Safety At Sea - Agendas and Minutes - 3/20/1999 Minutes
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The Meeting was called to order by the chairman, Mr. Ernie Messer, at 10:30 hrs. Twelve members were present of the total committee of 22 members. The agenda was presented by the chairman, with the request that Mr. Bonds follow Mr. Morrison's report. Chairman Messer introduced a new member to the committee, Peter D. Millard, a.k.a. Rudi, and provided background information regarding his qualifications for serving on the committee. Mr. Ken Morrison, head judge of the international jury present for the 1998 Sydney-Hobart, gave a twenty minute preliminary report and synopsis of the disaster that the race suffered. "The Southerly Busters", a typical occurrence to this race, was touched upon along with a long laundry list of other items that were observed and encountered by competitors during this event. The magnificent efforts and coordination of the Australian Sea Air Rescue teams emphasized and complimented on by Mr. Morrison, as well as the committee, in the light of the conditions encountered and the fortunate proximity to land for the competitors. All committee members present were asked by the chairman and agreed not to publicly comment in any way regarding the report presented by Mr. Morrison, as well as possible findings and conclusions gained until the full race report from The Cruising Club of Australia, which is scheduled to be released in April, 1999, is reviewed by the S.A.S.C of US SAILING. The general feeling being that the committee as a whole should issue any statement(s) regarding findings after a full review by all committee members of the "official" report from Australia. Mr. John Bonds, recent past chairman of the S.A.S.C., touched on a number of matters that he has been involved with over the past few months. These involved the Safety at Sea Seminars, the U.L./U.S. Coast Guard approval of Type II inflatable lifevests and the FAA rules. John reported that major headway is being made with the particular authorities involved to have Type II inflatable devices fully approved by the U.S. Coast Guard and easily transportable on commercial aircraft through changes in FAA rules and regulations regarding said devices. It is hoped that these problems will be cleared up by early summer 1999. The topic of 406 EPIRBS was placed upon the table by the chairman for discussion. A motion was made and fully supported by the committee by the committee to have US SAILING recommend a worldwide change to the O.R.C. Regulations and make 406mhz EPIRBs mandatory devices. If this motion is not accepted in London at the October, 1999 meeting of the O.R.C., then it would become a prescription to the 2000-2001 US SAILING ORC Regulations. Neither Ralph Naranjo or Bruce Eissner were present to give their reports on the life line study and the international front. Discussion then turned to the US SAILING joint venture on publishing a book for long distance passage making. This would encompass recommendations from the Safety-at-Sea Committee. A motion was made by William Doelger and unanimously adopted by the committee to support the effort to publish and market this passage making book. Frank Shriver submitted to the committee an extensive and enlightening report by Seattle, Washington's Sailing Foundation's Safety at Sea Committee. The report, Harness and Tether Study 1999, was funded by the Bonnell Cove Foundation of the Cruising Club of America. The committee decided to disseminate and review the information presented in the report before issuing any public comment regarding the report and its findings. Glenn McCarthy reported that since April 1, 1998, when the PFD Prescription became effective, that there have been no reported fatalities in the United States in the sport of sailboat racing. Discussion followed on the possibility of awarding the Hanson Medal to the competitor, Soldini, in the Around Alone Race for his rescue. Also, discussed was the possible awarding of a plaque from US SAILING and the Safety at Sea Committee acknowledging the the heroic efforts of the Australian Sea and Air Rescue teams in the 1998 Sydney-Hobart Race. A vote by all committee members was to be taken via e-mail. A report on the publication and distribution of "Safety Recommendations for Cruisers" was given by John Wright of US SAILING. 10,000 copies have been published with the vast majority being distributed at all US SAILING supported Safety at Sea Seminars. The meeting concluded with a brief discussion by Harry Keith regarding the possible exempting of regulations by some local Race Committees. No action was taken on this matter, instead committee members were encouraged by the chairman to be on the outlook for and report to the committee any irregularities found regarding this matter. The meeting was adjourned by Chairman Messer at 12:00 hrs. Respectfully submitted by Peter Millard.
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