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Yachting Australia Corporate Partner
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Yachting Australia
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What are you ‘Tweeting’ about? AusENC’s, PPR and Stat-X, Adelaide 2012
Martin Silk provides his take on the recent RYA-Yachting Australia and SSS Conference.
With Instructors from across the country, the list of regions was almost as diverse as the subjects for the 2012 RYA-Yachting Australia and SSS conference. Our hosts at the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia made us extremely welcome whilst our guest speakers from far and wide provided interesting and informative presentations.
Some of the key points raised included:
- The availability of AusENC’s, or IMO compliant Vector charts, which are now available to recreational boat users via Boat Books with annual licenses ranging from $20 for a Port Pack to $690 for the whole of Australia. This license includes the cost of regular updates as fortnightly Notices to Mariners.
- For anyone needing a MCA Commercial Endorsement, the on-line Professional Practices and Responsibilities (PPR) course is now available with a fixed price of £35 and takes around 4-10hrs to complete.
- Fire technology was displayed and the Stat-X suppression system from Chubb, an aerosol extinguisher was ‘fired’ outside. Being Stainless Steel with virtually no servicing requirements, a 10yr life, remote activation and Marine approvals, it is particularly suited to engine compartments on Yachts.
- MOB training needs a different approach if it is going to prepare boats for situations such as the Lion incident last year and the incident was re-enacted alongside the club pontoon. It demonstrated how the use of water training dummies can add realism to training and everybody should read the Lion report. (insert images here)
- Even the Cruising Division of Adelaide are using DSC with group MMSI’s for the club and racing fleets. This may be thanks to the expert knowledge of Andy Shipp, but highlighted the type of initiative that needs to spread amongst other groups around Australia.
- AMSA has provided for Recreational Training vessels under 24metres, but the 15NM limitation is unlikely to meet the needs of the Yacht Training scheme. Having the ‘NS’ bracket of Commercial Vessels unsuitable indicates is most likely that all Yacht Training vessels with need to comply with the National Standards for Commercial Vessels (NSCV) from Jan 2013. Grandfathering rights will be available and further rounds of consultation on Part E are due for July 2012.
- Discover Sailing, the new ‘brand’ designed to bring new participants into the sport, is due for launch soon but does not include the Yacht Training Scheme nor Safety & Sea Survival courses.
- The challenges of sailing single handed around Australia and especially trying to slow down with a drogue were highlighted by Bruce Arms and the difficulties of recovering six sailors from the sea in darkness and unfavourable conditions were shared by Grant Dunoon, skipper of TryBooking.com.
Many presentations from the 2012 Instructor Conference are now available to download from the Yachting Australia website, so as Alexa Hohenberg from MEDIACOM advised us, it’s time to get on Twitter and tweet about it!…
