| safety |
MAABC's safety adviser
Currently Noel Durkin. Please contact him if you have any queries.
Introduction
Safety is a prime consideration for the club. This section is designed for all club members to be aware of the risks presented by rowing in general and in particular rowing on the tidal stretch of the river Thames. It is divided up into the following sections, and is also available here as a Word document 
:
– General health matters
– ARA water safety code
– PLA navigation rules (see navigation page)
– Right hand rule and the inshore zone (see navigation page)
– Coxing, Bowsteering and Single sculling
– New single scullers
– Risk assesments
– Rowing in the hours of darkness
– Launch drivers
Introduction to safe rowing
Statistically speaking rowing is a safe sport. The incidents of death or serious injury are few. However we should never be complacent, the nature of our sport dictates that we are often being steered by someone who is facing in the opposite direction of travel (bowsteersmen, scullers) or by someone whose vision is obstructed by members of the crew. We travel in fragile boats designed for speed which are damaged on impact and can be swamped in rough water.
The stretch of river we enjoy is varied due to its tidal nature, where the passage of few hours can turn benign conditions treacherous and sometimes this can happen in minutes! On the plus side, it means that if you're looking for a quite peaceful river you can pick a lower tide time and possibly a quiet time like the afternoon and enjoy peace and solitude!
The river is also well used, by other rowers, paddlers, canoeists, sailors, commercial traffic, anglers and pleasure craft to name a few. Peak hours can mean extreme congestion; tempers can fly as everyone tries to get the most out of their 'leisure time'. The PLA has a written a code of practice document Rowing on the Tideway (link on the PLA's website) – a code of Practice for rowing on the Tidal Thames above Putney – that aims to cover all aspects of rowing where things we do might impinge on others.
No-one is allowed to take charge of a Club boat in the Boathouse, on the foreshore, or on the river until the Captain (or club appointed coaches) is satisfied that they are competent. People who would take charge of a club boat are:
Coxes; bow steers people; single scullers; coaches (including launch drivers).
When checking that a person is competent you should consider whether they have understood the guidelines below on performing a risk assessment and following the navigation rules. They should be aware of their responsibility as a steersperson.
Novice single scullers are not allowed to have unsupervised outings. Please read the full section on this below. The club definitions are:
– novice single sculler: someone who has had less than 20 outings in a single. This applies even if that person is a cox or an experienced bowsteers.
– Supervision: a launch or other crew/sculler within sight range and earshot at all times.
Contact with water
River water is not always as clean as you might wish. You should be aware aware of the risks present from the micro biological or chemical quality of the water such as Weil's Disease, Tetanus, Giardia.
Further information on water borne diseases is available on the ARA website. In addition to these there is information on the intestinal disease Giardiasis on the NHS website, this is a local risk to MAA from the sewage works located on the Chiswick reach.
Advice: You should wash your hands and any other part of your body which has had direct contact with the water soon after returning to the boathouse and certainly before eating or drinking. Try to ensure your waterbottle never falls in the water and if it does boil it thoroughly!
Drinking water
The water in the changing room has been softened to minimize limescale deposits. Please fill your water bottle from the sink in the kitchen or either of the taps downstairs in the boathouse. (Both in middle bay). Remember that rowing is a physical activity and even if you feel cool you should ensure you are properly hydrated during your outing by carrying a water bottle and drinking at each stopping point. Never share water bottles with other crew members (risk of cross infection) and take care to keep your bottle clean.
Risk of injury from sharp objects
The most likely source of injury is the sharp stones and other objects on the beach. There is some risk of injury from walking into fixed objects like riggers in the boathouse or from an on the water crash. Whatever the source of the injury, rowing is an outdoor sport so tetanus is a real risk. It is strongly recommended, that you keep up-to-date with your Tetanus injections.
Advice: wear stout foot protection on the beach (flip flops are not advised as they tend to slip off leaving you unprotected – a close fitting water sandal is better). In winter Wellington boots are a must. You should never walk on the beach in bare feet or in just socks – there are too many sharp objects – glass, needles and stones. Also the flotsam which is washed up on our beach often has household waste and occasionally sewage waste.
As British Rowing affliliated club (which amongst other things entitles us to race under BR rules) we are required to follow the guidlines set out in Row Safe. This is not exhaustive, and should not preclude common sense. A copy of Row Safe can be found on the water safety board in the club house, or can be read on the British Rowing website.
Coxes, bowsteers and single scullers
These people are responsible for the safety of their crew (even if it is just you).
This is the legal stand point – from the club, the ARA and the PLA. As 'Master of the vessel' you are in charge, and responsible should anything happen. This is over and above any coach who is supervising the outing. You are responsible for performing the risk assessment and reporting any incidents which occur.
MAA does not currently hold members liable for the repair of equipment, but it might do if damage could be proven to be caused by recklessness. You may wish to consider getting insurance – British Rowing membership covers you for both civil liability and personal accident insurance – non-racing membership is currently £23 (2010). British Rowing insurance details (PDF format part of Row safe) and British Rowing civil liability protection scheme (PDF on BR website).
Coxes must wear a life jacket (and check that they know how to work it!). All MAA club boats are fitted with a full sound system, so coxes must use a coxbox to communicate with the crew. The coxbox will ensure that crew members hear the command properly and can respond quickly if needs be. Any faults with the sound system or coxbox should be reported in the same way as boat damage.
Communication – if you are in a group you should always be within sight or earshot of the other members of the group. At least one person in the group should have a mobile phone with them to call for assistance in the event of an emergency.
New scullers (less than 20 outings) should never go out unsupervised – this preferably means a coach in a launch, but may be a very experienced sculler, sculling alongside. This is for your own safety, and for the sake of club boats. Even a capsize may damage a boat. The person supervising a new single sculler should remind them regularly of the information on this page, about navigation rules, performing risk assessments, keeping a good look out and what to do in an emergency, until these things become habit.
Every cox / coach or bowsteers person should perform a risk assessment before going out for an outing. It does not need to take a long time or be very formal, experienced steerers do all of these things instinctively.
A risk assessment should include:
– Boat checks
– Crew competence
– Water conditions
– Weather forecast (wind / rain /sun)
– Stream
– Tidal conditions (height, ebb/flow)
– Steerer confidence
The boat checks include whether the boat is suitable for the crew, whether it is river worthy (including bow ball immovable, hull and canvases intact, buoyancy covers closed, steering working and rudder straight, heel restraints short enough to allow rower to kick out in a capsize).
Water and weather conditions may dictate a certain level of crew competence, and this may affect the steerer – conditions that would be okay for a coxed boat might not be okay for a coxless one without direct launch supervision. It is always the steerers call whether the outing happens and they should not feel pressured. A good session on the ergo is better than a broken boat or injured people.
The steerer should always check the tide table and consider the weather forecast – a brisk breeze going in the same direction as the tide may cause unrowable conditions when the tide turns and the wind is against the tide.
There should always be a list of tidetimes on the Safety noticeboard in the main MAA hallway. Also available on the website. Note that tide turning is dependant on land water, so may be different by up to 15 minutes. As tides are controlled by the moon, when there is either a full or new moon, the tides are said to be 'spring tides' and will be both higher and lower than usual. The water will move more quickly at these times too.
Incidents
First rule of an incident involving another party is to be as polite as possible. Getting angry will never solve anything, try to be calm and rational.
If you are steering, perform a quick assessment of the incident, do you think it can be resolved quickly or is anyone in danger? Are you yourself thinking clearly? Consider calling 999 and asking for the coastguard. This will allow the dedicated search and rescue service provided by the RNLI (nearest stations Chiswick Pier and Teddington) to be quickly alerted.
Once every person involved is safe, ensure you have details like boat ID numbers, club names and people's names. You will need these for the report.
Immersion in water: Capsize, swamping or accident.
Capsize is when a crew or sculler turn their boat over leaving the crew immersed in the water. Swamping is when the boat fills with water and the crew are immersed in water with the boat upright yet partially or fully below the waterline. Accidents might result in someone ending up in the water, either knocked out of their boat, or because their boat is so damaged.
Capsize is more common in the less stable boats, singles and pairs are most vulnerable but it has been known for crews to capsize doubles, fours and even quads and eights.
Once someone is in the water, unless the weather is very hot and the water temperature high, they are in danger from hypothermia. An immersed sculler's ability to think rationally and rescue themselves will be diminished in a few short minutes. It is recommended that you read Jane Blockley's cold water safety guidelines on hypothermia and water immersion.
Current club advice (displayed on posters around the club) is that you should try to get back into your boat as soon as possible, but think quickly about what the best method might be - towing your boat to the bank, standing up and climbing in, climbing back in the middle of the river and climbing on top of your upturned scull and paddling it like a surfboard. Getting your torso out of the water is the priority. It will depend on how fast the water is moving and how high the tide is. Remember you should swim with the stream, rather than trying to go straight to the bank at 90 degrees, because this will involve more effort. There is more information on this in the capsize section of the ARA website.
Incident reporting
The ARA and the PLA require us to report incidents which happen on the river. Incidents fall into two categories, Recordable and Reportable. We have an incident log book and copies of the reportable incident forms can be found under the safety board in the hallway or can be downloaded from the ARA website.
Recordable incidents are less serious, and are recorded so that the club can spot any patterns in incidents (for instance if a particular point on the river is causing more groundings or scullers are more likely to capsize under certain conditions). It also means we have a record should anything go more seriously wrong later (like a sculler who has recently capsized developing a gastroenterinal disease).
Reportable incidents must be recorded in our incident book and reported using the correct form. The definition of a recordable incident is one which involves another club (so serious clashing of blades, boat contact) one which involves an injury to a person or one which is costly to repair (more than £99 to have the work done commercially). So a minor grounding incident would not be recordable, but crashing into a mooring buoy is. If you crash into another club, even if there is no damage it must be reported, and the other club will have to fill in a report as well.
Boat damage (broken foot stretcher, damage to hull) should be written up in the damage book – even if this has also been written up in the ARA incident book. We need to know if something needs repairing. Any damage which would stop another crew from using the boat should be reported to the captain (or your squad coach) and a 'quarantine notice' put on the boat so that others know it is not in use.
Important reminder
The ARA are anxious that any incidents, dangerous situations, boats been driven dangerously. should be reported to the Port of London Authority; the body which oversees safety on the tidal section of the River Thames. Incidents should be reported on a PLA form 209, unless urgent, in which case they should first be telephoned to the PLA. The PLA Form is also available in the Clubhouse. Completed forms should be sent to: PLA, Bakers' Hall 7 Harp Lane, London EC3R 6LB. To avoid any duplication, please first liaise with our Safety Adviser (currently Sarah Gardiner).
Rowing during the hours of darkness
Lights on boats
The hours of darkness are those during which streetlights are lit. This requires drivers on the roads to have their headlights on and is commonly called lighting up and lighting down. It is generally about 20 minutes before actual sunrise and 20 mins after sunset. You can check sunrise/sunset on the BBC weather site. As an easy rule of thumb if the streetlights are on, you need your lights!
THE USE OF CLUB EQUIPMENT IN ROWING/SCULLING AFTER DARK IS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE CAPTAIN
Launches and rowing boats must have a white light showing through 360 degrees.
For launches, this means a pole light above the driver’s head height, in addition, red/green port/starboard lights.
Rowing/sculling boats – White lights mounted in the number plate slot on the bow and atop the rudder yoke in the stern. If mounting the light directly
onto the hull ensure that it is not hidden by the saxboards. Lights can also be mounted on a pole on the stern behind the cox or in the bow in front of a
steersman – although care must be taken to conserve night vision with this system.
LED sticks on the back of the cox or bowman are also a useful, although only as an addition to the main lighting system.
FLASHING LIGHTS (updated September 2010)
Flashing lights are more noticeable than fixed lights, especially in areas with pools of ambient light such as central London. Their use is recommended by PLA/British Rowing with the following provisos:
- Upstream of Putney Bridge only the bow light should flash, allowing other river users to easily tell in which direction the vessel is travelling
- Flashing lights can seriously impair night vision so if travelling in a group they must be above or below eye level
Tip: Many fixed LED lights can be converted to flashing by turning the battery over or by buying a different battery type rather than replacing the whole light.
More information on lights is available at http://www.boatingonthethames.co.uk see "Guide to lighting and other safety tips for small leisure craft"
Crews should wear white, light coloured or fluorescent upper body clothing where possible to enhance visibility.
Lights are no substitute for keeping a good look out.
Rowing in club boats during the hours of darkness is also subject to the following restrictions
Only experienced crews and cox'ns may row/steer in the dark. Rowing in coxless boats is not allowed except by members of the senior rowing squads; any such rowing should be accompanied by a coach in a launch. Inexperienced and/or junior rowers may only row in the dark as part of an experienced crew and, in total, may constitute no more than a quarter of the crew. In the case of junior rowers parental permission must be granted. Inexperienced cox'ns may not cox in the dark.
It is recommended that regular launch drivers take the RYA level 2 powerboating course.
A launch accompanying a crew's primary responsibility is the safety and well being of the crew and other crews on the river. They should ensure that the steersperson is well briefed on any potential danger and the navigation rules. Sticking to the navigation rules is more important than completing a piece, or concentrating on a technical exercise, both of these things can be achieved while complying with the rules.
The launch driver is responsible for checking the equipment before boating. This includes the Safety Kit, lifejackets for all crew members, a megaphone and a mobile telephone. They should ensure they have sufficient petrol for the outing and the engine is in full working order. Where a kill cord is provided it must be attached to the driver.
Petrol
Petrol must not be left in the launches in the boathouse. Always return petrol tanks to the padlocked store on the far side of the lawn. The club's insurance for fire damage will not be valid if petrol is stored inside. Please protect the fleet!
More information
Detailed information on safety can be found on the British Rowing website Row safe section.