Rules defining "skippers"
Clarification regarding authorisation of command of a vessel of the Jersey Sailing Trust
Over the past five years the Trustees have relied upon personal knowledge of the skill level of crew members and as time went by that knowledge will probably have grown into confidence in various individuals to handle a yacht or the RIB. However, it seems that we need some measure of the level of skill so that each individual can be sure in their own mind that they should be able to handle the situation or otherwise to leave it to someone else.
In the obvious of cases an RYA Yachtmaster certificate will certainly be good enough for the Trustee's to give immediate authorisation to use any of the yachts, including the ketch.
Any members who hold an RYA Day-Skipper certificate will be allowed to skipper an Etchell, but not the ketch, within the confine of the A4 chart of St Aubins Bay and the St Helier Harbour Roads that is usually kept on board an Etchell. Typically a Saturday morning race could be skippered by an RYA Day Skipper certificate holder. A Day Skipper certificate holder is welcome to gain further experience on the ketch until such time as the Trustees feel confident in the competence of the individual.
The first mandatory rule that is to be observed with effect from this date is that all skippers must obtain a RYA Powerboat Handling, Level 2 Certificate. Completing this certificate will give everyone considerable confidence in the individual and ensure that they have been provided with the basic details of operating in St Helier Harbour, the tides, the moorings, the marina fees, the refuelling routines, towing, changing crew at sea, safety rules and limitations imposed by the weather... and much more. Skippers at this level will be expected to know how to use the small PMR radios and be able to practice the basic VHF radio procedures.
Officer of the Day, (OOD) Typically this has been the job of the Trustees and a Saturday morning is a model for this rule. The OOD is responsible for the nomination of skippers on the day and the distribution of crews on boats and the ultimate decisions on whether to go out, who drives what?, are prevailing weather condition on the safe side i.e. Force 5 or less? no rain and good to fair visibility. The OOD must be approved by the Trustees and therefore have considerable experience in sailing in the each of the yachts over which he is in overall command for the day. He should ensure that he is contact with the yachts on the water and confident in the skill level of the crews operating under his supervision. The OOD must have a VHF radio licence and be an experienced RIB driver with sufficient experience to be able to recover crew from a boat accident or recover the Etchell fleet from a becalmed sailing event. It goes without saying that there cannot be a recovery from a bad weather incident as the OOD will not have permitted the boats to risk going out into a deteriorating weather situation.
So the order of priority:
1.. JST RIB Course. We will be providing instruction and running these courses.
There has to be a fee, to cover the cost of fuel and insurance plus an element
of maintenance for the RIB itself, of £25 per person. Paying this fee in advance
using the PayPal facility will secure your reservation and a date will be
advised to you as soon as possible.
2.. VHF Radio certificate. This can be arranged with our friends at
SHYC or Guernsey Sailing Trust.
3.. Day Skipper Certificate. This can be arranged with our friends at
SHYC or Guernsey Sailing Trust.
4.. Personal approval as a skipper by the Trustee.
5.. Officer of the Day
6.. Yachtmaster of the ketch. The RYA Yachtmaster Certificate can be arranged
with our friends at Guernsey Sailing Trust.
Insurance.
It is because of the gap in the coverage of the insurance policy that these
rules have had to be defined and described. Basically each yacht must under the
direct command of a person with at least five years sailing experience.
Furthermore, the person nominated as the skipper of the vessel must actually be
onboard to be in effective control.
If you have any questions about these points it may be very useful to know about them as soon as possible.
Regards
