Capsize
Governing: STCW Code Table A-VI/2-2. Builds on: L2.1; Personal Survival Techniques (PST).
Table A-VI/2-2 lists procedures for the righting of a capsized fast rescue boat as knowledge, and requires you to demonstrate that you can right a capsized fast rescue boat and swim in special equipment. The approved course puts you through it in a pool or sheltered water. This lesson prepares you for that and for the real thing.
How FRBs capsize
- Breaking waves beam-on, especially near surf or a shoaling bank.
- Stuffing the bow in a following sea.
- Pitch-pole when launched off a crest with weight forward.
- Snatch load at hook-on during recovery.
- Crew weight thrown to one side in a hard turn.
Immediate actions
- Surface and grab the boat, a line or a grab handle.
- Headcount by shouting names.
- Check under the hull if anyone is missing: the air gap may hold a trapped crew member.
- Stay with the boat. It is bigger, more visible and a platform.
- Report by handheld VHF or signal to the yacht.
- Kill the engine if the kill cord has not already.
Righting methods
| Method | How |
|---|---|
| Self-righting system | Activated from inside or outside; a bag on a frame inflates and rolls the boat upright |
| Manual | Crew climb onto the upturned hull, grab the righting lines on the far side, lean back and pull the boat over towards them |
| Assisted | Another boat or the yacht's crane, only if safe |
For manual righting, use the wind and sea: righting into the wind lets the wind help lift the far side. Crew clear the area where the boat will land.
Under MGN 560, applying MSC.402(96), the rescue boat righting system, where fitted, is one of the items examined at the annual thorough examination. If your boat has one, know how it is activated and when it was last examined.
Swimming in special equipment
The criterion includes swimming in special equipment: immersion or anti-exposure suits, helmets, lifejackets. REG Part B defines the anti-exposure suit as a protective suit designed for rescue boat crews and marine evacuation system parties. The suit changes how you swim; the course lets you find out in a pool.
After righting
- Get everyone aboard, the weakest first.
- Bail out.
- Do not restart an engine that has been inverted without following the manufacturer's procedure; water in the cylinders can damage it. Paddle or wait for the yacht.
- Treat for cold and shock; you are now casualties too.
WARNING - Trapped under the hull Tubes and seating create air pockets. A crew member can be alive under the boat and unable to find the way out. Check before you right it, or you may roll the boat onto them.
TIP - Know your boat upside down On a calm day, walk round your boat and find the righting lines, the handholds and the self-righting activation. In the water you will have no time to look.
CAUTION - Cold shock Sudden immersion causes gasping and panic. Keep your mouth closed, float in your lifejacket and control your breathing before trying anything else.