How We Stay Safe at Sea & Podcast

This year's ARC has suffered the worst tragedy, so let's talk about safety on ocean crossings.

Hello everyone, and welcome to this week’s Substack where we’ll be tackling the topic of safety at sea, a complex and multi-faceted subject which is usually at the forefront of every sailor’s mind.

Throwback to our first Atlantic Crossing in 2015 on Ruby Rose.

This Week’s Podcast

But first, we want to discuss a lighter topic, which is our Top 3 anchorages of all time! Actually, there’s six anchorages in this shambolic discussion, because we had three each, plus we couldn’t decide, so there’s a few honourable mentions. Pop this podcast on while you’re going for a walk, driving to work, or doing some chores around the house. Our free subscribers get the first 4 minutes for free, so please give it a listen. We’ve included all coordinates in the show notes, along with all relevant episodes or blog posts.

This anchorage made it to the top 3- does anyone recognise it?

How to Cross an Ocean

When looking back at our older content to find some relevant videos for this post, I found this absolute gem of an episode! We were SO YOUNG but also how stiff do we look on camera?! When we made this episode we’d only completed our Atlantic crossing the year before (and hadn’t done our return journey back to Europe yet), and I think this was one of the first ‘Sit down and talk to camera’ episodes we ever filmed. And boy, can you tell. However! The information is still highly relevant, and I think we did a great job of covering the equipment needed to cross an ocean. We do touch on safety, but we also discuss other things like general ocean-crossing equipment. Feel free to give it a watch! (Safety equipment discussion starts at 9 minutes in.)

How We Stay Safe At Sea

Every year hundreds of boats set off from Grand Canaria in a rally to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Back in 2015 (holy heck, can’t believe how long ago that was), we were amongst them. Crossing the Atlantic was a bucket list item and we decided we wanted to tackle that challenge only six months after setting off from the UK and becoming liveaboards. Two years later, we did the same rally in reverse, crossing from the Bahamas back to Portugal in 2018. Those two Atlantic crossings were probably the most challenging passages we’ve ever done, not just because we encountered some rough weather, or because of the mental challenge involved in spending that much time at sea, but also because the inherent risks were far higher than coastal cruising. Mitigating against and managing these risks was a responsibility that weighed heavily on Nick. When you’re by yourself in the middle of an ocean, you really are on your own, no matter what happens, which means everyone onboard needs to do everything within their power to keep themselves, the crew and the yacht safe.

In this year’s ARC, only a few days ago as I write this, a 33 year old man fell overboard and has been lost at sea. This is unspeakably tragic and I can only imagine the horror and trauma the skipper and crew have also gone through, losing one of their crew mates over the side and being unable to find him. We don’t know any further details at this stage, except that the winds were 20-25 knots, gusting up to 30 knots and the vessel was a Volvo 70, a racing yacht, who was participating in the racing division of the ARC.

In a separate incident, the crew of a Leopard 45 has abandoned ship due to water ingress around the rudder stock. The point at which the engine compartment became flooded and the boat’s electrical systems began to be affected by water, the skipper made the decision to abandon ship. All five people onboard were picked up by another rally participant.

These incidents- particularly the devastating loss of life- throw into sharp relief the very real risks of crossing the Atlantic. There are few things that we, as sailors, are more fearful of than a man-overboard situation. This scenario literally keeps Nick and I awake at night. I’m not sure what would be worse: being the one lost at sea, or being the one left onboard attempting to mount a search and rescue. It’s a horrendous thought, and something that, tragically, is not particularly uncommon. Don’t be fooled that man-overboard incidents only happen when a yacht is racing; cruisers have also been lost overboard. With almost half of MOB incidents ending in a fatality, it cannot get much more serious than losing someone over the side.

When we were preparing to cross the Atlantic Ocean the first time, safety was one of our major considerations. We had two additional crew members with us, both experienced coastal sailors but neither had crossed an ocean before, so this was a new experience for everyone involved. Nick, as the skipper, felt this weight of responsibility particularly keenly. To minimise the risk, we had to consider a few key issues:

• watch systems

• protocols for lifejackets

• protocols for tethers

• protocols for going forward or leaving the cockpit

In terms of the boat and equipment, we also considered:

• Liferaft type, capacity and placement

• Safety equipment such as danbuoys, EPIRB’s and fire extinguishers

• Communications

• Boat maintenance & spares

Generally speaking, serious incidents at sea are not just one standalone mistake; often several issues contribute to these terrible incidents, such as weather, crew fatigue, equipment failure, and human error. If you read the MAIB reports of serious incidents- grim but necessary reading for most sailors- you will soon notice that most are a result of more than one contributing factor. Take this report, for example, of a crew member being lost overboard from a Clipper Round the World yacht:

Therefore, we knew that by looking at safety onboard as a wholistic issue, which encompasses many factors including weather routing, boat maintenance, equipment, morale, fatigue, and protocols, we’d have a greater chance of minimising the risks and safely completing our crossing.

We have made a few changes to our protocols and spares/equipment since owning RR2, which I’ll detail at the end. This is purely because of the difference in the risk profile between our catamaran and our monohull, and isn’t because we’ve changed our our attitude towards safety or our safety-related protocols. But it goes to show that some of the below advice is boat-dependant.

Protocols Onboard Ruby Rose during offshore/ocean passages

Nick kicking back during the first few days of our 2015 Atlantic Crossing

We developed several protocols during our first Atlantic crossing, which we’ve continued for all offshore passages ever since.

Watchkeeping:

Our watch system was 3 hours on, 3 hours off, and we’ve maintained this ever since, regardless of the number of crew we have. When it was four of us, this meant the off-watch got a luxurious 9 hours down-time between watches. When it’s just Nick and I, we of course get far less, but given that watch-keeping mostly consists of lounging around keeping a lookout, 3 on/3 off isn’t quite as intense as it sounds.

When on an ocean crossing, where the risks are usually higher than a shorter offshore or overnight crossing on account of the distances involved, the remoteness, the wear and tear on the boat and equipment, and the higher chance of fatigue and poor morale onboard, more crew members can often contribute to a safer boat. This is because everyone is better rested, there’s a larger pool of experience to draw from if there is a problem to be solved, and many tasks benefit from several people being involved (ie, gybing, flying spinnakers, reefing- these are all more challenging with just two people, particularly on a bigger boat). In the case of a MOB overboard- God forbid- or another emergency more people onboard has very clear benefits. One person can manage the radio, another the helm, a third person can keep their eyes glued to the MOB. Or, if the emergency is vessel-related- water ingress, for example- then clearly having a few people dedicated to problem solving, and another keeping an eye on navigation and managing the comms is beneficial. While Nick and I are an excellent team and I have utmost faith that the two of us can efficiently manage most situations, there is no doubt that we’d bring on more crew for an ocean crossing.

Lifejackets, PLB’s and Tethers

Firstly, it’s crucial to choose a decent lifejacket that has a few key features:

• Lightweight- believe me, a heavy lifejacket is the absolute worst when wearing it for most of your waking hours for weeks at a time. We had Spinlock lifejackets for our 2015 and 2018 crossings (and beyond) and while they were marketed as lightweight, I didn’t feel that to be truly the case. (It’s entirely possible that the newer ones are much lighter). The last thing you want is to be tempted to remove your lifejacket because it’s so uncomfortable to wear or you have aches and pains in your neck and shoulders from wearing it.

• Crotch straps- there’s not much point of wearing a lifejacket if it’s just going to pop over your head as soon as you enter the water. Crotch straps are a must, and make sure they’re tight enough. (Not too tight of course!)

• Self-inflatable- this is a given, and you also need to check your gas cylinders to ensure they don’t need to be changed out. I’m not an expert on the technology involved in self inflating life jackets, but it’s safe to assume that quality matters here; you want a hydrostatic automatic inflator and good buoyancy.

• Sprayhood- this is essential to reduce risk of drowning.

• A safety line cutter- in case you need to cut your tether away

• A light

• Compatible with PLBs or AIS

Basically, your life could depend on this lifejacket doing what it says on the tin, so make sure you get a good one.

We had Spinlocks and, while a little too heavy to be truly comfortable (although I got used to it after a week or so), they are excellent lifejackets.

First Atlantic crossing in 2015

We left the option of PLB’s up to our crew; if they wanted to wear one, they would need to bring their own. Nick and I had one each.

We also had three-point tethers, which we insisted our crew also have. A three-point tether enables the wearer to move around on deck whilst remaining attached at all times. When moving one clip, you’re still attached with the other clip (and the ‘third point’ is, of course, attached to your life jacket). I’m not going to lie; in practice, this can get a bit awkward, but it’s worth the inconvenience if it’s going to save your life. Which- it would. Once again: almost half of MOB’s end in fatalities, and a tether will save you from that fate if you go over the side.

Every skipper has a different attitude towards lifejackets. When offshore, particularly mid-ocean where, as I’ve already explained, the risks are inherently far higher, our protocol is that if you’re outside, you’ve got your lifejacket on. Even if you were just in the cockpit, laying down, and it was so calm that we were motoring, we all wore a lifejacket regardless. If we needed to leave the cockpit, we clipped ourselves on, even if all we were doing was going to the bow to lie down in the shade of the sails, using the packed-away spinnaker as a big pillow (that was me).

When on watch overnight, we had an even stricter set of protocols:

• Always tethered on, even just in the cockpit. We only removed our tether when we were in the companionway, going down the steps.

• Never leaving the cockpit for any reason. If we needed to go forward, we woke up the next person who was due to be on watch and/or Nick.

• If you had any doubt whatsoever about anything at all, whether that was the weather or conditions, or a light, or another boat, or anything else that was bothering you, you got Nick up. One night, John, our crew member, woke Nick up to double check a bright light that didn’t seem to be attached to another boat, and there was nothing on the AIS or radar. He couldn’t work it out but he was starting to freak out. Turned out, it was the moon rising. While we teased him mercilessly- and I think Nick still brings it up, all these years later, if there’s ever a lull in conversation in the local pub- the truth is that fatigue and the dark conditions at sea can wreak havoc with your senses.

These rules weren’t just for the benefit of the person on-watch, you understand. It was for the benefit of all onboard. As Nick ruthlessly pointed out to our crew on day 1, “If you go overboard because of your poor decisions, then that’s on you; but I’m not going to put myself through the trauma of losing a friend overboard just because you couldn’t be bothered clipping on or you decided to go forward by yourself in the middle of the night.” Furthermore- and this especially relates to Nick and I, I think- there is no way either of us could have slept if we had the smallest doubt that the other person was 100% safe. And fatigue has a huge impact on morale and decision making on long passages, so ensuring everyone was well rested was a top priority.

Boat Maintenance, Spares and Safety Equipment