BSAC

RNLI SEA Check advisor

As a diver of over 30 years and RNLI SEA Check advisor I have always had an interest in safety at sea. From my early days of sea diving activities I came across too many poorly equipped boats a few of which were extremely grateful for a tow back to shore. With increasing numbers of pleasure craft and the subsequent rise in Lifeboat call-outs, something the RNLI could well do without, they came up with the idea of SEA Check.

It is a free Safety Equipment Advisory service for the pleasure craft owning public to participate in, designed as a pro-active tool to reduce incidents before they happen. And yes it is FREE (though the RNLI suggest a cup of tea might be appreciated?)

The service is operated on a friendly, not big brother, approach to safety at sea to encourage sea-going people to partake in the scheme. The advice given is only related to safety equipment and systems and generally follows the recommendations in the CDA publication "Safe Operation of Member Club Boats".

The check can be done anywhere and at a time to suit the owner and takes about 20 minutes, the information recorded is in strict confidence and any advice given can, if the owner pleases, be disregarded; on completion a copy of the SEA Check and a year dated boat sticker confirming a check has been carried out is given to the owner.


I have been doing SEA Checks since the scheme started, about 5 years ago, mainly for diving clubs with some clubs having SEA Checks done annually as a way of confirming that no safety equipment is overlooked or out of date prior to the start of the season.
If you are not sure you would benefit from a SEA Check then you are welcome to contact me for an informal discussion e-mail me ken.oakes@bsac.com And you never know but if you are in the North of England and you book a SEA Check you might even get me.

Ken Oakes, BSAC Advanced Instructor & RNLI SEA Check Advisor

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The RNLI SEA Check itself

A SEA Check entails a visit to your craft by an authorised RNLI SEA Check advisor; the advisor is a volunteer who has a sea going background and is trained to perform the safety check.

The check is of a pre-printed form (top +3 carbons) based format with the first part of the form being the owner and the boat details and requires a signature from the owner allowing the SEA Check to be carried out.

The form is divided primarily into 2 columns labelled Priority Equipment and Recommended Equipment and both columns further subdivided into categories that describe conditions under which the craft is going to be used

• i.e. Sheltered Use,
• Inshore Use,
• Offshore Use and
• Extended Passage Use:

the category of use is discussed and agreed with the owner before the check can be started. The category generally agreed upon by most diving craft is Inshore Use; this means the craft will cruise along the coast normally within 10 miles from a safe haven.
The check then continues down the rows associated with the agreed Use column to discuss each item of recommended safety equipment, firstly down the Priority Equipment and then the Recommended Equipment.




At the end of the check any comments, as a result of the check are added by the SEA Check advisor who then signs the form, he gives the top copy of the form to the owner of the craft and issues a year dated craft sticker. The remaining copies go to RNLI headquarters, Divisional Sea Safety Manager and the SEA Check advisor.

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The RNLI SEA Check in Practice

We had a Sea Check on the Wakefield club boat, a Tornado 6.5m club RHIB, on The 31st of March 2006.
The check was done by a couple who volunteer their services to the RNLI.

They go thru a check list and ask relevant questions. At the end we were given a copy of the list and any recommendations. We had seven, which were:-

1. carry port and starboard nav. lights. ( we have an all round white)
2. carry life buoy or throw line.
3. carry tube repair kit
4. carry radio receiver for local radio weather forecast.
5. carry an EPIRB.
6. carry a hand held VHF radio and emergency aerial ( we have console mounted VHF).
7. carry binoculars.

The whole check takes about an hour and included lots of common sense advice as well as following the formal checklist process. They left us some leaflets including a very useful engine check list, a console sticker to show the Sea Check had been conducted and a floating key ring (now firmly attached to the boat ignition key).

Altogether it was an informal and friendly process and one we shall be repeating in future years to help ensure the boat and members are as fit for the purpose of aiding safe diving as possible.

Steve Jowett
Wakefield 077 branch

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Any suggestions for further items for inclusion would be welcome and can be made to divesafe@bsac.com

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Any suggestions for further items for inclusion would be welcome and can be made to divesafe@bsac.com