is advisable to draw up individual emergency roles for your own boat and go through them regularly.
Bert and Marlene Frisch also advocate attending a course on medicine and safety at sea, such as those offered by maritime schools, private providers or Trans Ocean. Jens Kohfahl agrees: "We can only recommend that anyone who goes to sea should take a survival-at-sea course."
The best thing to do with the newly acquired knowledge is to go over the boat promptly and with alert eyes and adapt the safety precautions on board to your own crew and their abilities and possibilities. This also includes correctly assessing your fellow passengers.
They both always wear an automatic lifejacket, "even when donning and doffing", they emphasise. Just in case, they have each equipped their 150 Newton models with an AIS MOB transmitter and a handheld radio. "The person in the water could use the radio to direct the boat back." In addition, the AIS transmitter would trigger on contact with water and transmit the position of the swimmer. To make their heads more visible in the water, they both like to wear neon yellow caps at sea.
Person overboard
- Person overboard checklist
- Stop ship (turn both ways)
- Press the MOB button on the plotter
- Mark the scene of the accident, throw a lifebuoy or similar
- Make an emergency call
- Driving MOB manoeuvres
"In this scenario, we assume that the person in the water can help," says Frischs. "No one should go overboard!" is also the top priority on Jens Kohfahl's boat. He also emphasises the fundamental importance of a crotch strap on the lifejacket: "It's essential, without it the thing is worthless!"
Other preventive measures for a man-overboard manoeuvre include a ready-to-use bathing ladder, lifebuoy and searchlight, as well as regular maintenance and inspection of all these items of equipment.
Especially for medical laymen, caution is the best precaution against injuries and accidents that can end badly on a cruise. In his presentation, Chris Tibbs advises people to take this point seriously and, for example, to wear shoes on deck consistently.
Jens Kohfahl's revised book "Medicine at Sea" is also a good aid for laypeople. To ensure that the instructions in the book are useful in an emergency, you should pick it up from time to time and familiarise yourself with it.
Medical emergency
- Medical emergency checklist
- Vital functions OK?
- Provide first aid
- Immobilise injured person
- Make an emergency call if necessary
- Hold a medico discussion if necessary
It is also advisable to refresh your first aid course. However, everyone should not only know how to stop bleeding, but also how to turn the ship so that they can take care of an injured person in peace and initiate further measures. Kohfahl is encouraging: "If someone is challenged, they don't fall over straight away. Then you can do more than you think and even see blood."
Fire on board
- Fire checklist
- Inform fellow passengers ("Fire!") and distribute tasks
- Fight incipient fire immediately
- All on deck
- Make an emergency call
- Localise the cause of the fire, react; e.g. main switch of the electrical system off
- Fight the fire as well as possible with on-board resources
If water enters from outside, a race against time begins. A sensible division for small crews could be that one crew member immediately starts looking for leaks while the other starts the bilge pump and engine and takes care of the radio and manoeuvring.
Simple measures for this eventuality are a clean bilge, a plan of all outboard outlets and regular checks of all hose clamps and, above all, the condition of the sea valves. Jens Kohfahl even has some aluminium plates in the forecastle box so that he can screw them into the side of the boat to seal a leak if necessary.
Fire on board is almost worse than water in the ship. Bert and Marlene Frisch therefore not only have a general emergency roll for this scenario, but also divide it into the various areas of the ship where a fire could rage. The positions of the fire extinguishers - four pairs of foam and CO2 extinguishers in total - and the most urgent actions are noted. The correct use of the extinguishers is practised in safety-at-sea courses.
After all, the best safety equipment is useless if the crew can't use it. It therefore makes sense to familiarise yourself with all rescue equipment before the season starts. Whether that means unpacking the rescue sling or reading the instructions on the sealant. Above all, the crew must know where the rescue equipment is. An overview plan can save valuable seconds. In an emergency, everything must be within easy reach.
When equipping the boat with safety equipment, quality is more important than quantity. It is best to think carefully about what would really benefit the crew. The BOOTE equipment tests can help with this. It is also important to consider which on-board equipment should be used in which type of emergency.
Of course, in many cases worse can be prevented if the crew observe the basic rules of good seamanship: Only set sail well rested, properly clothed and equipped with provisions and, in case of doubt, not at all if the weather forecast is bad or uncertain. After all, a stormy day in harbour can also be a good opportunity to finally dig out the emergency roles and go through them together with your partner.
