Onboard Safety
Onboard Safety Committee
Membership as of 1 January 2024
| Kate Branagh Chair | Palma Superyacht Cup |
| Committee members | TBD |
| Shirley Robertson | SYRA Manager |
RRS Afterguard Member
‘RRS Afterguard Member’ compliance a key component to safe racing
A thorough understanding of the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) is vital in superyacht racing. It could be said that there is no other arena in our sport where this is so critical. As we all know, the extraordinary size and varying maneuvering capabilities of superyachts present a great challenge to safe competition.
In many past instances on the race course, we learned that there was no member of a particular superyacht’s afterguard with an adequate level of experience and expertise with the RRS. This led to undesired encounters, near misses and unsafe outcomes. With all superyacht regattas invoking the RRS Appendix SY, the requirement for an individual currently active and fully conversant with the RRS, while having a thorough understanding, becomes even more essential.
As most captains and afterguard members know, if the afterguard member submitted a form at a previous regatta, their name is listed on the SYRA website superyra.org/after-guard. The individual is not required to submit another form.
To learn more about RRS Afterguard Member Compliance at superyacht regattas superyra.org/after-guard/
Safe Racing Considerations
Man Overboard
We are recommending that organizers revisit the issue of man overboard instructions. Over the years man overboard language in superyacht regatta racing documents has come to look more like the J class language. The J’s race without lifelines and have a RIB trailing each yacht. Yachts racing in the superyacht fleet need to cease racing, recover the Man Overboard (MOB) and/or minimize their distance to the MOB until the person is successfully recovered by another boat. Learn more
Captain’s Racing Safety Manual
Onboard safety is one of the primary concerns for those who race super yachts as well as for the growing number of entities that organize regattas. The many challenges associated with keeping the yacht, crew and guests safe while racing can be daunting. Even on those performance oriented superyachts that are specifically designed to race, the loads are enormous and the issues far more complex than one would find on smaller racing boats. Learn more
Insurance Considerations
Despite careful and methodical preparation, there is always the potential for an injury during superyacht regattas. It is therefore essential for the captains of participating superyachts to not only fulfill the hull and liability insurance requirements set forth by the event organizers and their individual underwriters, but also to have a clear understanding of the yacht’s insurance policy regarding injuries to permanent crew, paid race crew, unpaid race crew, and invited guests. Learn more
Guest Safety While Racing
Perhaps one of the most difficult jobs for the captain of the racing superyacht is the management and integration of the temporary race crew on board. On one hand, the captain is expected to empower these talented racing sailors to enable his boat go faster and race smarter than the competition. On the other, this captain must ensure that the comfort and safety of the owner, crew and guests onboard and the safety of the yacht itself is never compromised. Learn more