WELCOME ABOARD!

We’re glad you are sailing with us! We hope sharing some of these safety details with you in advance will help prepare you for a fantastic adventure. Our number one goal throughout the trip is to get everybody back to the dock happily and safely!

You will soon be getting a link from the Moorings with a video about safety. PLEASE watch the video! The following information supplements the video.

(Although we mention the Irish Wake and the BVIs specifically in this briefing, the boats we typically charter in other destinations are either identical or nearly identical…so quiz your skipper and try to stump him on any important differences in safety equipment or storage locations.)

Save Local Contact Info

Please save your skipper’s phone number as well as the local phone numbers for the Moorings and VISAR (Virgin Island Search and Rescue—or similar Coast Guardy-type organization where you are sailing) in your phone before we depart. We want to make sure everyone has these numbers immediately available, whether we are on the boat, or on the dinghy, or on an uncharted desert isle. The numbers are located on a sheet in the nav station.

Fire—In General, The Biggest Maritime Threat

Be aware of the following:

Location of fire extinguishers on the Irish Wake

• In the hanging locker of all three cabins

• In the galley floor locker near the forward door

• In a cockpit locker

There is also at least one fire blanket (especially useful for stove fires) in the forward galley cabinet. You can also use it to smother other fires or to cloak yourself for protection during a worst-case fire scenario.

Some hatches can be used for emergency exits and they are clearly marked.

Small, square, raised clearly-marked indicators are located through the ship to identify the location of fire safety equipment and exits…please look for these indicators and touch them anytime you walk past so you will develop the muscle-memory to find them even in the dark.

Be especially cautious while cooking. Cooking is said to be the most common cause of fires on sailing vessels.

For engine fires, be aware:

• We have two automatic fire suppression systems (one for each engine room). Indicators are at the helm.

• These systems can also be manually triggered by controls located in the aft cabins under each berth along the outer edge of the hull, if needed. Your skipper will show you the location.

• We also have a fire extinguisher port for each engine room. Please ask the skipper to show you the location before we leave.

If we ever have a fire, we need to turn off the Main Electrical Switch (on the Irish Wake, it is located in the saloon immediately inside the sliding glass doors, behind the baseboards under the dinette bench). Please review the location of this important item with the skipper in advance…it’s a bit hidden.

Securing the Ship before Getting Underway

It can occasionally get REALLY wavy and rolly out there!

Please keep ALL drawers closed and latches locked especially before and while we are underway. (The big drawer under the oven is especially dangerous since it is really heavy and could probably hurt someone’s foot if it slides open unexpectedly, which it has on other similar boats!)

Please close and seal all hatches and side windows in the cabins each morning before we get underway. This is really important. You do not want to have a cold, wet, salty bed or flooded hull!

Please flush all the water out of your toilet before we get underway. You do not want toilet water sloshing around in your head or cabin! (It’s always best to keep the toilets empty so you don’t even have to think about it. You can fill the toilet to your desired water level right before you need to use it. More about this topic later!)

Anything that can fall and break will. The safest locations for breakable items are inside the lowest cabin lockers protected with soft items, like clothes. The cabin berths are also generally pretty safe…especially if breakable items are surrounded by pillows.

Your skipper will do a complete exterior ship walk-around each morning before we depart looking for open hatches and unsecured items. (You are welcomed to participate!) And he will do a safety check of the interior common areas. Please help by checking that your cabin is secure and ready to go.

Safety Equipment and Location

Most of our personal safety equipment on the Irish Wake is located in the locker under the aft dinette bench in the saloon. Please be sure you know where these items are.

Make sure you know how to clip the low-profile, automatically-inflating life vests closed around you. (It’s trickier than airplane life vests and trickier than you think…please have your skipper show you how….and practice.)

We also have harnesses, clip-in lines, decklines, and a couple of sets of foul-weather gear, if needed.

There is no requirement to wear life jackets while underway…it’s your call…but your skipper usually will if it is wavy or rough at all. (Good rule of thumb, watch the admiral! If she has donned her life jacket, you’ll probably want to don yours as well.)

Dinghy/Davit

Driving the dinghy is SUPER fun (and you are, of course, welcomed to do so)! But, the dinghy and davit (the crane-like equipment that raises and lowers the dinghy) are, by far, the most routinely dangerous parts of the boat!!! Please be super cautious using them.

There is a potential risk of closed head and/or facial injury if you are in the dinghy when the davit is down. When the davit is down, even a small wave on a calm day can suddenly and violently lift the dinghy and thereby crash your face into the davit in a fraction of a second! If you are in the dinghy to release it (or secure it) and the davit is down, keep a hand on the davit and keep it pushed an arms-length away (and keep your head even farther away). Once the dinghy is released from the davit, raise the davit far above everyone’s head before anyone else boards! Please review davit and dinghy operations carefully with your skipper!

While getting on/off the dinghy, there is a significant risk of falls, for everybody—even for those who are light on their toes. Move super slow and carefully time your movements to the waves. Feel free to hold the davit for support. There is no shame in the old butt-based- scooch-onto-the-dinghy-on-your-rear move, if it helps you. However you do it…WATCH THE WAVES. WATCH THE WAVES.

While getting on/off the dinghy…also watch the davit lines…they have heavy steel clips at their ends that can swing into your face or head. A good practice is to grab onto one of these davit lines, if you are near one, as you are boarding…it gives you something relatively secure to hold, it steadies the dinghy, and it prevents them from swinging and hitting you or the next person.

Watch out at dinghy docks! There are always lots of splinters/rusty nails/etc….

The dinghy motor starts with a hard pull on a cord—just like a lawnmower. One of the most common serious injuries in sailing occurs when the dinghy skipper pulls on the starter cord and his/her elbow then smashes into the face of another crew member. (Let’s not be that crew!)

The obvious best practice is that the dinghy skipper should start the dinghy motor, whenever possible, BEFORE others board the dinghy and make sure the motor is in neutral before anyone else boards.

If you are starting the dinghy motor, get in the habit of pulling the cord so that your elbow always travels downward….even when no one else is around. That way, things will be safer if we have to start the motor with the dinghy occupied. (In sailing, the etiquette is that it’s always nicer to smash someone’s thigh than their face.) Always alert your dinghy-mates before you pull the cord and ask them to move far forward and away from the path of your elbow.

Dinghy Launch Checklist

• Make sure the dinghy boat plug is plugged in BEFORE lowering the dinghy. (Who among us hasn’t accidentally flooded a dinghy or two…or three…?)

• Make sure the dinghy line (aka, “the painter”) is securely cleated to the Irish Wake before releasing the dinghy from the davit. (Who among us hasn’t had an unsecured dinghy float happily away…?)

• Make sure the painter line is always far far away from dinghy prop. (The painter and the dinghy prop attract each other with animal magnetism. Who among us hasn’t had the great fun of untangling a painter line wrapped around a prop…?)

• Before leaving in the dinghy, always confirm that we have the following items in a dry-bag and that these items are fully charged and working:

o Portable VHF radio

o At least one cell phone

o 2 flashlights

• Also confirm that we have the following in the dinghy before leaving:

o A couple of life jackets

o At least one gallon of water

o Sunscreen

o The rope ladder

• PLEASE DO NOT CAST OFF THE DINGHY LINE until the dinghy motor is running! (This happens every charter!) (Who among us hasn’t floated away a time or two in a dinghy that won’t start…?)

• If you are the dinghy skipper, always put the kill-switch cord around your wrist. (It will kill the engine if you fall overboard preventing the dinghy from circling around and trying to kill you…which it wants to do!) REMIND YOUR SKIPPER….he always forgets.

Dinghying onto a Beach

Most of the time, we’ll be driving the dinghy to a dinghy dock (which makes boarding and disembarking pretty easy). But sometimes, we will be taking the dinghy up onto a beach, which can be a bit trickier, especially if it is wavy. The dinghy skipper will usually give a burst of speed right before we land, then quickly kill the engine and pull the motor up (so the prop doesn’t get stuck in the sand). This all has to happen very quickly, right as we are crossing breaking waves and have no more steering or power. The number one goal for the crew during this final phase of landing is to keep the dinghy perpendicular to the waves. This means that right as the dinghy stops moving forward, someone (usually one or two people) at the bow will have to jump in on either side and walk the dinghy forward keeping it perpendicular to the waves. (It will typically be knee deep or less…but it could be waist deep or more.) Remaining passengers can then jump out once the boat is up on the beach.

The minute the dinghy is given a chance (because we let it), it will immediately try to go broad to the waves (i.e. parallel to the waves)…which can be a bit dangerous since a broadside wave can, in principle, flip the dinghy over (engine and all) possibly injuring anyone remaining on board. So keep your wits about you. Confident swimmers and confident sailors should take the lead at the bow to prevent the dinghy from going broadside to the waves. It is easily done. (If the boat does go broad to the waves and the waves are threatening, the remaining crew should simply exit the dinghy on the seaward side as a precaution. You’ll get wet, of course, but you’ll be able to touch and walk in safely, and the dinghy won’t tumble onto you.)

Moving around the Irish Wake while underway

You are absolutely welcomed to move around the yacht while we are underway. But please use lots of caution. We don’t want anyone falling, or especially falling in.

• Keep at least one hand on the boat at all times while underway (preferably two). Ask your skipper to demonstrate safe places to hold on and how to move. (Think of yourself as Tarzan swinging from handhold to handhold.)

• Move through center of the ship (i.e. the saloon) whenever possible, while underway

• Avoid the outer walkways on the sides of the boat whenever possible, while underway

• We use the buddy system while underway…always have your buddy clearly identified (i.e. say “Hi Buddy” to the person you are sitting talking to) and then know and track where your buddy is until you both agree to switch buddies. Keep eyes on your buddy if he or she goes inside to get a drink or goes to the head, and make sure your buddy returns when expected…or at least has found another better buddy somewhere else.

Swimming

Despite generally calm weather, warm seas, minimal tides, weak currents, and protected beaches, the BVIs are said to have one of the highest per capita drowning rates in the world!

And last year, I heard from a local that 100% of the drowning fatalities in the BVIs involved tourists! (That’s obviously the kind of thing a local WOULD say. But let’s pretend it’s true for a minute.)

Obviously, we want to enjoy the water A LOT, but we need to exercise caution.

1. SWIM LADDER. Always put down the swim ladder BEFORE jumping in! (Your skipper will try to remember to put down the swim ladder as soon as we moor or anchor…just in case an over-excited crew member jumps the gun or someone falls in. If we are moored or anchored, and you see the swim ladder in the up position, please feel free to drop it into the water into the down position!)

2. IF THE SWIM LADDER IS UP, and you are down in the sea, and you can’t get into the boat, then: 1) obviously call for help, 2) climb aboard the dinghy (it’s MUCH easier to climb into the dinghy…we have a rope ladder in the dinghy which you can reach from the water, which makes things real easy) then you can easily jump onto the Irish Wake, 3) there is an emergency swim ladder at water level on the Irish Wake down below the “normal” swim ladder (ask your skipper to point it out and how to use it before getting in the water).

3. THROW OUT A FLOATING LINE. We ALWAYS attach a nylon (floating) line to the boat and throw it out behind the boat before getting into the water. Then we throw in the best swimmer to test the current. When you jump in, stay near that line and that swimmer (or hold onto it, him or her) until you get a feel for the current. Sometimes the currents are much stronger than you would think…Saba Rock is a good example! (The long tail-end of the dinghy painter line is a great line for this purpose.)

4. WEAR A YOKE. Not required, but a really good idea. It dramatically increases your visibility to the other crazy boaters and dinghy drivers in the area, and you can always put a few puffs of air in for extra buoyancy whenever you want. We have plenty on board.

5. WEAR FINS (if you are a good swimmer and comfortable with them). They’ll help you zip through the current and they make it really easy to tread water. Plus we’ll nominate you to swim the mooring line. Lucky you!

6. JUMP IN FROM THE STARBOARD SUGAR SCOOP. (The sugar scoops are the platforms at the very aft end of each hull.) The port-side sugar scoop has the swim ladder. You don’t want to land on it or on the swimmers who are probably near it, despite Commandment #7 below. The starboard sugar scoop is a better place to jump in…which is generally the way to go.

7. AVOID HANGING OUT ON OR AROUND THE SWIM LADDER. The swim ladder semi-floats and bangs around with the waves. And it has pinch-points that can injure your fingers and hands. It’s much safer to stay away from the swim ladder when you are not actually using it to climb aboard. When you use the ladder, climb up quickly, then move away. WATCH THE WAVES. WATCH THE WAVES.

8. And if you are a midnight skinny dipper (not officially recommended by our on-ship compliance officer, BTW)…go in with your buddy for all the OBVIOUS reasons, obviously, (and double down on the precautions above...having a line out and the swim ladder down).

MOB (Man Over Board)

(I know this is extremely suboptimal terminology, but “MOB” is what you will see on the chart plotter and it is used by the Coast Guard and other vessels…so, for clarity and consistency, let’s keep this unfortunate terminology for now.)

MOB means someone falling in the water while the vessel is underway. (Falling in while the vessel is moored…well, that’s just on you!)

We worry about MOBs and prepare for this situation, because boats, in general, don’t have brakes. Stopping a boat under sail is even trickier. And MOBs can disappear from sight very very quickly and run into trouble very very quickly. We, the crew, are the MOBs best hope for survival by a long shot. (Search and rescue teams are always many many minutes away, at best.)

Your skipper will show you the MOB button on the chart plotter and how to navigate to it if it isn’t displayed. (It records the exact location of the boat when pushed.) We need to push it as soon as we recognize an MOB event.

We have several different types of throw-able flotation devices with slightly different functions and uses on the Irish Wake. Your skipper will review each one with you. Cushions and life jackets can also be used. Job one is to get flotation to the MOB.

General MOB Procedure

The first person to recognize a MOB event YELLS “Man Over Board” several times real LOUD, getting everyone’s attention. The helmsman pushes the MOB button on the chart plotter and all crew immediately muster in the cockpit.

If the MOB is visible, crew immediately throws flotation to the victim, then all crew don life jackets…the only thing worse than a MOB is two MOBs…we don’t want anyone else falling in during a rescue, especially without a life jacket.

The skipper designates a “spotter”…usually the person who recognized the MOB event. The spotter keeps eyes on the MOB at all times and points the MOB’s location with a raised arm from a position where the skipper can see the spotter’s arm. (A MOB can disappear from sight within seconds of falling in, even in moderate seas, so it is critical for the spotter to keep CONSTANT eyes on the MOB…the MOB’s head may only be visible for an instant on the crest of a wave every 30-40 seconds. The skipper will be focused on navigation of the vessel toward the MOB and control of the ship, and may not be able to keep a constant watch for the MOB. So, the spotter is critical.)

(If the MOB is not visible, then the shit is real, and we need to immediately call in all available boats and search teams, helicopters, etc… in the area via VHF, giving them the MOB coordinates from the chartplotter as a starting point for search and rescue.)

MOB Retrieval

1. Skipper will perform one or more of the following: start engines, drop mainsail, release genoa, and come about. If crew are available and comfortable, one person can help by furling in the genoa, helping to guide the mainsail down, and locking in the boom with the main sheets. In some conditions, we might alternatively sail back to the MOB and perform a sailing stop maneuver called a “heave-to”. Please follow the skipper’s instructions.

2. Crew prepares a nylon (floatable) line/horseshoe.

3. Crew unties the dinghy painter line from the davit posts in preparation for a POSSIBLE dinghy launch, if it is needed. (Please don’t lower or launch the dinghy unless requested by the skipper. Just hold the painter line tight to prevent excessive dinghy swinging.)

4. We will attempt to bring the Irish Wake alongside the MOB intercepting the MOB at about midships (the middle of the ship) just downwind of the MOB and stopping engines and the boat there. Crew should meet the MOB at midships, lower a line (optimally attached to a horseshoe float or life vest) to the MOB, communicate the position of the MOB relative to the boat to the skipper constantly (the skipper will not be able to see the MOB next to the ship), and then guide the MOB aft toward the swim-ladder with the line. Crew should then lower the ladder and pull the MOB to safety.

Emergency Communication

VHF channel 16—“MayDay” (for imminent threat to life or loss of boat, including a MOB that is not visible)

VHF channel 16—“PanPan” (for distress but not yet life-threatening issue)

(All crew should know the terms above and know the following basics, because if your skipper falls in, he has little confidence in your ability to turn the boat around and come get him! If there is any doubt about our ability retrieve an MOB, CALL IN THE CAVALRY ON THE VHF!)

• Know how to turn on both the ship VHF and the portable VHF, if either is off

• Know how to change channel to 16 (the universal maritime distress and hailing channel)

• Know how to turn up the volume

• Know how to toggle from low-power to high-power (high-power is often labelled “5 watts” or “25 miles” on a VHF handset)…you’ll want to be on high-power for emergency broadcasts

• Know where the broadcast (or Talk) button is located (and remember to release the button when you are not speaking)

(There are 2 VHF stations on-board and one additional portable VHF unit, which we generally use for the dinghy.)

Okay…Now the Gross Sanitation Thing… “The Poo Talk”

Please review the operation of the marine heads with your skipper! (Positive note: The heads on the Irish Wake are all electric and all use fresh water! That makes things much nicer than the old manual pump, saltwater alternative. This ain’t your grandpappy’s old leaky scow…we’re talking extraordinary luxury here!)

The Poo Talk will cover:

• How to fill the commode with water

• How the macerator works, and how to be really nice to your macerator, so he’ll be nice to you…he needs something nice in his life!

• Toilet paper and how much to use with each flush. (Hint….it’s WAY, WAY less than we know you’re going to try get away with!)

• Flushing

• How to know if your sewage tank needs to be emptied

Remember, we don’t have an on-board plumber (DON’T LOOK AT ME!) Plumbing is not part of skipper school…you know as much about it as I do! When in doubt, go super gently always with less toilet paper, and more water and flushing! (It’s much better to flush multiple times with lots of water and maceration of small “loads” than to try to take care of one huge “project” in a single go!

Extra credit…learn how to empty your own tank!! (This is not exactly your skipper’s favorite job.) Obviously, we’ll always empty tanks far out at sea in areas where dumping is legal.

We’re All About to Have a GREAT Time!

Let’s all keep an eye on each other, gently remind one another if something safety-related needs reminding (especially if you see your dead-beat skipper doing something stupid or forgetting something critical) and expect that we’ll have a few problems/challenges here or there that we’ll have fun figuring out together.

And now, the Serenity