Responding to Emergencies – Pleasure craft

Steps to Take in Emergency Situations

  • Grounding, Capsizing, Swamping,or Sinking – the following actions should be taken:
    • don PFDs or lifejackets
    • stay with the craft, if appropriate
    • account for all persons
    • if necessary, use and exhibit signals to indicate distress and need of -Collision Regulations, Annex IV.
  • Hull leaks/Flooding – try to locate the source of the leak and stop if possible; bail or pump any water which has accumulated, overboard; and if necessary, use and exhibit signals to indicate distress and need of – Collision Regulations, Annex IV.
  • Collision – Take a head count and check for Check the hull for leaks and vessel for other damage. Offer assistance to the other vessel and if necessary, use and exhibit signals to indicate distress and need of assistance. – Collision Regulations, Annex IV.
  • Fire – Notify the operator: try to locate the source of the fire; try to extinguish the fire and if necessary, use and exhibit signals to indicate distress and need of – Collision Regulations, Annex IV.
  • Person Overboard – there are several methods of these include re-boarding ladder, buoyant heaving lines, lifebuoy, and/or a rope step rigged on the windward side of the boat.

The following rescue procedures, to recover a person overboard should be followed and practiced so all persons on board are familiar with them:

  • sound the alarm/notify the operator
  • slow down, if possible stop , and throw a buoyant device to assist the person, making sure the other end is secured to the boat
  • Assign at least 1 person as
  • any others can obtain blankets, first-aid kit, and/or rig a re-boarding device
  • carefully maneuver the boat towards the person overboard ,preferably from the down-wind direction
  • Mechanical breakdown– the following actions should be carried out:
    • alter speed or stop depending on circumstances
    • anchor the boat if circumstances permit
    • investigate the problem and correct it if possible
    • use and exhibit signals to indicate distress and need of assistance, if refer to Collision Reg. Annex IV
  • Cold Water Survival- While wearing a PFD or a lifejacket, there are some positions, which can help a person survive longer when immersed in cold These include:
    • if alone, the “heat escape lessening position” (H.E.L.P..) which is crossing arms tightly against the chest and drawing the knees up close to the chest
  • if alone, climb onto a nearby floating object to get as much of the body out of the water as possible
  • if in a group, “huddle” with the other persons by getting the sides of everyone’s chest close together with arms around mid to lower back and legs intertwined

Some things which may provide additional protection from hypothermia are:

  • exposure coveralls
  • immersion suit
  • wet suit
  • dry suit
  • Recognizing Distress Signals –
  • a gun or other explosive signal fired at intervals of about a minute
  • a continuous sounding of any fog-signaling apparatus
  • a signal made by any signaling method consisting of the group
  • …—… (SOS) in the morse code
  • rockets or shells – throwing red stars fired one at a time at short intervals
  • a signal sent by radiotelephony consisting of the spoken word “mayday”
  • the international code signal of distress indicated by the flags “n” and “c”.
  • flames on a vessel
  • a signal consisting of a square flag having above or below it a ball or anything resembling a ball
  • a rocket parachute flare or hand flare showing a red light
  • a smoke signal giving off orange colored smoke
  • slowly and repeatedly raising and lowering arms outstretched to each side
  • a signal transmitted by emergency position indicating radio beacon(epirb)
  • dye marker
  • a square shape or anything resembling a square shape
  • A piece of orange canvas with either a black square and circle or other symbol appropriate for identification from the
  • a high intensity white light flashing at regular intervals of about 50 to 70 times per minute
  • Measures to be Taken to Assist a Vessel in Distress – the master of a vessel in Canadian waters and every qualified person who is the master of a vessel in any waters, on receiving a signal from any source that a person, a vessel or an aircraft is in distress, shall proceed with all speed to render assistance and shall, if possible, inform the persons in distress or the sender of the