Flinders Deaths

[Guest]

Gotta admit that is right at the bottom of the list for me. Better to concentrate on how I'm prepared.

[Guest]

Gotta admit that is right at the bottom of the list for me. Better to concentrate on how I'm prepared.

Well sure, but if it all goes pear-shaped wouldn't you like to think someone in race management has let other authorities know you are out there, had some sort of radio comms to know (even second hand) that someone might be in trouble, be able to give correct POB information to marine rescue........

[Guest]

Well not really. I have done a whole lot of sailing where such a safety net simply doesn't exist (a good example was a cruising boat that set off the epirb in water assigned to India - India's response - hey we're busy go away).

When you sail like that for long enough you learn to do without it, then you realize that you are better for it.

Any rescue is a bonus.

[Guest]

I totally agree with you - for cruising and racing you must be self-sufficient to the extent of the likely conditions you'll encounter including rocks on the northern end of an Islet.

 

However in a racing situation, race management has a certain level of responsibility as well, and after reading the Flinders Inquiry report it made me wonder how prepared race management at our NZ yacht clubs is, for situations like this.

[The big T 41]

What would you want to see - a "Thunder Birds are Go" attached to every race. I can only speak for my clubs and other longer races that I have done, but more recently there is a requirement for a radio sked, a list of crew and contacts, and cellphone details - even in such events as the Night Race to Kawau.

 

Individually each boat can call Maritime radio for any incidents/accidents, or Coastguard or any nearby vessel that might help if needed (or extract themselves out of difficulty).

 

In Auckland all events are publicly notified through the AYBA Boaties Book so if needed, authorities can check what is on where (and who is running it) - that was part of the philosophy in the Harbourmasters financial support of the Boaties Book - also to avoid conflict of use of the waters by multiple organised users.

 

 

 

What more do you want?

[Guest]

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't suggesting we should do more I was just wondering if we could find ourselves in the same situation as that yacht club where we didn't have the right standard arrangements in place. Its a timely reminder I think

[Guest Rocket]

What is the hot set-up for navigation courses? I feel the need to convert my experience into actual knowledge that might be more useful?

 

Having read the report not keen to do the "GPS operator" one at CG as I can already drive a GPS - am looking for the old fashioned paper, pencil and compass variety....

[Guest]

Good question - who teaches good old fashioned pilotage and navigation these days?

[SloopJohnB 322]

Do you mean someone that carries around ASRT and a sextant.

[Guest]

Actually a sextant is more common for offshore (though you can do distance off by vertical angle) where GPS is obviously superior. It's around the hard bits at the edges that GPS tends be less adequate. Just a guess but maybe if people were to learn good old basic piloting (near shore navigation) then they would have a better idea how to employ the GPS as opposed to blind faith.

Just thinking out loud.

[Guest]

The Coastal Skipper course is passage planning, Navigation (some Celestial) and Weather.

Boatmaster is inshore navigation, pencils rulers etc.

They are run by Coastguard.

[SloopJohnB 322]

My first and last time I navigated with GPS, the water came through the door seals of the car.

[JK 28]

My daughter was going to do this in the school holidays:

 

http://www.maritimemuseum.co.nz/webfiles/NationalMaritimeMuseumNZ/files/Introduction_to_Navigation_course_brochure.pdf.

 

It's going to be a bit high level, but given it is run in conjunction with Coastguard they should do more in-depth courses.