Vigor’s Black Box Theory: ‘Aboard every boat there’s an invisible black box. Every time a skipper takes the trouble to consult the chart, inspect the filters, go forward on a rainy night to check the running lights, or take any precaution, he or she earns a point that goes in the black box. In times of stress, in heavy weather or other threatening circumstances where human skill and effort can accomplish no more, the points are cashed in as protection…. Those skippers with no credits are the ones later described as unlucky,’ for, as Vigor goes on to say ‘the sea offers no credits.’
While less conventional, most superstitions will work for even those who don’t believe so it is worth a try. For more conventional tips keep reading.
Four Safety Tips
There are four basics areas of concern for safe boating: education, lifejackets, communication devices, and weather.
- Education - Familiarize yourself with your craft, the rules of the sea and its environment. Even using the radio requires knowledge of the universally used specific lingo so that anyone who hears your call is able to understand your needs.
- Lifejackets - ‘Any object wholly or partly immersed in a fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.’ Archimedes Principle. According to Sophie Hazelhurst of Maritime New Zealand, 60% of recreational boating deaths are caused by not wearing a lifejacket. Lifejackets are designed to keep a person afloat and on their back so they are not struggling to right themselves in the water. They also help maintain the body at a level above the surface so a person can breathe. There are different kinds of lifejackets available for different situations, so be sure to ask for advice and select the right one for your needs.
- Communication Devices - The New Zealand Maritime Authority recommends that a minimum of two of the four following communication devices should be carried onboard every vessel: a distress beacon; handheld waterproof VHF radio (Channel 16); cellphone and red hand-held flares. Distress beacons are more commonly known as EPRIBs (emergency position indicating radio beacons) or PLBs (personal locator beacons). A hand-held waterproof VHF radio can be used even if your boat has overturned or sunk, and will allow you to reach more than one person at a time, unlike a cellphone. The flares will make you more visible in the water and will help rescuers pinpoint your location.
- Weather - The weather plays an important role in the enjoyment of any trip, but it also plays a huge role in your safety at sea. Check the weather prior to heading out and continue to monitor the forecasts periodically. There are many options available to the skipper to check the weather for the chosen location. A good source for up-to-date forecasts can be found through the Metservice online or you can phone their helpline in New Zealand on 0800 WEATHER (0800 932 843).
Four Survival Tips
- If you've fallen in, get out of the water--Water reduces body heat much faster than if you were on land, so try to remove yourself from water as soon as possible, even if that means climbing on floating debris or an overturned boat. Normal body temperature is around 37 degrees Celsius. Hypothermia occurs when this temperature drops below 35 degrees Celsius. Some of the symptoms include tiredness, pale or bluish skin, confusion, disorientation, shallow breathing, uncontrollable breathing and irrational behaviour.
- Swimming to safety--Do not try to swim to safety unless land is within easy reach of your abilities as a swimmer. Tests have shown that people wearing light clothing and a lifejacket, in 10 degrees Celsius, can only swim one nautical mile before their body succumbs to the effects of hypothermia (Scanlan, 2002). Any heat gained by swimming will be lost as quickly as it is gained and will tire you easily, so wait for rescuers to find you.
- Maintaining warmth through clothing--A wetsuit is designed to keep a person warmer for a longer period of time in the water by allowing in a layer of water that your body can heat. This water layer in turn maintains your warmth for longer. While not as efficient, clothing will act in the same way by providing a barrier to trap water that can be warmed and in turn warm you. Swimming can reduce the efficiency of this method.
- Maintaining warmth through body positioning--There are some positions which you can assume while you wait for rescue that will keep you as warm as is possible in this type of situation. HELP is an acronym for Heat Escape Lessening Posture. The idea is to keep your head out of the water, cross your arms in front of your chest, and raise your crossed knees into your chest as much as possible without compromising your stability in the water. If you are with a group of people the concept is the same. Instead of hugging your arms to your chest try to make as much contact as possible with the group by crossing arms and entwining your legs together. If there are children present wedge them in the centre of the group.
The most important thing to remember is to remain calm at all times. Panic can exacerbate the dangers of the situation and undermine your ability to survive, so be prepared and make sure you have lifejackets onboard for everyone, communication devices at hand and the ability to use them. And remember how to keep warm in the water until help arrives. These are basic tips to help increase your chances of survival.
Sources:
- Lewis, Rebecca, 2010, "Boatie found dead in water" NZ Herald
- Maritime NZ (last accessed January 20, 2011)
- Scanlan, Mike, 2002, Safety in Small Craft, Coastguard Boating Education Service, Auckland
- McRitchie, D., 2005, Surf Life Saving Australia: First Aid + Emergency Care, Elsevier Mosby, Australia
- Vigor, John, 1994, The Practical Mariner’s Book of Knowledge, International Marine: TAB Books, McGraw-Hill Inc
Bridget Murray - Kia Ora, Nga mihi nunui kia koutou Nau mai haere mai ki tooku nei wharangi Ko Bridget Murray ahau My name is Bridge and i live ...
