The Cruising Club of America will offer a seminar two days before the Newport Bermuda start to ensure entrants receive required safety training.
Newport Bermuda Race rules require that 30 percent of each crew complete vital safety training. That requirement, combined with a rising demand for safety training generally, maxed out seminar capacity and prompted the Cruising Club of America to open additional capacity with a Safety at Sea Seminar in Newport, R.I., on June 13, 2018.
The seminar will include dual tracks. One track will offer the traditional US Sailing-sanctioned Offshore Safety at Sea Seminar moderated by Ralph Naranjo, the NBR Safety Officer. This will support race entries needing to fulfill the 30-percent requirement.
All attendees will meet at Sail Newport with registration at 07:00 and a seminar start of 08:00. Ralph Naranjo will lead as moderator and speak to safety ethos, and lessons learned from recent incidents. Chris McNally will address communications offshore and AIS/MOB.
Following that talk, those attending the Hands-On Training will break out into four groups for rotation through their various stations: pool—PFDs and life raft—fire fighting and flare firing, damage control, and safety gear.
The remainder of the group will have a chance to listen to Mark Lenci discuss Damage Control and Fire, Frank Bohlen address Weather, Gulf Stream and sea state, Martha Parker speak to crew prep, Mark Lenci address MOB prevention and recovery, and Ralph Naranjo speak to collision avoidance and crew resource management. Mark Bologna of Landfall will discuss maintenance of safety gear and there will be a life raft deployment with a discussion of grab bag contents and abandon ship procedures.
The second track, for Hands-On Training will be a chance to complete the International Offshore Safety at Sea course for those with a hands-on training certificate. It requires either a prior Classroom Offshore Safety at Sea Seminar (such as the CCA's March 10 seminar in Newport) or the International Offshore US Sailing Online Supplement completed within the 12 months prior to the seminar, and a copy of the certificate received sent by June 6. This will provide an option for those who need to meet the requirement to have two aboard with a World Sailing Personal Survival certificate or US equivalent. Register here.
Another option for crews seeking training before the Race is the Safety at Sea seminar offered on May 19 by the Storm Trysail Club at SUNY Maritime in Bronx, NY.
This news article was first published on March 7, 2018 and updated on April 24.
