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Safety at GFS
GFS aspires to be a welcoming and vibrant community for people who enjoy sailing. Sailing at GFS, first and foremost, should be fun, safe and inclusive. The Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers might carry less traffic than the main harbour, but our sailing area holds its own challenges and risks. We sail through some narrow passages, prominant headlands can make conditions gusty and changeable, and we need to contend with ferries, ships accessing Gore Creek and other commercial and pleasure boats.
Skippers are reminded that the prime responsibility for sailing rests with the skipper, who should be confident that the boat and the crew are capable of handling the conditions. Racing Rule #3 - a fundamental rule of racing - says "The responsibility for a boat's decision to participate in a race or to continue racing is hers alone." Deciding not to race in difficult conditions can often be a very seamanlike decision.
Our safety and risk management approach is codified in our Safety Management Plan and a Risk Managment Plan - See Club Documents. Our approach to safety has 3 elements to it: (1) anticipate and prepare for each of the key risks, (2) ensure all yachts carry appropriate safety equipment, and (3) build the skills of our members.
PREPARATION FOR EACH BOAT
Category 7 safety audit required for every yacht. A requirement for entry into any GFS yacht race is that the boat holds a current Category 7 Safety Certificate. GFS auditors are available to audit boats each season in the August-September period. As part of the audit, owners are required to show their equipment and process for recovering a person overboard. Here is a link to the Category 7 Audit form - GFS Cat 7 Safety audit form
GFS Safety card - must be carried by all yachts. Here is a link: GFS Safety Card.
BUILDING SKILLS
GFS offers members a range of resources to help build skills to avoid accidents:
SAIL SAFE Skill Building Program. We run our SailSafe program twice a season to help sailors develop practical safety skills. We practice person overboard retrieval, heaving-to, safe gybing, safe handling of winches and how to do a safety briefing for new crew members. Learn more: Sail Safe Participant Notes
Rules Night Each season we run a Rules Night to help our members master rules that are relevent to our sailing context. Learn more: 2025/6 Rules Night presentation
Safety and Rules Quiz GFS also runs an occasional quiz, which tests members on their knowledge of rules and also what to do in certain emergencies (e.g. loss of steering). To try the quiz: The GFS Quiz
Skippers Briefing All GFS Skippers are required to attend the annual Skippers Briefing. Here is a link to the 2025-6 Skippers Briefing document: 2025-6 Skippers Briefing
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