Every year boats burn to the waterline, sailors go overboard and drown or die from carbon monoxide poisoning inside their boats. I once listened to the frantic radio conversation of the wife of a sailor with the coastguard. He had gone over the side of their well set up yacht sailing on autopilot and she had no idea how to sail the boat. She could only watch in horror as her husband slowly disappeared astern.
The wise sailor considers the huge range of dangers in boating. But whilst some dangers are likely to happen they shouldn’t be serious like slips, trips and bumps. But others, whilst very unlikely to happen, could be catastrophic or fatal events such as gas explosions and sinking. Therefore it is time to go boating in The (Risk) Matrix, a place where you can visualise the relative likelihood and danger of the risk you are likely to face.
Generic Risk Assessment
Step 1: Identify all the risks you think you could face when using your boat.
Step 2: Score every risk on the likelihood of it happening from 1 (Rare) to 5 (Almost Certain)
Step 3: Score every risk on the severity / consequence of outcome if it does happen from 1 (Negligible) to 5 (Catastrophic)
Step 4: Put each risk into the relevant box on the Risk Matrix
Step 5: Them, working your way from top right down to bottom left, think about what needs to be done to prepare for or mitigate each risk.
The mix of dangers faced by any boater is unique to them and their boat. That is why it is important to do this risk assessment and think about how you use your boat, with whom and where. here’s what a ‘typical’ boating risk matrix might look like for a seasoned regatta racer:
Ask yourself the awkward questions: ‘If I went over the side, could I survive in the water and who is able to come and get me?’ From that you might decide to get some safety kit, do some training or practice emergency drills with your crew.
Having the right safety kit can save your and your crew’s lives and possibly your boat as well. My advice to all boaters whether on the coast or canal is to, at the very least, try and match the Boat Safety Scheme requirements. Find out what that means in this video: