NEW ROWERS! ANYONE INTERESTED IN HAVING A GO CONTACT US AND WE WILL TRY AND ORGANISE A TRY OUT SESSION FOR YOU For all the latest news and events please follow our facebook page! RNLI WORKSHOP - 2021 Great workshop this weekend from Michael MacDonald and Emma Maclelland of Invergordon RNLI. Many thanks to them for coming along. Many thanks to the Royal Hotel for letting us be there. He talked about the boat they have currently and gave us an idea of the one that it is going to be replaced with shortly. They serve an area covering the Cromarty Firth, going up to Helmsdale in the Moray Firth and over to Burghead and down to Fortrose, beyond that and in to the Beauly Firth, they share with the Kessock coastguard , who have a rib type boat, each boat attending incidents according to the situation. Some points he made follow and please add any more on facebook page, or message here, as I am likely to have forgotten a lot because my note taking phone ran out of battery! LIFEJACKETS Should be checked every year (ours have been) and we should have a session each year where we inflate one just so everyone can be sure of what to expect. They are happy to send someone along for a check next time. He said that in one check 80% of jackets were deemed to be faulty or beyond use. RADIO Familiarise yourselves with the procedure and how to use the radio. (This should be worn by the cox , with preferably one hanging on the peg in the boat also). For example MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY for an emergency like person overboard or capsize or boat taking in water. Give an estimate of where you are by using the things around you, it is helpful therefore to learn the name of the rigs that are berthed in the firth for example. PANPAN x 3 is for a state of urgency but is not yet emergency. Each boat should take time at the start to make sure everyone knows how to use and talk to the radios. Channel 16 is the coastguard Channel 11 is the port radio channel It is recommended that all leisure users of the firth, including skiffs, alert the Coastguard on channel 11 at Invergorden when we are taking a skiff out in the morning. So first row radio in and let them know we are out. This for each boat. And the final row of the day contacts them to tell them we are home and putting the boats away. This is really helpful because they can then tell all shipping in the firth to be aware of us and crucially to be aware of their wash affecting us adversly. Make sure when you go out someone at home knows that you are going out ( this is perhaps less of an issue for us as we have five in a boat, someone is bound to miss one of us!) WHISTLES Helpful to have your own whistle , plastic (I’ve been looking to see if there are any recyclable plastic ones let us know if you find one) for preference as metal will rust in the sea air. (NB: DID YOU KNOW Any CCRC club member gets a wee discount at Gael Force?) WIND AND TIDE Know these before you row. Check the app there are a few - he uses My tide times this has Cromarty and Invergordon on it. Check conditions if you are dubious , then just don’t row. They are very happy to come along and give talks any time. We cannot be too careful or have too much information about Health and Safety. Four lives were lost in the UK in the year 2016 alone in rowing incidents , but with many more, thankfully , successful rescue operations. If in doubt call them out, they’d rather go out to a concerning false alarm than miss a bone fide rescue opportunity for whatever reason. NOTE THAT OUR SAFETY PROCEDURES ARE IN THIS WEBSITE PLEASE LOOK AT THEM. |
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