Ocean Racing Club of Victoria

Safety is our focus

The ORCV is very proud of its safety record.  We encourage all skippers and crew to use the knowledge, resources and evidence-based experience of these pages to build a safe boat culture. 

We adopt Australian Sailing safety regulations and policies, adding to them where additional risk management deems it necessary.  We also assess and promote innovations in the sport. 

In the Useful Articles and Links, you will find a large number of incident reports.  It is worth taking the time to review them and reflect on their summaries and lessons learned.  We do this in our Safety and Sea Survival Refresher course. 

If you find interesting safety-related articles, please share them with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Your safety is fundamental to our training, our racing and our culture. 

 

Safety and Sea Survival Course

It was a full house for the Safety and Sea Survival Course held at the South Yarra Sports Centre at Melbourne High School.

The investigation of a fatal man overboard

from the Reflex 38 yacht Lion14.5 miles south of Selsey Bill, West Sussex

2012_Lion
The Yacht "Lion"

 

At 0036 on 18 June 2011 the skipper of the yacht Lion fell overboard and drowned while still attached to the yacht by means of a tether connected to his lifejacket harness. Lion sailed from Southampton on 17 June 2011 to compete in the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s (RORC) 95-mile Morgan Cup Race to Cherbourg. The weather conditions were challenging for the yacht’s crew, with winds gusting 25-30 knots and rough seas. At 0027 on 18 June, the helmsman noticed the No.1 genoa, which had been secured on deck following a sail change, had slipped into the water. The sail was recovered on board and was being passed by hand into the cockpit when it was noticed that the skipper had fallen over the port side near the bow. The skipper was still connected to the starboard jackline by his 1.8m-long tether. The mainsheet was immediately slackened and the foresail was released a short time later, which slowed the yacht’s speed to 1.5 knots through the water.
Click HERE to read the full report

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3 Aquatic Drive, Albert Park VIC 3206 Ph. 0493 102 744 E. orcv@orcv.org.au