Safety at Sea

Respecting the elements is essential to enjoying our sport. JOG has always placed great emphasis on the importance of safety at sea. We set clear rules about safety requirements right from the establishment of JOG in 1950.

Today is no different, JOG expects competitors to race responsibly and make appropriate provision for the safety of crews and boats, and maintain equipment carefully. Respecting the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea is a requirement. JOG race under very clear general conditions, special regulations and JOG Prescriptions (set out in the Notice of Race available to download).

Inshore/Coastal races tend to fall under World Sailing Offshore Special Regulation Category 4, our (mostly cross-Channel) Offshore races are generally subject to World Sailing Offshore Special Regulation Category 3 compliance with Liferaft from Category 3. Some of the occasional long distance offshore races, such as the second leg of the 2013 BNY Mellon Challenge from La Trinité to Cascais are Category 2.

Category 2 races require at least 30% of the crew including the skipper (or both crew if double handed) to have undergone 2 days of survival training, many acts choose to train a far higher percentage. Our Training partner Chieftain Training in Hamble specialise in survival and First Aid training. They run day 1 RYA sea Survival and day 2 World Sailing Offshore Personal Survival. The certification last 5 years and their World Sailing Refresher is only 1 day. Additionally a least 1 member of the crew requires RYA or STCW First Aid Training.

Anyone who enjoys water sports hopes that they will never need to resort to the aid of the RNLI of whom JOG are staunch supporters. We raise money for the RNLI every year at the JOG Prizegiving dinner and many of our club members are individual members too. The RNLI provides amazing service and is entirely reliant on donations and membership subscription fees so every member makes a difference.

AIS transponders are mandatory for Cat 3 races these also enable your friends and family to follow your progress during a race. Click below to view a couple of websites which have AIS trackers.