SAFETY

DBSC takes safety very seriously.  

Sailing is a dangerous activity that carries the risk of loss, damage, injury and death.  It is important that all participants are aware of the risks and the actions required to mitigate them.  

It is up to each individual to determine if it is safe for them to sail (and to continue to sail) on a given day, having regard to the existing and forecast conditions, as well as their abilities and the condition of their equipment.

It is a condition of participation in any activities of DBSC that participants have read, understood and accepted the risk warning, release of liability and conditions and DBSC Emergency and Rescue Management Plan, which includes information on Basic Life Support and Defibrillator use.

Safety is the responsibility of every individual participant, and every participant is responsible for both their own safety and the safety of others.  Please be aware of your equipment and surroundings, and the associated dangers, and in particular please be aware of the safety and wellbeing of your fellow participants.  In case there is any doubt, the safety of people comes before the safety of property, no matter what.

If you see a capsized boat, and are the closest person to it, you must establish visually and verbally that its crew are safe, even if this means sailing out of your way.  This is an obligation of every boat that sequentially becomes the closest boat to a capsized boat until that capsized boat is righted and its crew is back on board.  The fact that a capsized crew indicated to an earlier closest boat that he or she was safe, cannot be assumed to mean he or she is still safe when a later boat becomes the closest boat.

It is important to remember there is no guarantee that a club volunteer and/or response boat crew member will see an incident or be able to attend to it either in time or at all. You cannot assume that someone else will take care of it. Note that the club provides no support for members or visitors sailing to or from DBSC events from or to other clubs.

Two basic principles of safety are awareness and common sense.  If we all apply awareness and common sense, it will go a long way to ensuring safety.  

Thank you for your individual commitment to, and assistance in, making sailing at DBSC a safe and fun activity.