Here are a few (well - quite alot actually!) safety considerations that have occurred to us. We may not have thought of absolutely everything so please add anything you think is important in a safety sense.
1. In terms of responsibility to the group – all boats out on the water are looking out for each other. Although there will be 2 ribs out for safety, in some respect we’re all safety boats. The first rule of boating is always to keep a good lookout.
2. Everyone goes in groups or clusters. Not a centralised launch – but some degree of safety in numbers. A minimum of 4 people per launch group? A minimum of 2 per craft? More fun for clusters of rafts anyway!
3. Everyone phones into a central number before and after the action.
4. Only strong swimmers.
5. Only with life jackets.
6. Everyone needs good oars/some kind of propulsion system.
7. No one must fall in the water by any big sucky grates as there is a danger of getting sucked under and drowned.
8. Everyone needs to consider where the water will be on the ladders at high tide. Coz if someone decides to do something like lock on too low down at low tide – they’ll get drowned as the tide rises. Nasty way to go! I think it’s how they used to murder pirates in the past.
9. General advice is to stay with the big floaty thing if poss and not swim off. Easier to see a raft than a small head and if other boats are out with propellers and engines – they may not always see swimmers in the water. Equally, not to panic if you do fall in the water! It’s not that bad and quite warm at this time of year.
10. No heavy clothes to be worn. Definitely no jeans, no boots or heavy shoes. Shorts or light trousers and a thin jersey to keep warmish. If anyone has access to neoprene – that’s a good idea. Keep a dry bag of warm clothes for getting onto land again.
11. Everyone needs to take plenty of drinking water and tie it to the raft. Also take food in a dry bag in case of long time on land again at end. Obviously no eating on water because people may get cramp if they fall in.
12. Techniques for dealing with mud issues. Eg. Swim on back. Big surface area to prevent sinking into it. Important that people don’t get their feet stuck in the mud with the rising tide. Know that the rising tide after 12.32 will lift the raft off again so best to stay with that.
13. Everyone needs a laminated map of the river and to understand how the buoyage system works. I.e. coming down river the green ones are on the left and the red ones are on the right, going up river the green on the right and the red on the left. This is the channel where there won’t just be mud at low tide.
14. Everyone needs to find out where at or near LOW TIDE it is possible to launch onto the river.
15. Good idea to get some land crew for support. They can also take care of dry clothes, more food, flasks of hot drinks and warm hugs for afterwards. Also can help with communication.
16. Mobile phones in dry bags for communication – but also CB radios? Diversity is good here in case one thing doesn’t work.
17. In terms of raft design, everyone should think of a way to help anyone climb back on board from the water. E.g. a rope with knots or a rope ladder as it is surprisingly difficult to do this otherwise and will knacker people out quickly. Equally – it is important not to drag long ropes in the water that people can get ankles and limbs tangled up with. Everything neatly onboard, ship-shape and Bristol fashion when not in use!
18. There will be 3 safety and seamanship workshop sessions at the camp on the 6th, 7th and 8th. August. There will also be action medic workshops at the camp, which will deal with health issues round waterborne actions. It is really important to go to these.
19. Good news as you’ve heard is that we’ll be pretty much in the middle of neaps (the moon is half full, at right angles to the sun, on 8th August). According to the tides given on the GRRR site for Rochester – the rise of tide will be about 3.8m. The speed of tidal flow will be about 0.3 knots.
20. The weather needs to be taken into account and everyone will have to make a decision about that on the day (although we can get an idea from weather forecasts up to 5 days in advance). If it’s really windy and wild it may be too dangerous to go out. So with luck the weather will be with us! AaarrrrrrrGrrrrr!!!!
