First Crew Brief

Firstly I have to say, 'Blue Fin' is not a boat for sightseers uninterested in learning the 'ropes'. So if you are coming for your first time out, please feel free to print these briefs for bed time learning, I have copies on board. This information will save lives, yours or anyone else with us.
But apart from that I am required by law to give you this information.
So, all crew please be conversant with:

SENDING A MAYDAY
Distress messages are only sent by the skipper, unless he/she is unable.
The mayday message format is here.
First find the boats position, there are two ways of doing this, and there are two types of position, TRUE and MAGNETIC.

USING A COMPASS AND CHART
If there is no power and no GPS then the position must come from the chart. Precision is difficult and prone to error, quickly drawing an accurate thin line with a 4B pencil in a rough sea takes practice, the width of two lines and errors taking the bearing on a rolling deck can lead to your position being within 4 square miles. But this method must be used regularly to check the GPS, it self also prone to errors.

Using the handheld compass take two bearings as near to 90 degrees as is possible from recognizable charted marks, draw the lines on the chart, the point where the two lines cross on the chart is your MAGNETIC position. The LONGITUDE and LATITUDE is then taken from the side and top of the chart.

Then include this with your mayday message format,
" Mayday position is, Fiver Zero Degrees, One Seven Four North, Zero Zero Four Degrees, Three Fiver Six West, MAGNETIC"

USING THE GPS:
Make a note of LONGITUDE and LATITUDE. Blue Fin's GPS shows the magnetic position. Then include this with your mayday message format,
" Mayday position is, Fiver Zero Degrees, One Niner Four North, Zero Zero Four Degrees Tree Fiver Ate West. MAGNETIC"
NOTE: Pronounciation for clear radio speech.

SETTING A COURSE
Means plotting a line from the boats position to a destination point, then include magnetic variation, compass deviation and allow for leeway.

To find your TRUE position on the chart, use the handheld compass and take two bearings as near to 90 degrees from known charted marks and plus or minus the magnetic variation (-4 degrees in the area I cruise), so minus 4 degrees from each bearing and draw the lines on the chart, the point the two lines cross on the chart is your TRUE position.

From here draw a line to the position you want to be. This is your course, but wind and tidal currents affect the direction and this is called leeway.
Look up in the Tidal books or on the chart for the speed and direction of the current. At the start of the course line, draw a line to show the direction and speed of the current for each hour of the trip, a two knot current for 3 hours and the line would be 6 miles long (this line might zigzag as the current changes direction).
From the end of this line, draw a line to your destination, joining up with the course line.
Find the angle in degrees of this line from the charts compass rose, and look it up on the compass deviation graph to find the number of degrees to adjust for reading the ships compass. This will be the ships compass heading to follow, (In a fast cross current the boat would crab sideways towards its destination with the helmsman following the compass). Holding a course means NOT deviating from the ships compass heading.

FLARES
Flares must ONLY be used when the boat or persons are in life threatening situations. On skippers order.
There are 3 main types: Read the instructions on the flares when you go aboard.
Red hand flares. Light to assist rescue when they are within a 3 mile range.
Red parachute flares. Fire rocket pointing 15 degrees downwind more if wind is strong. Never when helicopter is nearby unless instructed to. 5 minute intervals between them. Range 40 miles.
White hand flares. Light in bad visibility when the boat is in danger of collision from shipping. Range 2 miles.

MOB
There are various senarios needing different approaches to this problem. Both involve stopping the boat quickly, but if we are on a fast reach in a strong wind and rough sea the helmsman will be busy controlling the boat, so:
Shout to alert the crew who will man their positions and carry out their alotted tasks. (Part of the second brief.)
Helmsman hits MOB button on GPS. Notes course and time and gybes the boat to head a reciprocal course.
The crew will be detailed for, one to keep eye contact and to point at casualty.
Another crew to throw all available floating objects quickly overboard, life-ring and light, fenders, bouys, at night a floating torch too. Then they should:
If MOB is out of sight send the Mayday message. Prepare boarding ladder, boat hook and a rope with a bowline. Note time of gybe. Plot search pattern accounting for wind and tide.
If you go overboard in the dark you will proberly NOT be found. Always wear a safety line and harness while on deck.

If we are going slowly beating into wind, the helmsman might quickly heave-to and drift down wind towards the casualty. In either case starting the engine might also facilitate the approach, but with Blue Fin the propeller is in easy reach of the casualties feet, and the controls easily kicked, so stop the engine when the casualty is along side amidships. Lifting the casualty is in the second brief aboard.

SETTING WARPS
Set warps fore and aft allowing for the height of tide if by a quay, Always make fast the ships warp end first, use a bowline on posts and rings, the higher the tide the further away the mooring cleat.
Set the springers 1 and a half times the length of boat to stop fore and aft movement. When ready to leave, unbend the warp but keeping it tight, and keep watching the helmsman and wait for signals. Ask someone when you go aboard to show you how to use the anchor, there are dangers of losing a finger or going down with it. (Second brief)

KNOW ALL THE NAMES
Know all the names of sails, sheets and halyards, Foresail/Genoa sheet and halyard, Mainsail sheet and halyard, Cruising Chute sheet and halyard, Kicking strap, Genoa reefing line. Letting go the wrong one in a squall can easily lead to disaster.
Know the names of the different areas on the boat BOW/STERN, FOREDECK, COCKPIT, FOREHATCH, COMPANIONWAY,
PORT (Is RED and should be LEFT in the bottle).
STARBOARD is GREEN and is RIGHT.
Know areas off the boat, AFT/FOREWARD, ABEAM/AMIDSHIPS, Starboard/Port fore-quarter, Starboard/Port Aft-quarter.

When giving directions to the helmsman of a rock, " There's a rock over there." Is down right dangerous.
Shout " Rock/Boat 1 o'clock 50 yards!". (Dead ahead is 12 o'clock, except that dead ahead is dead ahead).

A SHIPSHAPE BOAT
A tidy boat is necessary at all times, ropes properly coiled and stowed in case of an emergency, (a slack rope is a slack boat), fenders and warps stowed for quick access, NO items at all left loose inside or out, but kept in their proper place so everyone knows were to find them, and they do not fly around when the squall hits or when we go about on the other tack. Loose gear in the cabin or on deck, twists ankles, injures, and sends crew overboard.

HOW TO BEND A KNOT
The right knot in the right place saves lives, BOWLINES are non-slip and quickly undone, used for making fast the boat, or as a safety loop for hauling out MOB, REEF KNOTS for joining two ropes of the same size together. FIGURE OF EIGHT knot for all sheets to prevent sheets from slipping through blocks and eyes. CLOVE HITCH and 2 half hitches for fenders onto toerail and again easily undone and not worked loose.

KNOWLEDGE
You are not expected to know all this before your first trip, but everything here could easily save yours or my life, and the boat, there is much much more, learn as much as you can. Safety is paramount and leads to a successful day out.
Awareness of all the dangers comes with experience, keep your eyes open, your head turning, watch out continuously for the boom, the sails, both can easily sweep you overboard with injuries, KEEP ONE HAND FOR THE BOAT to hold on when you move about inside and out, WEAR A SAFETY LINE and harness, people go overboard without anyone knowing.
An experienced friend on another boat in good conditions was swept overboard by the foresail without the 5 others on deck seeing, he managed to swim to the transome ladder as the boat went by, and surprized everyone climbing up over the stern. If he'd been knocked out with a lifejacket on, they might have noticed and found him........ and alive too.

You might think I've gone 'overboard', with this brief, actually as skipper this brief is part of my legal requirement by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

" Wishing you curt sails, a stiff boat and a great day out" .