VHF_SRC_DSC_Radio_Course1279709440_523

February 14, 2012
by Andrew Turner Jones
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The RYA Marine VHF Radio Training Course in Salcombe Monday 20th February

RYA Radio TrainingThe RYA Marine VHF Radio Training Course in Salcombe Monday 20th February

A one-day course for anyone who owns a fixed or hand-held marine VHF radio.

The Short Range Certificate is the minimum qualification required by law to control the operation of VHF and VHF Digital Selective Calling (DSC)  equipment on any British flagged vessel voluntarily fitted with a radio. This includes both fixed and hand-held equipment using International channels.

A radio is an important piece of safety equipment on board and it is vital to understand the correct procedures. Unnecessary transmissions could block out a Mayday distress call.

All new VHF sets are either fitted, or can be interfaced, with DSC allowing calls to specific vessels. If you hold the ‘old’ VHF licence (pre-1999) you need to upgrade your qualification if you purchase new equipment. This can be done by attending this one-day course or, if no tuition is required, you can enter for direct examination.

Course topics include:

  • the basics of radio operation
  • the correct frequencies (channels) to be used
  • distress, emergency and medical assistance procedures
  • making ship to shore telephone calls
  • Digital Selective Calling (DSC) using simulators
  • Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)
  • Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB)
  • Search and Rescue (SART)

The course will be taught using radio simulators and will be examined by a short written test. Further Course details can be found at:

The RYA Marine VHF Radio Training Course

 

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Coasteering

February 9, 2012
by Andrew Turner Jones
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Coasteering Adventures in Devon

Coasteering Adventures with Sea N Shore

Jump off Ribs, swim, climb, jump and plunge off the stunning South Devon coast line. Be guided to seldom explored caves, tunnels and plunge pools.

Sea N Shore is an RYA Advanced Powerboat training centre along with a water sports centre.  We have a strong and trusted team of coasteering instructors, winter wetsuits, helmets and buoyancy aids. With our coded RIBS we have access to the most stunning and exhilarating coasteering locations that have been said to be the best in this country.  We have 100% safety record, instructor to student ratios are high along with the qualifications of all instructors in the water and on the boats.  If the weather is rough we are lucky to be able to rib ride over to other sheltered locations. We appreciate that there are the ultimate thrill seekers out there and also the less keen but our instructors are handpicked because they really listen to the calls of our customers and take everyone’s needs into consideration.

For 2012 we are now launching our BRONZE, SILVER AND GOLD COASTEERING QUEST PACKAGES BRONZE £40 per person Don the winter wetsuit, helmet and buoyancy aid and take a short path to an exhilarating coasteering location in the South Hams.  Our instructors will talk you through the safety, they are all trained mountain leaders with full first aid, vhf radio and water safety qualifications.  You will be lead from a beach to the rocks where you will experience small swims to gain access to some more rocks and caves.  This then leads to some jumping on which you always have a choice of small, medium or higher jumps available.  Entering the water you will experience the energy of the sea that will take you to the next rocks that you climb up and feel the elements around you.  You will be guided to caves and plunge pools and invited to take some great jumps.

Nothing is guaranteed but we usually find the odd seal on the rocks as well as the magnificent flora and fauna. This is a half day activity.

Silver Coasteering Adventure

£55 per person

As above but at a more advanced level  starting at a different location, walking down to a remote beach and traversing to another beach with some really big caves and jumps. The silver level is for the fitter coasteerer who is of good physical fitness and really up for a physical challenge. This is an activity that takes around 4-5 hours.

Gold Coasteering Rib Quest Adventure

£65 per person

Once you are fitted with your wetsuits and gear on we pick you up from Salcombe in large coded ribs and zip you out to another fantastic coasteering location that you cannot get to by land.  Once near the rocks you can then either slip into the water from the ribs or summersault off the front, whatever takes your fancy.  Escorted by instructors all the way, you then start climbing and traversing some wild coast line and venture into some great caves, plunge pools and feel  and harness the power of the waves as they gently swirl you around the coast line.   Join in the spectacular high jumps or just take it easy on the low ones if you choose.  At any point you can simply swim back to the boat for a rest and chocolate or keep on going for an exhilarating journey.  This is a half day activity and is definitely our most popular option.

For more pictures please see

Coasteering on Facebook


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RYA First Aid Training Course Salcombe South Devon

February 9, 2012
by Andrew Turner Jones
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Salcombe RYA First Aid Training

Join our fun and informative first aid training on the 27th February 2012 in Salcombe. Tea and coffee provided and maybe some home-made cakes.

We are running the RYA first aid course on Monday the 27th February. This  one-day first aid course covers all the usual first aid subjects, boating perspective. The course is aimed at anyone who goes sailing, Power-boating, kayaking and any other watersports whether on inland waters, rivers, estuaries. The courses is also the required first aid qualifications for anyone wanting to become a water-sports instructor.

The full courses details can be found on our website: RYA First Aid Training South Devon

An overview of the course is below

In a medical emergency a little first aid knowledge and immediate action can save lives, especially in remote locations. This one-day course is designed to provide a working knowledge of first aid for people using small craft and to support skippers.

It fulfils the requirements for:

  • professional skippers of small craft working within 60 miles of a safe haven, including Boatmasters;
  • the Senior First Aid certificate needed by offshore racers subject to ISAF’s regulations on first aid training (OSR 4.08.4).

The course is recommended by the MCA and HSE.

The subjects specific to boating include:

  • the recovery position in a confined space
  • CPR, including the drowning protocol
  • cold shock and hypothermia from immersion and/or exposure
  • seasickness and dehydration
  • medical assistance or advice by VHF
  • helicopter rescue

 

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How do Tides work

January 27, 2012 by Andrew Turner Jones | 0 comments

Professor Brian Cox explains our Earth and Moon’s gravitational relationship for tides in this video.

UK Tides vary from day to day both in their timing and height. The tides at a particular location are the result of the gravitational influences between the Earth, the Moon and the Sun coupled with the effects of Earth rotation and the depths of local oceans, seas and estuaries. The orbital details of the Earth, Moon and Sun and the relationships between them are known with a high degree of accuracy. In addition to orbital information, tide prediction requires information (known as tidal constants) derived from an analysis of tides over a long period of time.

Tides are not only very important for people working on the sea but also for leisure users from sailors to powerboaters. Understanding how tides can affect you day to day is crucial and essential for those taking an RYA Training course or RYA Powerboat Training Courses.

 

The Next 7 Day Tide predictions for Sacombe – at UK Easy Tides

 

 

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January 11, 2012
by Andrew Turner Jones
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Four saved from sea in kayak rescue

I saw this article on http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/saved-sea-kayak-rescue/story-14370167-detail/story.html. It highlights the dangers of the sea and even for those who are experienced paddlers. Just using the right kit can save you! Dress for the swim and always carry a means of raising the alarm.

An 11-year-old boy and three adults “could have died” had they not been rescued so quickly after their kayak sank at sea.

Coastguards said the lives of the kayakers could have been in danger if they had been in the water for just ten more minutes.

Their cries for help were heard by a walker at Wembury Point, Plymouth, at around 1.20pm yesterday.

By then they had been in the water, where the temperature was 9C, for around 40 minutes.

Brixham Coastguard watch officer Matthew Thornhill said: “That boy was in the water for 40 minutes.

“Another ten minutes and his chances of survival would have dropped by 50 per cent.”

Brixham Coastguard sent out Plymouth’s inshore lifeboat, as well as an all-weather lifeboat and a rescue team.

Together, they managed to retrieve the four, who were 100 metres offshore.

The helicopter from Chivenor was on alert but was not needed.

The boy and the men were taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth by ambulance to be checked over, but Mr Thornhill said it was thought they would all be fine.

He speculated that the kayak may have sunk because the four passengers were too heavy.

“We understand that there were up to four people in a Canadian kayak, which has now sunk off Wembury Point,” he said.

“All are now safe after being rescued by the inshore lifeboat and taken to land. Two of the four, a father and son, have been taken to Derriford Hospital. It was very fortunate that a member of the public heard their cries for help, as they had been in the water for approximately 40 minutes.

“All four casualties were wearing buoyancy aides but had no means of contacting anyone or raising the alarm and were inappropriately dressed for the weather conditions on scene, which were force-three with a sea temperature of nine degrees.

“Had they been in the water any longer according to our data there was a 50 per cent chance of survival.”

He added: “We cannot stress how important it is to be properly prepared when out on the water.”

He urged water users to follow five key safety messages: Get trained; check the weather and tides; wear a lifejacket; avoid alcohol and keep in touch.

The warning comes a week after an experienced canoeist died while on a New Year’s Day paddle in Cornwall.

Dave Smith, 49, a qualified instructor from Stourbridge in the West Midlands, was on holiday with his family in Cornwall when he died during a trip to Golitho Falls on the edge of Bodmin Moor, near Liskeard.

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December 16, 2011
by Andrew Turner Jones
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Rib Buying Guide – Part One

The Christmas holidays are drawing near and in the depths of winter summer seems a long way off. However, this is the time we look at our strategy for the new year. We have been deliberating about buying a new rib to add to the Sea N Shore fleet for the 2012 season. This poses the question as to what kind of rib are we looking for? We know what our requirements are, based on our own experiences over the years. Drawing up a list of the these requirements we know what we expect from our ribs so it narrows the list down. Start making a list of all your uses for your rib such as how much space will you need, how often will realistically uses it.

It now boils down to the best make and price as well as after care service. We often get asked what are the best makes and what should we go for? In part for ourselves after care service plays a massive part in our selection process so do your homework here.

It must be a daunting task for first time buyers to decide what is the right boat for them! I noticed an article in “Rib magazine” a buyer’s guide to the 4×4 of the sea for beginners. Ribeye also tweeted this You tube video it is a really good and concise guide to buying a Rib boats which lets face don’t come cheap.

 

The first things to consider when buying a new rib boat:

You decide you want to buy a rib boat and we can all dream about the boats we want but first things first. Before deciding on the boat requirements itself we need to focus on how much this will all cost and does it fit the budget you have. I think it is important to be realistic at the outset, as the saying the two best days of owning a boat are the day you buy and the day you sell it.

Overall budget:

Decide how much you want to spend and what is your overall budget. Remember to include all the things below of course some may not be applicable to you such you may already have your powerboat training courses, but do other members of your family need it.

  1. Training requirements:
  2. Insurance Costs:
  3. Extra equipment costs:
  4. What do you want the rib for?

 

In part two we will look at these four requirements in a little more detail…

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