When boarding a sailing boat for a day-trip or a longer cruise, we need to acknowledge right from the beginning that we are part of the crew, regardless of our experience or skills. Α “member” of the crew is required to know the basic safety rules, regardless of his/her role and how much he/she will be involved in the whole process of the trip. The more we know about safety, the easier it is to move about and work on board.
Below you can find some basic rules that will make your trip safer:
- We carefully listen to safety information passed on by the Skipper of the boat. We do not think that what is being said does not concern all of us.
- We detect the exact location of lifejackets on board so that we know in case we need them.
- We adapt a lifejacket to our body size, because, if and when needed, there will be no time to do so and the lifejacket will be useless.
- We are informed about the location of fire extinguishers.
- We always wear special shoes on deck and not flip flops or stay barefooted, because it may either be slippery due to water/oil or there may be hundreds of small bits and pieces that may cause an injury.
- We do not walk casually on board. We always carefully observe what is happening and move accordingly.
- We do not place our hands and feet between boats during mooring and while at port or during departure. There are special balloons on the boat for this purpose.
- We do not drink recklessly and do not walk casually on deck if we have consumed alcohol, whether the boat is traveling, moored in the port or freely floating.
- We never return alone to the boat at night after consuming large amounts of alcohol, as it is likely that we will be unable to safely climb the ladder that leads from the pier to the boat and we may get injured.
- We always use the right amount of sunscreen necessary to protect our face or body. We do not overdo it and do not throw sunscreen on the boat because it is more likely that another crew member will slip and get injured.
- We are very careful when using the gas stove on board. We don’t turn on the stove for food and go for a swim, but we stay in the galley throughout the cooking process.
- In case we are asked to support the Skipper in the anchoring procedures, we always wear gloves and pay special attention to the anchor and chain worker so that our hands do not get injured.
- We make sure that the binding ropes are not in the sea during engine operation, as they may be caught by the boat’s propeller.
- We are very careful when using the dinghy, and if we do not know how to use it, we ask for help from the Skipper or another crew member. It is always better to ask for help or explanatory information than do things we do not know and may create problems.