Hawaiian Sailing Canoe Association
Safety Policy 2003
Aloha Gang,
|
I. DECISION MAKING AND ENFORCEMENT
A. Safety Commissioner will be appointed by the President subject to approval by the Directors.
The Safety Commissioner will be responsible for choosing two people to serve with him or her on the Safety Committee. The Committee’s duties include :
1.
Attending all HSCA events.
2.
Making sure that all participants are in compliance with this safety policy.
3.
Making any decisions related to the safety policy, including whether to cancel.
B.
Any canoe that does not meet the requirements set forth in this document, as interpreted by the Safety Committee, will be excluded form the event.
C.
Failure for any captain to have the required safety equipment at an HSCA event will result in the following:
1.
The canoe in question will not be allowed to sail in that HSCA event.
2.
The Captain of the canoe in question will be required to reimburse HSCA for all expenses incurred to support that Captain, i.e., shipping, hauling, food, drink, etc.
3.
The Captain and canoe involved in the infraction will not be able to participate in an HSCA event until safety and reimbursement issues have been resolved.
D.
All sailing canoes are required to meet or exceed these requirements. The Hawaiian Sailing Canoe Association has raised the safety bar a notch in an effort to satisfy its own concern as well as the concerns of participants, sponsors, and the U.S.C.G.
II. WEATHER CONDITIONS
A. Weather conditions are discerned by observation at the time and the latest National Weather Service forecast. The National Weather Service generally terms conditions where wind is 25 to 30 mph as Small Craft Advisories and where wind is 35 mph and above as Gale Warnings.
B.
No event will be allowed to take place in weather conditions that exceed Small Craft Advisories.
III. SAFETY EQUIPMENT
A.
Each canoe must carry the following items attached to the canoe in an approved manner.
1.
An EPIRB
2.
A VHF marine radio
3.
APFD for each sailor (U.S.C.G. approved)
4.
Three smoke flares
5.
One strobe light
6.
A whistle attached to each PFD
7.
One or more gallons of liquids per sailor
8.
Energy foods/fruit for each sailor
9.
A towing bridle (125 ft. 3 strand 7/16” nylon)
10.
A knife(s)
11.
Spare rubber, cord and duct tape
12.
Two spare steering paddles
13.
A manual bilge pump
14.
A through-hull self bailer or 2 manual bilge pumps
15.
2 buckets for manual bailing (minimum 1 gal.)
16.
A safety strap or harness for each person on the trampoline
17.
The number of escort boats to be determined by the number of entries
18.
Aerial observation by the Civil Air Patrol to be determined by the Board of Directors
19.
A minimum of (7) paddling blades are required on each 6-person canoe. In the 4-person division, a minimum of (4) paddling blades are required
B.
Supplemental safety items can also include:
1.
A reflector mirror
2.
A man overboard marker
3.
A GPS to be used for emergencies only
4.
Cellular phone
5.
A U.H.F. radio
6.
A 6” x 25” Safety Strip
IV. EQUIPMENT
A. AMA: Due to numerous problems with main ama’s cracking, breaking and filling with water, H.S.C.A has adopted a rule in 1998 for all new amas to be of a solid foam core design.
C.
Removable floatation devices (air bladders or foam blacks) within the canoe and beneath the spray covering are permitted. Floatation devices shall be removable by hand and not require any tools to install or remove.
V. ESCORT BOAT AND WATER SAFETY
A.
Each escort boat, in addition to following Coast Guard regulations, must:
1.
Be at least 24 feet long
2.
Carry a VHF Radio
3.
Carry a First Aid Kit
4.
Carry at least 100’ tow line and bridle (bridle refer to III.-9.)
5.
Carry at least one able bodied crew person to help with emergencies
6.
Be able to carry the entire crew of a sailing canoe
7.
Each entry that has crossed Hawaiian channel waters less than 3 times must have an escort boat. Crews that are certified as crossing a minimum of 3 times or more do not need to provide an escort boat.
8.
Failure to have a previously inspected escort boat at the start of the race may result in an immediate disqualification and denial of participation of that race. Unsafe conditions due to an escort boat being overcrowded with spectators or helpers can be declared unfit as an escort boat by the H.S.C.A. committee.
9.
Each escort boat shall remain a minimum of three (3) canoe lengths away from a canoe. Any canoe assisted b an escort boat by towing, pushing with waves, wakes, or other means will be disqualified by the H.S.C.A. race committee, unless the canoe is in a swamped condition. At no time may the escort boat go in front of a canoe to give it an advantage.
10.
Each escort boat shall be able to maintain a speed of eighteen (18) knots in order to keep up with the canoe entry
11.
Any escort boat that intentionally interferes with any other canoe during the course of the race will cause disqualification of the canoe they are assisting.
B.
At least one escort boat in the fleet must carry an EPIRB
VI. NAVIGATIONAL DEVICES
The Hawaiian Sailing Canoe Association provides racing courses throughout the Hawaiian Island chain, from island to island, across all of the major channels and along some of the most beautiful and scenic coastlines. The ancient Hawaiians did not have access to modern navigational devices, such as the compass and ore recently the G.P. S. units. What they relied on was their knowledge of the seas, sky, wind, waves, currents and weather patterns. With every race venue in the H.S.C.A. race schedule, each crew, captain, and canoe have the opportunity to navigate the old Hawaiian way so as to keep everyone on a somewhat level playing field. The use of a compasses in the interest of safety has been adopted as a basic ;navigational device allowed in channel crossings. When racing, the idea is to get from point “A” to point “B” before anyone else, so it stands to reason that a good piece of navigation will go a long way towards winning a race. No rules have been set up by H.S.C. A. for navigation or navigational aids, because mainly its been on an “HONOR” system of sorts. In other words, you may, use a compass when necessary, but if you use a G.P.S. unit, or your 2-way radio, escort boat, or hand signals with escort boat to navigate (unless an emergency) you are compromising the “HONOR” system that we should all race by. This is not to say a G.P.S. and 2 – way radio are not all owed, (because of emergency and safety reasons) just that if they are taken with you, they should be used only as a backup safety device.
VII. SWAMPING OR OVERTURNING OF CANOE
1. If a canoe swamps or overturns at or after the start of the race, the canoe can be righted and /or bailed out and allowed to continue in the race.
2. Any assistance rendered a swamped canoe by its escort will not disqualify that canoe entry
| For your next community service event from Kauai to the Big Island; contact Terry Galpin at (808) 247-3559 or email. |
||||
| home | race and community service schedule | board of directors | race results safety requirements | paddling links | weather | hawaii tourism authority |
||||
copyright 2005
Hawaiian Sailing Canoe Association |
