With summer, pleasure yachts are more frequent at sea. Some of the sea shore rescue op companiesrecommends that in nautical activities extreme caution is necessary to avoid errors that can have serious consequences. Last year, some of the cruise control services coordinated the rescue, assistance or search of 15,566 people (an average of 43 per day) in the 5,462 maritime activities (15 on average per day) attended throughout some parts of Europe. The majority was related to the rescue of lives at sea in particular, 4,437 actions, another 669 interventions aimed at guaranteeing maritime safety and 356 related to the protection of the marine environment.
The High Statistics:
The statistics of the rescue on the shore in recent years show that about 65% of the emergencies starred by the recreational fleet and served by the public service arise during the four months of summer holidays (June, July, August and September) so they are seasonal emergencies. The same statistics point to human error as one of the main causes of accidents, followed by mechanical failures.
The lack of adequate and mandatory material or poorly maintained and manipulated aggravates any risk situation. The functions of rescue are the maritime search and rescue; control and aid to maritime traffic; the prevention and fight against pollution of the marine environment; towing and assistance to ships, as well as those complementary to the previous ones.
Before setting sails check the state of the yacht: preventing possible structural or mechanical failures increases safety. After a long mooring or having endured a hard navigation, it is recommended to check the hull and the existence of bumps or cracks, in addition to checking the electrical system and preventing water from being present in the system. You can check into www.nauticalimages.net for knowing more about it.
General condition of the engine:The engine and its housing must be inspected for possible losses of fuel, coolant or lubricating oil. You also have to check the oil level and the sea water intake for coolingand very important, do not access the engine when it is running.
Mandatory equipment and material: depending on the navigation areas for which the vessel is authorized (oceanic, high seas, coastal waters, protected waters), the regulations require certain equipment and safety equipment to be carried on board.
The teams are divided into five categories: salvage, navigation, bailing and firefighting, diverse armament and prevention of dirty water discharges. All equipment and salvage equipment must be located, marked and in a place accessible to any crew member at all times.
Radio communications: the regulation that regulates radiocommunications on board Spanish civil ships identifies the equipment that recreational vessels must carry, according to the navigation zones in which they are authorized to navigate. The equipment consists of fixed radio stations, Inmarsat, portable VHF stations, terminals, radio beacons, transponder and GPS. The greater the distance from the coast that can be navigated, the more complete the equipment must be.
Documentation: Before setting sail you have to check that all the necessary documentation is available on board. Since it can be required at any time by the authorities, both are in port and during navigation. In addition, the license plate and the name of the yacht painted on the helmet must be able to be read without difficulty.