Safety Precautions For Canterbury Yachtsmen

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28370, 31 August 1957, Page 4

Safety Precautions For Canterbury Yachtsmen

Recommendations to the public and yachtsmen sailing small craft on the Canterbury coast from Akaroa to Motunau have been made by a committee which has been studying methods of observing and reporting such accidents.

The recommendations to the general public are:— <ll If a mishap on the open seacoast is seen, the Christchurch Central police station should be informed (telephone 80-280). (2) If a mishap to a small craft is seen on the Estuary or In Sumner bay, the Sumner police should be informed (telephone 333, or 377). If this is not possible then the lifeboat alarm in the band rotunda at Cave Rock should be sounded. The person sounding this alarm should wait to make the lifeboat crew and the police aware of the position and nature of the' mishap. Beside sounding the lifeboat alarm, the oerson should try to arrange to have the Christchurch police called if the Sumner police were not available. Recommendations to owners and sailers of small craft are:—

(1) All small craft should carry •an orange flag, 3ft square, to be displayed at the masthead or waved on an oar as a signal of distress. This is a departure from the distress signal of the International Code but is a local provision made for persons who do not possess the correct signal of any square flag surmounted by a ball about 2ft in, diameter. In any case, larger craft should use this International Code signal if they possess it. (2) All skippers sailing to or from the Estuary and Lyttelton should ring the signal tower (Lyttelton, 469) to give estimated arrival and departure times, and to get weather conditions. (3) All skippers leaving Lyttelton for the Sumner bar should ring one of the following four Clifton or Redcliffs residents with their estimated arrival time so that a watch can be kept: Mr W. D. Gray, Clifton (Sumner, 689); Mr D. Stemmer. Clifton (Sumner. 526); Mr S. Nicholson, Redcliffs (Sumner, 507): Mr P. G. Lamb. Redcliffs (61-518).

(4) Small craft should not attempt to cross the Sumner bar if conditions are doubtful—shelter should be sought in Bells Baths, at Scarborough, instead. (5) Skippers from other anchorages seeking shelter in the inner harbour at Lyttelton should ad-

vlse the Harbourmaster (Captain A. R. Champion) of their presence, or ring the signal tower. The committee consists of representatives of yacht clubs and life-saving clubs, the police, the Lifeboat Institute, the Lyttelton Harbour Board, the Fishmeren’s Association, and the Search and Rescue Organisation.