• Station Info
  • Arbroath Lifeboats
  • Miscellaneous

    •  

    The RNLI is a registered charity.
    NO. 209603

    The sight of an RNLI vessel as it hove into view is often one of immense relief for anyone with the  misfortune to get into trouble at sea. Much as the gratitude expressed on such occasions is appreciated the best option for all concerned is to avoid the need for the callout in the first instance and some simple checks can avoid most problems.

    The RNLI Sea Safety team offers invaluable sea safety advice and offer a free Safety Equipment Advisory Check of your non commercial vessel.

    The check will be conducted by an RNLI volunteer,  who will also be able to provide additional safety advice and suggestions for any additional improvements that can be made to the vessel or its operation.

    The Sea Safety team also provide Talks, Presentations and Demonstrations on various subjects and can be booked to attend your own club or venue free of charge.  You will also find some of our Sea Safety volunteers in attendance at some events around your area.

    Or you can call the Sea Safety head office in Poole completely free of charge on 0800 628 0600  
     


    RNLI SEA Check

    As a diver, a boat owner and one of "those" Jet Skiers I have always had an interest in safety at sea for many years. From my early days of boating and diving all over the world I came across too many poorly equipped boats a few of which were extremely grateful for a tow back to shore. With increasing numbers of pleasure craft and the subsequent rise in Lifeboat call-outs, the RNLI came up with the idea of SEA Check.

     It is a free     Safety Equipment Advisory service for all the pleasure craft owning public to participate in, designed as a pro-active tool to reduce incidents before they happen. And yes it is completely FREE (though the RNLI suggest a cup of tea might be appreciated?)

    The service is operated on a friendly, non authoritarian, approach to safety at sea to encourage sea-going people to partake in the scheme. It's not a formal compulsory check where we report our findings to the authorities just an informal chat on how best to prepare your vessel for the way you generally use it or even just confirm that you have been right all along with what you keep onboard, we are not surveyors so we do not check the structure of the vessel.  The advice given is only related to safety equipment and systems and is not a certificate of sea worthiness.  All non commercial craft can have a SEA Check or advice, from Jet Ski's (PWC) to Cruisers and Kayaks to Yachts.


    The check can be done anywhere and at a time to suit the owner and takes between 20 minutes and an hour, the information recorded is in strict confidence and any advice given can, if the owner pleases, be disregarded; on completion a copy of the SEA Check and a year dated boat sticker confirming a check has been carried out is given to the owner, as well as a copy of the Complete Sea Safety guide which includes a fantastic CD-Rom for your computer.

    SEA Checks done annually as a way of confirming that no safety equipment is overlooked or out of date prior to the start of the season.
    If you are not sure you would benefit from a SEA Check or Sea Safety advice and you are in the Angus area then you are welcome to contact me for an informal discussion e-mail angus@seasafety.me.uk Or call 0700 581 1202 or fax 0700 581 1252. You can also contact the RNLI Sea Safety team at the head office in Poole on the freephone number 0800 328 0600 for more information.


     Ray
    Lifeboat Sea Safety Officer (Arbroath)

    Ray's Profile:

    Job: IT Consultant

    Joined the RNLI Sea Safety team in 2002
    Appointed as Arbroath LSSO 2006

    Qualifications:
    RYA Powerboat Level 2 Instructor
    RYA PWC Instructor
    RYA Safety Boat Instructor
    PADI Assistant Instructor
    RYA VHF (DSC/GMDSS) Short Range Certificate
    RYA Day Skipper (Power)
    RYA Coastal Skipper (Power)
    RNLI Flare Demonstrator
    RNLI MOB Demonstrator
    RNLI Sea Safety Presenter
    RNLI Lifejacket Demonstrator
    RNLI SEA Check Adviser
    PADI Emergency First Response (First Aid)
    British Red Cross - First Aid At Work
    RYA First Aid
    PADI Divemaster and Rescue Diver

    The RNLI SEA Check itself:
    A SEA Check entails a visit to your craft by an authorised RNLI SEA Check advisor; the advisor is a volunteer who has a sea going background and is trained to perform the safety check.

    The check is of a pre-printed form (top +3 carbons) based format with the first part of the form being the owner and the boat details and requires a signature from the owner allowing the SEA Check to be carried out.

    The form is divided primarily into 2 columns labelled Priority Equipment and Recommended Equipment and both columns further subdivided into categories that describe conditions under which the craft is going to be used
    • Small Leisure Craft
    • Sheltered Use,
    • Inshore Use,
    • Offshore Use,
    • Extended Passage Use:
    the category of use is discussed and agreed with the owner before the check can be started. The category generally agreed upon by most diving craft is Inshore Use; this means the craft will cruise along the coast normally within 10 miles from a safe haven.
    The check then continues down the rows associated with the agreed Use column to discuss each item of recommended safety equipment, firstly down the Priority Equipment and then the Recommended Equipment.

    The Priority Equipment list covers:-

    Anchor with warp/chain and strong point, Radar reflector, Appropriate Navigation lights, shapes and sound signals, Lifebouy or similar, MOB recovery equipment, Liferaft, Emergency steering, Kill cord, Alternate means of propulsion/starting, Tool kit and spares, Lifejackets/Bouyancy Aids, Safety Harnesses, Bailer and bilge pump, Charts and table of emergency signals, Compass, VHF radio, EPIRB, Torch/spotlight, Pyrotechnics in date, Fire blankets/extinguisher, Temporary hull repair kit, First aid kit, (and Oxygen kit for dive boats)

    Remember not all of the above equipment is required, it all depends on your passage use and type of craft.



    The Recommended Equipment list covers:-

    Fairlead, Towing warp, Throwing line/quoit, Kedge Anchor, Sea Anchor, Boarding Ladder, Dan Buoy, LW/MW Radio, Additional Portable VHF radio, Navtex, HF/Satcom, EPIRB, Emergency Aerial, Barometer, Echo sounder, GPS, Hand bearing compass, Log, Binoculars, Personal protective clothing, grab bag, Emergency water, Storm Sails, Repair Materials and a means of severing rig.

    Again not all of the above equipment is required, it all depends on your passage use and type of craft.
     


    At the end of the check any comments, as a result of the check are added by the SEA Check advisor who then signs the form, he gives the top copy of the form to the owner of the craft and issues a year dated craft sticker. The remaining copies go to RNLI headquarters, Lifeboat Sea Safety Officer and the SEA Check advisor.