Pleasure Boat Risk on the Seas

by Tom Christie

It is with enthusiasm and interest that I undertake the task of contributing every other week to this new publication. I have worked in the marine industry here on the west coast for the last ten years or so. Mostly this has been as captain in a passenger carrying capacity or in search and rescue work. I have also done some tow boat work here as first mate.

Risk at sea for any mariner is a multifaceted topic. Definition of which may be the best approach to understanding it. Knowing the variables, or awareness, puts one in the position to deal with issues as they may arise. Being prepared for whatever the risk may be is paramount in avoiding disaster. Don't kid yourself or anyone you may take out on your
boat for that matter, that the potential for loss of life and property in the coastal waters of British Columbia is not a very real possibility should things go wrong.

Anyone who is genuinely concerned about their own safety would have all the minimum required gear Transport Canada says, by law, you must carry aboard your vessel. This is the easy part, you just simply buy it. But you must also maintain it, keep it readily available, and most importantly, know how to use it.

Knowing how and when to use your safety gear can mean the difference between being found one evening just after dusk when the weather has suddenly closed in on you or perishing due to hypothermia from exposure over night.

You may be out with one of the most competent skippers on the coast but should they fall ill and take a fever leaving them disoriented and bedridden then you are on your own for reaching safety. Would you know what to do? The best plan of action to take?

Being prepared is probably one of the most effective safety measures you could take. How do you know if you are prepared? Create situations in you head and see how you'd deal with them. Do you have the appropriate equipment and knowledge? If not, get it and/or figure it out. Take a safe boating course, Power Squadron course or get involved with your local Coast Guard Auxiliary. Do drills on your boat to see how you and your crew can manage when things go wrong. You may find the need to assign duties for emergency situations. Be sure those duties are defined and communications are effective. No point in being down below attending to your duty while everybody on deck is looking for you in the water because they lost track of you and have assumed you've fallen overboard.

Know your equipment, how to use it, when best to use it and what the ramifications of using it might be. Visualize situations you are liable to find yourself in and some that you're not.

Be prepared. Good boating!

Tom Christie

60-ton Limited Master
Active Coxswain
Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 35
Victoria