Audience awed by acts of bravery at Port Fairy race debrief.

The ORCV's primary focus is the ongoing well being of those involved in the incident. The purpose of the debrief was to allow competitors to share their experiences and to learn from others how we can make our sport of sailing safer.

In front of a capacity crowd, all the key participants involved in the race and in particular those people and organisations involved in the rescue of the six crew from the stricken yacht Inception - which was abandoned before sinking - had an opportunity to tell their stories.  It was  humbling to hear the accounts first hand from those involved.

As the review of the stages in the race unfolded, the audience, made-up of many of the crew who participated in the Port Fairy race and their families, had an opportunity to take-in the magnitude of the efforts undertaken by many key individuals and organisations - not only during the rescue -  but behind the scenes both before and after the race which saw all crews safely return to shore.

After listening intently to successive speakers, the audience could not help but be further impressed by the breathtaking acts of phenomenal seamanship of the crew from Trybooking.com under the outstanding leadership of their skipper, Grant Dunoon.  They were also in awe of the crew of Inception who by their own actions assisted their survival in life-threatening conditions; and by the leadership and selfless acts of their skipper Jeff Dusting, to ensure all his crew were recovered before being himself rescued.

The establishment of an Independent Inquiry for the 2012 Port Fairy Race was announced.  The inquiry panel members are Rear Admiral Peter Briggs (Retired), Adam Manders, Peter Little and David Ellis.  Drawing on their expertise, this panel will review the events of the Port Fairy race and will report back to the ORCV General Committee on any recommendations to improve the safety of ocean racing.  Anyone wishing to contribute to this review is encouraged to contact the ORCV office.

A capacity crowd listened intently to a succession of speakers outlining the events as they unfolded in the Port Fairy race.

ORCV Vice Commodore, Simon Dryden, was MC at the debrief.

ORCV Commodore, Don Fraser, praises the efforts of many involved in the rescue and outlines the processes and procedures undertaken by the ORCV pre-race and Incidence Response Team for each race. Don also announced the the establishment of the Independent Inquiry.

Craig Longmuir, Senior Search & Rescue Officer - Maritime, for the Rescue Coordination Centre of the Austrlian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) in Canberra was on duty on the night of the Port Fairy Race

3 of the Crew from the AMSA Dornier, "Rescue 431" a dedicated Search & Rescue fixed wing aircraft, dispatched from Essendon with detection, communications, surveillance and supplies, by the Rescue Coordination Centre during the Port Fairy race. L. to R. Mathew Holdsworth, John Lovitt and Josh Nitschike

Acting Sergeant Nathan Gardiner, Victorian Water Police who was on duty on the night of the Port Fairy race and coordinated the rescue response.

Jeff Dusting, skipper of the stricken yacht, Inception, shares his experiences and talks about his admiration for the crew of Trybooking.com

Peter Clancy demonstrates a Splashguard/Sprayhood that can be fitted to Personal Floatation Devices (PFDs).  Currently Recommended for Cat 1, 2, 3 & 4 events in YA Special Regulations.  The Inception crew ingested significant levels of salt water during their ordeal and strongly recommend not going to sea without a Splashguard/Sprayhood.

Rescue skipper, Grant Dunoon, talks about his admiration for his crew during the rescue operation and the acts of bravery and endurance by the Inception crew, led by skipper, Jeff Dusting.

Along with Ray Shaw acting as the Port Fairy Race Director, special mention was given to Peter Clancy (above) whose expertise in radio communications enabled the relay of vital communications between Trybooking.com and the coalition of rescue services.

The willingness of those that have been through this incident to share what they have learned from their experiences so that others can benefit from what they reluctantly discovered, was inspiring.

Audience members learnt a lot and will each implement their own set of changes on their own boats as a result. The ORCV will be sharing learning outcomes from the debrief for the benefit of local, national and international sailing communities in due course.