Newport Bermuda Race competitors will see upgraded and simplified safety requirements in 2020 and will have additional options to receive hands-on training. By Mark Lenci

Major East Coast races are taking steps to increase safety-at-sea crew training, and the Newport Bermuda Race is no exception. With this article, Bermuda Race organizers are giving early notice of the new requirements. The net effect of the changes for most crews who sailed in the 2018 Race is that in 2020 they’ll need one more crew with certification of hands-on safety-at-sea training.

As organizers, we know this will have an impact on crews preparing for the race, and we are working to minimize the challenges in meeting the additional requirements as follows:

1. We are offering many more Safety-at-Sea courses than in the past, to give racers more scheduling flexibility;
2. We are incorporating an online portion to reduce the course from 2 days to 1 day in person (again to make it easier and cheaper for racers to attend);
3. We have simplified the requirement so there is only one type of course that meets the requirements; and
4. We have made it easier to figure out how many people and which positions need to complete the training.

To provide some perspective, we’ve listed below the major races that are strengthening the Safety at Sea training required for their races by specifying that crew members complete training that includes a “hands-on” component (the second day of a two-day course). The table below shows the requirements for recent and upcoming major East Coast races.

Two key changes in Safety at Sea training for 2020 Newport Bermuda:

The two essential changes for the 2020 race are as follows:

1. All Safety at Sea Seminar (SaS) attendance must be a course that complies with World Sailing’s Offshore Personal Survival Course Guidelines. These courses must include hands-on training. The certificate may be obtained by completing a classroom (first day) portion in person or online, AND also attending a hands-on (second day) portion in person. A one-day classroom-only course by itself without hands-on training no longer meets the requirements for Safety at Sea seminar attendance. An online course without hands-on training also does not meet the requirements.
2. 30% of the crew including the Captain/Person in Charge (PIC and the RPIC for multihulls) must have attained a Safety at Sea training certificate meeting the above criteria. The requirement for the navigator or watch captain to attend the training has been removed.

For most crews, the rule change will require that one more person have SaS training for 2020 compared to the 2018 race (see table at bottom of article). Additionally, all SaS training to meet the race safety rules must include hands-on training. A classroom-only course will no longer meet the requirement.

There are two factors worth noting that provide flexibility for race crews: (1) US Sailing now offers an online course that meets the requirements for the first day of the two-day SaS course. This gives crewmembers more flexibility in schedule. It also reduces the time and cost of attending the course in person from two days (and associated food & lodging costs) to one day. (2) Dropping the requirement for the navigator or watch captain to have SaS training gives the crew more flexibility in which crew members attend the SaS training.

The race committee recognizes that the organizations that conduct SaS training must have the capacity to train the required number of sailors. The Cruising Club of America is changing their SaS program and will now offer a course in the fall, winter, and spring every year in addition to the traditional multi-day event held in the spring before the Newport Bermuda Race. The next three CCA Safety at Sea courses are scheduled Sunday, October 7, 2018; Saturday, January 12, 2019, and Saturday, March 16, 2019. The classes will be held at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI. You can find detailed information and register at https://sas.cruisingclub.org/courses/sas

Here’s a full list of organizations that offer SaS training on the US East Coast:

Start your preparations early and feel free to contact me at [email protected] with any questions.

Mark Lenci leads the Cruising Club of America’s safety at sea education program and skippered Sunflower, his Beneteau Oceanis 523, in the 2018 Race.