New Bermuda Race Safety Requirements

by Ron Trossbach - Organizing Committee on 13 Dec 2008 The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee has issued its first announcement concerning safety regulations for the next biannual Newport Bermuda Race, which will start on June 18, 2010. New regulations governing training and communications will be imposed, as will be several regulations from the last race, held in 2008.

These rules and regulations, as well as several safety-related recommendations, are based on a review of the 2008 race conducted by the BROC, whose members represent the race sponsors, the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. Inputs to this analysis came from several sources. One is the group of sailors who competed in 2008, when the 198-boat fleet was the second largest in the 102-year history of racing 635 miles across the Gulf Stream to the Onion Patch. Following the suggestions of many sailors, the time between required attendance at safety at sea seminars has been lengthened from three years to five years.

The BROC also consulted the following: the post-race captain survey, post-race certificate of compliance reports, confidential post-race injury and illness reports, finish line inspections, the return passage captain survey, and incident reports received from the race communications coordinator, the start and finish line committees, the U.S. Coast Guard, Bermuda Radio, and the media.

Safety-related lessons learned in 2008 have led to the requirements and recommendations described below, which were approved by the BROC at a meeting in Newport in September 2008. These plans are presented here in advance of the 2010 Notice of Race so owners and crews can consider them as they make decisions to add or change safety equipment in their boats.

Other requirements may be added in the future.

These changes reflect the Newport Bermuda Race’s historic mission to be at the cutting edge of offshore sailing safety. The race already requires that the afterguard of each crew be experienced, that each boat be inspected and carry a position-identifying transponder, and that valuable safety equipment (such as boom preventers and abandon ship bags) be carried. Now the BROC is introducing requirements for medical training and Digital Selective Calling in VHF-FM radios, while strongly recommending man overboard alarms, AIS collision-avoidance systems, and hands-on, in-the-water crew training.

New Requirements.

Safety at Sea Seminar. For the 2010 race, the requirement for safety seminar attendance will be extended from every three years to every five years. This means that 30 percent of the crew must be certified as having attended a US SAILING sanctioned or approved Safety at Sea Seminar after June 18, 2005. Race entrants are encouraged to attend BROC safety seminars because they emphasize specific race- and delivery-related safety issues. The BROC Newport Bermuda Race Safety at Sea Seminar will be held during the weekend of March 13-14, 2010, at the Newport, R.I., Hyatt Regency Hotel. Optional hands-on, in-the-water training will be offered on Sunday. Following several reports of incidents in boats sailing to the start at Newport or sailing home from Bermuda, the BROC has adapted Safe Offshore Sailing as the theme for its 2010 Safety at Sea Seminar.

Medical Training. International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Offshore Special Regulation (OSR) 4.08.4 (6.05.2 after 1 January 2010) will not be waived in 2010. This means that every boat must have at least two certified graduates of an approved first aid course aboard for the race. US SAILING approved courses are listed at www.ussailing.org/safety. Certificates from other courses will be accepted on a case by case basis.

Digital Selective Calling. DSC VHF-FM radio capability is a requirement for the 2010 race. DSC-capable VHF radios must be connected to a GPS and to a masthead antenna.

Race withdrawals. Race withdrawals will be tracked and recorded. The use of the US SAILING Withdrawal Form is being considered for yachts that do not finish the 2010 race.

Continuing Requirements.
Among the requirements from the 2008 race that will again be imposed in 2010 are these:

Abandon ship bags will be required.

Preventers or boom restraining devices will be required.
Communications. Emphasis will be placed on the ability to engage in two-way communications while underway, both in the race and during the return transit. As in 2008, in the 2010 race a boat must carry a Single Sideband (SSB) transceiver or a satellite phone connected to an external antenna.

Recommendations.

Hands-on, in-the-water-training. This remains a strong recommendation. As noted above, the Safety at Sea Seminar before the 2010 race will offer a second day of optional hands-on practical training for those who desire the ISAF Approved Offshore Personal Survival Course five-year certificate.

Man overboard alarm. An Electronic Position-Fixing System (EPFS) capable of immediately recording a man-overboard position from each helm is recommended for the 2010 race.

Automatic Identification System. An AIS transponder will be an ISAF requirement effective 1 January 2010. The Newport Bermuda Race will waive this requirement but recommends that AIS be installed and used during the 2010 race and the return trip.

Stern radar mast location. If there is a choice, the radar mast should be on the starboard side of the cockpit. This facilitates helicopter evacuation. Because pilots sit on the right-hand side, they prefer to make their approach with the boat on their right.

The Future.
Looking ahead to the 2012 Newport Bermuda Race, the BROC will maintain its concern for safety by requiring some of the items recommended above. One is the EPFS man overboard alarm. Another is hands-on, in-the-water-training for 30 percent of the crew.

More information at http://www.bermudarace.com/