Offshore racing and sailing in general is, I am very glad to say, virtually self-regulating. To keep it this way we should all be keenly aware of the need to be professional and responsible in our approach to the sport if this is not to change. Many of us and especially those that race on congested race courses, may well have been involved in or seen events that could have quickly led to a serious incident but have thankfully resulted in nothing more than a scratched top side or the embarrassment of pulling someone off a sand bank. Yes things do go very wrong from time to time but fortunately for all of us they are few and far between. We all do need to be aware of what can happen and particularly when on race course know the complete rules of racing and not push the boundaries just to gain a place that common sense tells us is plain foolhardy. It does happen and when it goes wrong may result in intervention in the sport from Government by those that wish to impose more regulation and bureaucracy.

Recently a couple of incidents have pushed sailing in the UK into the spotlight and has rightly brought the Marine Accident Investigation Branch in to look at what happened. The first incident was the loss of three experienced sailors on the South side of the Isle of Wight from the Yacht Ouzo and as a result the Watch Officer on one of the cross Channel ferries has been charged with failing to keep a proper watch and not stopping after an incident. The second event was the failure of the keel on Hooligan V a vessel owned and sailed by one of the members of the Main committee of the RORC that tragically also resulted in the loss of one of her crew.

Both these incidents are just a small part of the large number reported every year. In 2005 some 1100 were reported but if you take out those that involved beach toys as well as those involving Merchant ships and fishing vessels the number of incidents that apply to sailing boats is fortunately very small indeed. 

Last year after an incident with a large ferry outside Portsmouth harbour as I was taking my Yacht Master, the examiner and I talked about a requirement for all boat owner to be tested before being allowed to take a boat out. It was pointed out to me that in countries where examination was mandatory, incidents were as high and often higher that in those countries where no such requirement existed.

The RORC as a major event organiser has continually taken the approach that encourages and develops the safety of the sport through bodies such as the Special Regulations committee on ISAF and by imposing a number of safety requirements for its own races such as the circumstance when lifejackets and harnesses are needed to be worn and the level of survival training for crew. We also use stability criteria, STIX, to determine the suitability of boats taking part in all offshore events.

None of this would of course be any good if it were not for the cooperation and support of the skippers and owner of Yachts taking art in racing and cruising. We need to be aware of, learn and react to all relevant incidents but legislation is, I believe, not the way forward.