Payday Loans

Ocean Racing Club of Victoria


Safety & Sea Survival Course (SSSC)

Full Course

 

Overview
The popular biennial Fastnet race, was first held in 1925 in the Irish Sea and is run by the Royal Ocean Racing Club.  A severe storm during the 1979 race resulted in the deaths of 17 competitors and the loss or abandonment of 23 yachts.  This led to a major overhaul of the rules and the equipment required for the competition.
In the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race of 1998, fierce storms and violent winds battered the fleet with the loss of six sailors and five yachts.  A total of 55 sailors were rescued and a subsequent coroner’s inquest made recommendations which have been adopted into the Yachting Australia Racing Rules of Sailing for 2005-2008.

At least 50% of the crew, including the skipper when racing in a Category 1 and at least 30% for Category 2 shall hold a Safety and Sea Survival Course certificate of competence. The ORCV requires 50% for Category 2 events, though it is strongly recommended that for both categories of races all crew members undertake the course. This course is a pre-requisite for ocean racing, not only to meet the safety requirements but to demonstrate an acceptance of your personal and team responsibilities for safety on board an ocean going boat.

All who are planning to spend time on a boat in open water will find this course stimulating and enlightening.  It is not only of interest to sailors but also helps shore crew to understand the safety requirements of offshore sailing and the search and rescue process in the event of an emergency.


Outcomes
• To assist offshore skippers and crews in developing awareness of respective responsibilities.
• To offer and discuss practical strategies for coping with emergencies at sea.
• To familiarise skippers and crews with safety and emergency equipment, its purpose, deployment, and use.

An SSSC certificate will be issued by Yachting Australia to successful candidates and will be valid for a period of 5 years.
Pre-requisites
SSSC_Sep2005-LifeRaft-TBags
Your fitness to be able to complete the wet drill and other activities is anticipated.

Experienced offshore sailors/racers may qualify to do the shorter SSSC Update/Revalidation course - click here to for details.


Course Outline
The Theory component of the syllabus comprises four sections.
1. Yacht preparation
2. Crew preparation
3. Racing
4. Weather & Emergencies
It will be delivered in three sessions.  The first session is a full one-day theory covering the following elements and flare drill practical:
• Introduction - Causes of marine emergencies
• Principles of survival
• Personal lifesaving appliances
• Areas of risk and emergencies
• Abandoning ship
• Search and rescue
• Use of pyrotechnics
• Fire prevention and fire fighting
• Emergency communications
• First aid and early management of injury or illness
• Duty of care
The second session, the wet drill practical will be held in a local pool.  Wearing your full wet weather gear you will complete a number of drills individually and within teams which include:

• Man overboard drillSSSC_Sep2005-LargeGroupHuddles
• Inflating personal flotation device (pfd)
• Testing pfd
• Swimming techniques
• Conserving heat
• Teamwork
• Retrieving and donning life jacket while in the water
• Righting an upturned liferaft
• Entering a liferaft unassisted
• Contents of survival kit
• Retrieving crew with throwing line

The third session will return to the classroom to complete and review the theory and exam.


Assessments

  • Theory Exam 80% pass mark; and
  • Practical competency (wet and flare drills)
What to Bring
Theory:
  • notebook and pens
  • YA Blue Book
  • change for meter car parking available at Picnic Point, Bayside City Council car park
  • examples of current Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) used on vessels you have set to sea on, as well as experiences to share with other attendees.

Wet drill:

  • full 3 layer ocean clothing (inner thermal layer, mid layer and outer ocean wet weather gear layer) & sea boots
  • wash all clothing including wet weather gear before hand and empty all pockets
  • PFD1 YA approved per Blue Book, check for currency and compliance with Standards
  • Remove gas bottle from inflateable PFD1 if inflating manually
  • crotch strap
  • Towell
  • Do NOT bring Dye Marker, Tethers, Strobes
  • advise staff at pool that you are attending the ORCV SSSC to avoid being charged the normal entry fee

We recommend that you prepare for this course as you would for an ocean voyage and suggest you have an early night the day before and avoid alcohol.

 

Duration
The SSSC Full course is conducted over a period of at least 16 hours


Dates, Locations, Times
Sun 23 May, SYC, 8:30am to 6:00pm - Theory, Flare Drill, Fire demonstration and more Theory
Mon 24 May 2010, MSAC Pool, 7:00pm to 10:100pm - Wet Drill
Tue 25 May 2010, SYC, 6:00pm to 10:00pm - Theory & Exam

SYC: Sandringham Yacht Club, Jetty Road Sandringham. Melways Ref: 76 E8

Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre pool on the Northwestern side of Albert Park Lake


Cost
$250.00 for financial ORCV members.
$290.00 for non-members and non-financial members.
This includes the registration of the qualification with Yachting Australia.

 

Course Materials

A Student Resource Pack will be provided.

Gloves and Protective Eyewear for the Flare Drill will be provided.

 

Course Presenters
  • Robin Hewitt, Yachting Australia Yachtmaster Offshore and SSSC Instructor
  • Simon Dryden, Yachting Australia Yachtmaster Offshore and SSSC Instructor
  • Noel May, Yachting Australia Yachtmaster Offshore and SSSC Instructor
  • Neville Rose, Yachting Australia Yachtmaster Offshore and SSSC Instructor

 

Enrolment

Yachting_Australia_Training_CentreEnrolment places in this course are limited and can not be reserved. The only way to ensure your enrolment is to provide the following to the ORCV at the same time:

1. Payment of the correct fee

2. Completed Enrolment Booking Form

 


Click HERE for the enrollment form and then get it back to the office ASAP - it's always a sell-out event.


 

More Information

Contact ORCV Office for Enrollment and any queries: (03) 9689 1622 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Yachting Australian SSSC Full course Overview and Syllabus Outline

Login Form