How to give an Awesome Pre-Departure Safety Brief

Why It’s Important

You are intimately familiar with the layout and location of equipment aboard your vessel, however, don’t assume your passengers are. Think back to the first time you stepped aboard an unfamiliar boat. You didn’t know where the fire extinguishers were located or what that beeping noise from the navigation station meant. 

Plan your brief to cover the basic questions that a novice would ask, but without overwhelming them with additional information.

Always conduct a safety brief prior to leaving the dock, no matter how nice the weather is or off schedule you may be. If you’re tempted to wait until later while underway, it may be too late should a problem arise and immediate action is required.

The location of all fire extinguishers is one thing that should be on a pre-departure briefing.

Hope For The Best. Plan For The Worst

A good safety brief will cover the basics (such as the location of all safety equipment), but don’t hesitate to think outside the box and include additional topics. Good examples would be showing guests how to use of the VHF radio or briefly describing specific procedures to be followed in the event of an emergency (someone falling overboard for example). 

Visuals are always good, so posting a diagram of the vessel that shows were everything is, from seacocks to fire extinguishers, is a great idea.

A checklist is a good idea and make sure to customize it for a given boat.

What to Cover

While you’ll want to develop a pre-departure brief that’s tailored to your specific vessel, here are a few basic topics that should be part of any brief.

Lifejackets

Don’t simply point and tell where they are. Get them out and make sure everyone has a lifejacket that fits, knows how to don it, and either wears it or knows where it is located if stowed. Explain how inflatable PFDs work and how to orally inflate or manually activate them. Show guests where the throwable PFDs (life rings, cushions, etc) are located in the event of a man overboard situation (more on this later).

Fire Extinguishers

Go over their locations and use. Take one down and pass it around, so guests can actually hold it in their hands while you explain the basics on how to activate and use it. Flares or Other Emergency Signalling Devices Cover types and where they are located. You could also discuss basic operation, a particularly good idea for longer cruises. 

First Aid Kits

Show the location of each onboard. Many boats will have a basic kit for daily use and a more complex kit for more serious injuries. Show guests where both are stowed and let them know it’s OK to access the basic kit for minor stuff (Band-Aids, aspirin, etc), but to inform you of any injuries, regardless of how small.

Man Overboard

Make sure everyone knows to throw the life ring, spare life jackets, cushions, etc., toward the person in the water, even if that person is wearing a lifejacket. These additional items not only provide additional buoyancy for the person in the water to grab but also makes it easier to find the area once you are turned around. Assign one or more people to be spotters, who should maintain visual contact with the person in the water and point towards them until they are recovered. If a person falls overboard, it can only take seconds to lose track of him/her. Everyone on board must know where the life ring is.

Basic Boat Operation

If you go overboard, can your passengers at least stop the boat? There should always be someone aboard other than the captain that can operate the boat, but at a minimum make sure everyone can bring the boat to stop. If sailing, show passengers how to release the mainsheet and jib to dump the sails. If motoring, show them how to place the engine in neutral and shut it down. The latter is particularly important in a MOB situation, as you don’t want to chance a spinning prop if someone is trying to re-board. 

VHF Radio

Show everyone where the VHF radio is located, as well as basic operation – how to turn it on, select channel 16, transmit, receive and operate the red DSC distress feature. Go the extra step and show guests how to find and give the location of the vessel in the event of an emergency. Don’t forget to include younger crewmembers as well. Teaching a 10-year-old how to operate the VHF radio and make a distress call instils confidence and just may save your life.

EPIRP

If a boat has an EPIRB, tell everyone where it’s located, how to remove it and how to activate it.

Life Raft

Make sure everyone knows that this is a piece of safety gear that is only used during an abandon ship scenario. 

Safety Hazards

Take a moment to point things out to guests that could hurt them. Slip and trip hazards (wet spots, deck cleats), the dangers of grabbing lines or rigging rather than solid handholds, hatches they could fall down, etc. Explain how things that move while underway (a sailboat’s boom for example) can cause injury, while the boat itself can be hazardous to move about in during rough seas or stormy weather. This is also a good time to point out safe places for them to sit while sailing or during evolutions such as docking, anchoring, etc.

Heads

Show guests where they are located and how to use them. Include little tricks you may take for granted, but a novice probably doesn’t know, like not putting anything in the toilet unless your body has processed it first, pumping long enough to make sure the lines are flushed clear, never run an electric head dry and so on.

Hatches 

How to open and close them safely (no banged heads or pinched fingers), as well as when they can be opened and when they must be kept closed – such as at night while underway or when someone is working on deck.

Trash 

Hopefully everyone knows you can’t simply throw it overboard. Point out where they can dispose of trash, as well as any separation requirements (recyclables, food wastes, etc). How to board and disembarking the boat safely when docked, using the dinghy, etc.

For inexperienced guests that will be helping out when docking, assign tasks and explain the procedure when leaving and approaching the dock. Demonstrate the proper use of fenders when docking, while highlighting the dangers of fending off with hands or feet.

Finally…

Encourage guests to ask questions during and after the brief, and hold an informal debrief at the end of the day or trip. This not only provides valuable feedback to fine-tune your brief, but also helps ensure the next trip will be an even greater success.