Issue date
With the summer approaching it is a good time of year to look at your yacht’s safety gear.
For all clubs running races under safety categories 4 and 5 the regulations state that “Compliance is self-regulated and requires only a skipper’s declaration”. This is fine, but remember that safety equipment is there for you and your crews safety. The list of requirements for each category can be found here on the Yachting New Zealand web site.
We recommend that all keelboat and trailer yacht clubs have an appointed Safety Officer to make sure that all boats racing are complying. It could be a good time to contact a local YNZ Safety Inspector to come and brief your boat owners on the minimum requirements. A list of Safety Inspectors can be found by clicking on Safety Inspectors on this page of the YNZ website.
Clubs should also organise random spot checks throughout the season and noncompliant craft should be disqualified from the race.
All in the interest of safety for your club members.
