Presentation on racing safety regulations

Survey of safety regulations used in major ‘named’ US races By Dan Nolan and Evans Starzinger January 27, 2012

Draft 1

Summary: • Safety regulations are fragmented among a handful of regional constituents and become complex • Safety regulations focus primarily on ‘minimum equipment requirements’, which are NOT core factors in recent safety incidents • Opportunity = unify and simplify SRs to make them easier for sailors while refocusing on core safety issues

SR’s used by offshore & coastal races US Sailing has 57% share

5% 5%

ISAF SR with US SAILING prescriptions

8%

ISAF SR with US SAILING prescriptions with SFOYRA Prescriptions 36%

ISAF SR not US SAILING prescriptions PIYA requirements

10%

custom YRA of LIS 10%

PHRF Category 2 Standard Equipment List. Mackinac Safety Regulations 26%

Sample size: 44 major ‘named’ races

SR’s used by buoy races US Sailing has 13% share

Anecdotal Prime reason for “ISAF but Not US Sailing Prescriptions” is requirement for PDF when starting/finishing Sample size: 17 major ‘named’ races

Wide Range of SR complexity Monohull Cat 1/2

ISAF + US Sailing + BROC

13270

ISAF with US Sailing

10252

Pac cup (ISAF + USS + Pac cup)

10032

ISAF with US Sailing with SFOYRA

7830

Mackinac

4097

ISAF

2998

PIYA

2604

SSS

1821

PHRF

828

RYA LIS - PHRF Cat A

468

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

Word count of SR

10,000

12,000

14,000

Modification of SRs, among those using ISAF OSRs Few Races use OSR’s ‘as is’, but most with limited modifications 27

1

Number of SRs Modified in NOR

25

Newport to Bermuda Race

0

20

3

Pac cup, Lightship & Spinnaker

15

10

10

Many OYRA SF

1

5

7

0

2

0

2

4

6

Number of Races

8

10

12

Summary: • Safety regulations are fragmented among a handful of regional constituents and become complex • Safety regulations focus primarily on ‘minimum equipment requirements’, which are NOT core factors in recent safety incidents • Opportunity = unify and simplify SRs to make them easier for sailors while refocusing on core safety issues

Actual Safety incidents not related to equipment requirements US Offshore incidents over the past decade

• • • • • • • • • • •

2013 Island’s race, two broken rudders, one boat lost & one Fatality 2012 Ensenada race, navigation and watch keeping errors, 4 deaths (minimal local SR’s) 2012 Farallon’s race, seamanship judgment and race course layout, 5 deaths (ISAF SR’s with local modifications) 2012 Clipper race, weather routing & heavy weather tactics, 2 serious injuries (MCA/SOLAS commercial SRs) 2012 Bermuda return, broken rudder, boat abandoned 2012 Bermuda return, severe injury, crew helo evaced 2011 Chicago Mackinac, wind induced Capsize, 2 deaths (Mac SRs) 2011 Annapolis to Newport, severe grounding at 12kts (ISAF SRs) 2008 Galveston, TX Regatta de Amigos, keel broke off 1 death (ISAF SRs) 2002 Block Island Race, unconscious MOB, 1 dead (ISAF SRs) 2002 Newport to Bermuda, rig and prop strut failed in large waves – Andrew 70 (ISAF SRs)

Back-up:Longer list of incidents 2013 Island’s race, two broken rudders, one boat lost & one Fatality 2012 Ensenada race, navigation and watch keeping errors, 4 deaths (minimal local SR’s) 2012 Farallon’s race, seamanship judgment and race course layout, 5 deaths (ISAF SR’s with local modifications) 2012 Clipper race, weather routing & heavy weather tactics, 2 serious injuries (MCA/SOLAS commercial SRs) 2012 Bermuda return, broken rudder, boat abandoned 2012 Bermuda return, severe injury, crew helo evaced 2011 Fastnet, keel broke off, boat lost all crew safe (Rambler 100) 2011 Chicago Mackinac, wind induced Capsize, 2 deaths (Mac SRs) 2011 Annapolis to Newport, severe grounding at 12kts (ISAF SRs) 2011 Passage from Selsey Bill West Sussex, MOB (drown while tethered with spinlock PFD), one fatality (Lion) 2011 UK school vessel, Poor heavy weather management, one serious Injury during gybe (Liquid Vortex) 2008 Galveston, TX Regatta de Amigos, keel broke off 1 death (ISAF SRs) (Cynthia Woods) 2008 South China Sea race, keel lost (poor fit of the replacement keel into the hull socket, movement fatigued keel bolts), boat saved (TP 52 Strewth) 2007 Coastal passage from Plymouth, keel broke off (due to fabricator modifications to the design), one fatality (Hooligan) 2006 Day sail (with paying guests) in sheltered waters, two accidental gybes resulting in two injuries (Roaring Meg) 2003 Delivery from Hamble, MOB Fatality (Pastime) 2002 Block Island Race, unconscious MOB, 1 dead (ISAF SRs) 2002 Newport to Bermuda, rig & prop strut failed in heavy seas – Andrew 70 (ISAF SRs) 1992 Vendee delivery, keel bulb broke off, one fatality (Coyote)

Relatively few races with stability requirement Despite ISAF SR 3.04.3 recommendation

Offshore races

Coastal Races

Cat 1/2/A

Cat 2/3/B/C

none

3% 3%

ORR stability index

11%

12%

LPS

none ORR stability index

21% 62%

"Demonstrated seaworthiness appropriate for a category 1 race" class rules

89%

Stability requirements Offshore races* Race

Safety Rule

Cat

Stability

Transpac

ISAF SR with US SAILING prescriptions

1

115

ORR stability index

Tahiti race (by transpac)

ISAF SR with US SAILING prescriptions

1

115

ORR stability index

Royal Vancouver and Lahaina Vic-Maui

ISAF SR not US SAILING prescriptions

1

115

ORR stability index

Newport Bermuda race

ISAF SR with US SAILING prescriptions

1

115

ORR stability index

Marblehead-Hailifax

ISAF SR with US SAILING prescriptions

1

110

ORR stability index

Balbo YC Corona del Mar to Cabo

ISAF SR with US SAILING prescriptions

2

110

ORR stability index

Annapolis-Newport

ISAF SR with US SAILING prescriptions

2

110

ORR stability index

Oregon Offshore

PIYA requirements

1

110

LPS

Swiftsure

PIYA requirements

1

110

LPS

Pacific Cup

ISAF SR with US SAILING prescriptions

1

105

LPS

WVYC Southern Straits Race

PIYA requirements

2

100

LPS

Van Isle 360 Race

PIYA requirements

2

100

LPS

* Note: The ‘coastal’ Chicago YC race to Mackinac island has added a 103 ORR SI for 2012

Type

Distribution of ORR stability index Cumulative percentage 100%

100% 92% 88%

90% 80% 80% ORR cat 1 recommendation

70%

61% 60%

ORR Cat 2 recommendation

50%

2012 Mac Race Cut-off

40%

39%

30% 18%

20% 10%

6% 1%

2%

2%

100

103

105

0% 36 ORR vessels < 103

110

115

120

125

130

135

140

+140

Stability measurement caution No silver bullet in extreme conditions • “ No yacht, no matter how stable, could consistently resist capsizing when hit beam-on, with a 55% LOA breaking Wave” (Wolfson research) • “No correlation between yachts in trouble and any stability measurement, except weak correlation with boat size” (1998 Hobart race analysis) • “There is a suggestion that shallow keel boats are more resistant to capsize than deep keel boats in extreme breaking wave conditions” (1994 Queen’s birthday storm)

SR Header Numbers Most Modified SR header number

6

Training

8

5

21

Personal equipment

4

47

Portable equipment and supplies

Structural features, stability and fixed equipment

3

2

11

1

1

0

148

Application & General Requirements

Fundamentals & Definitions 20

40

60

80

100

Number of times modified

120

140

160

Top 10 modified OSRs 2.03

General requirements Toilet

3.18

Bilge pumps and buckets

3.23

Pulpits, stanchions, lifelines

3.14

Radar reflector

4.1

3.21

Drinking water and tanks

4.2

Life Raft Engine, generator, fuel

3.28

Hatches & companionway

3.08

Com equipment. Including AIS

3.29

0

5

10

15

20

Number of races modifying

25

30

35

Summary: • Safety regulations are fragmented among a handful of regional constituents and become complex • Safety regulations focus primarily on ‘minimum equipment requirements’, which are NOT core factors in recent safety incidents • Opportunity = unify and simplify SRs to make them easier for sailors while refocusing on core safety issues

A few main constituents for outreach Invite members of each into an ‘OSR user advisory committee’?

• Specific races with significant modifications – – – –

Newport to Bermuda race committee Pacific Cup Spinnaker Cup Lighthouse

• Associations with custom modifications or complete standalone SRs – – – – – –

SF OYRA PIYRA YRA of LIS PHRF Mac SSS

Focus on root causes of recent worldwide incidents mostly not ‘minimum Equipment’ issues 1. Structural and design factors Boat does not break Boat does not stay upside down for a long time

2. Intense Weather Forecasting and routing Heavy weather tactics Fatigue and attitude management

3. Higher risk taking offshore Boat selection routing

4. Navigation & groundings Keep head out of boat Chart plotters not 100% accurate

5. MOB Most deaths have apparently been with unconscious MOB or trapped Most boats NOT following current best practices on tethers/jacklines

6. Emergency voice communication equipment Sat phone proven extremely helpful in offshore experience – ‘after the fact’

Next step key decisions: • Can USSailing convince ISAF to support a ‘lite(r)’ and more focused SR? (probably not at least in a short time frame) • Does USSailing want to develop an SR independent of ISAF? • If so, will the various US constituents participate in and support a unified and simpler US SR?