At YCC we have quite a high sailing standards, and our skippers are well trained to organize outing and activity with the safety as first point. However, it is honest to say
in more than 50 years of history of the club, we unfortunately have seen accidents, and we have seen accidents that could have been prevented.
With the increase of number of members, the increase of sailing outing, the probability of accidents also increases.
Since 2019, the president and the committee, decided to invest more on Safety, with the aim to reduce to zero the number of accidents during the activities:
on board and while during maintenance.
We have prepared a YCC Safety Info-Graphic
covering , in a single info-graphical page the main YCC safety aspects to consider. It is very useful
track to do a safety briefing , and it is used in all lessons of Level0 course to all newcomers.
Is available both as Image and as PDF in A3 format.
In case of an accident (i.e. contact with a person, a boat or an obstacle causing injury to persons, damage to your boat, damage to other boats
and/or deterioration of the installations in the harbour), take immediately the following steps:
People first! Provide assistance and contact emergency services 112, as needed.
Seek contact with the owners of all boats which may have touched yours.
Go and see, the same day still, the police if the owners of the other boat or boats involved are absent.
Inform the YCC responsible(s) of maintenance and insurance.
Complete an accident report and send it by email to ycc-insurance@cern.ch
who will take care of transmitting the report to the insurance company
Enter details concerning the damage in the log-book of the boat; indicate clearly, if justified, that the boat is out of use and try
to inform the people who have reserved the boat after you.
Owners of private boats will not take lightly a seemingly insignificant scratch on the hull.
Apologise for the inconvenience, but do not discuss the extent of the damage, do not enter into a debate as to responsability for the accident,
do not sign any declaration of guilt, do not ask for such a declaration either.
Damage is in many cases covered by the YCC insurance, provided action is taken sufficiently quickly.
Although every attempt should be made to avoid accidents, the YCC recognises that accidents are an unavoidable part of sailing.
However, failure to take the above actions after an accident is considered a serious breach of YCC internal rules.
Too Windy – impossible capsize recovery, and boat damage risk
The boats of the Club should only be used in weather conditions that meet
the experience of the crew and are well within the maximum wind strength and wave height
the boat has been designed for.
Members should refrain from sailing under conditions which are beyond their skills.
During normal Club activities the following limits apply to each category:
Ynglings, dinghies and catamarans: shall not leave the harbour with more
than 5Bf, i.e. >21 Knots of wind, unless authorised by the Committee.
Surprises and Gibsea: shall not leave the harbour with more than 6Bf, i.e. >27 Knots of wind, without the prior approval of the Committee.
See the High wind general rules section of the Current Club Rules for more details.
Injuries risks
Improper actions and non adequate risk prevention while sailing can cause Death or serious injuries.
Death/serious injuries while sailing are typically caused by:
Drowning/cold shock after a Man Over Board situation, where Life Jacket is not used,
Drowning by line entanglement especially after a capsize, you could be kept underwater by a rope/line entangled to your body. That's where a knife could be a life saving device.
Cranial Trauma by Boom collision, typically during a non controlled gybe.
Here a short list of personal injuries that could been easily prevented.
Cranial trauma by boom collisionavoidable by a proper training on how to safely gybe, and by adoption of a proper crew position
Skin-cut injuries Caused by hitting metal parts, or by sheet frictions , avoidable by using protections like gloves/wetsuites/shoes.
Hand/feet trauma Caused by hands/feet squeezed between 2 boats or in the anchor chain, avoidable using the gaff or taking the proper operational position.
Cold exposure during capsize or strong wind,
Fear/Panic typically because of improvise high wind conditions, or not capabilities to come back on board even after
a relaxing swim. In a dinghy, a capsize recovery that takes longer than expected, could cause a fatigue-panic situation.
Sun exposure - Dehydration Protect your skin, sun radiation on water is very strong in may-july. Bring drinkable water with you to avoid dehydration, do not drink the water in the lake!
Injuries doing maintenance Moving boats, loading the lasers on the racks, hoisting/unhoisting masts, using tools, using chemical solvent for gel-coat, moving booys, anchors, chains, are all dangerous operation that could end up in injuries. Protect yourself!
Accidental Gybe risk
When going downwind, the boat is apparently more stable and levelled, the apparent wind is low because we are moving in the same direction of the wind.
This is however one of the most dangerous sailing point, as a short change of wind or a moment of distraction of the crew/skipper can end up in
an uncontrolled gybe. Uncontrolled gybe presents many risks: Boom is smashed from one side to the boat to the other, crew/skipper heads can be hit by the boom, and the energy involved, can easily kill a man by cranial trauma.
Even if not hitting a crew, the energy of an uncontrolled gybe could heavily damage the mast rig, bringing to shrouds,spreaders or full mast loss.
At YCC we adopt ALWAYS the following sequence to gybe:
Skipper : Ready to Gybe?
Crew: READY! (if ready, otherwise shout NOOO!).
Skipper: MAIN IN THE CENTER (brings using the the sheets, never by hand, the main at mid ship)
Skipper: GYBE!
After the gybe, the main-sheet is slowly released.
Video:See how dangerous an accidental gybe looks like in the video. Luckily there nobody was hit by the boom, but the skipper was entangled by the main sheet and could have been catapulted overboard or get serious injuries. Notice that 2 people attempt to gybe the main by hand. This is a bad practice that comes from small dinghy sailing, that is extremely dangerous and useless on large keel boat. Also notice some crew without the gloves, and a very confused situation on board before the gybe.
Man Over Board risk - Quick stop
As part of the tests for getting a YCC Key, we obviously request skippers to master a simulated Man Over Board recovery maneuver.
Crew shout Man Over board and keep looking at the man all the time, pointing to him.
Crew launch whatever floating device could help the man in the water (life jacket, fenders...)
Crew/skipper perform the MOB recovery.
At YCC, we recommend the Quick Stop Maneuver, that has been tested by could be performed always in the same sequence,
even with one person only, without touching the sails.
In case of real MOB situation however, the skippers or the crew, should perform the maneuver that he/she/they feels more confident to do that could end up in MOB recovery. MOB Is a situation where ALARM LAC 112 should be called if the recovery is not easy.
Quick Stop Maneuver (recommended)
Stop the boat immediately (into the wind)
Sail down and recovery by engine/paddle (inexperienced crew case)
Other maneuver the skipper/crew feel confident / is used to do.
Ladder Of particular importance on YCC Keel-boats: the ladder. Our boats are not equipped with a ladder, there is an available rope/plastic ladder in the Regatta box. When we
practice the MOB, we launch a fender in the water, and we easily recover it with the gaffe. Most of the problem however in real life situation, start after
the MOB maneuver, when the MOB has to come back on board.
Life jacket/Light Beacon in the nightDuring night sail, a light beacon on the life jacket is mandatory, and the use of harness could prevent a MOB situation. Surprise Mamma Mia is equipped
with harness and life-lines for the crew,
Boat Grounding risk because of shallow water
From Jan to May, the controlled Lac Leman water level is kept low.
This poses a serious risk for our keel boats mooring in port Choiseul, we had already many
grounding accidents and keel damages because of low water. For that reason, in low water situation, boat can be kept not available in the reservation system.
Extreme care should be taken by skippers of keel boats while sailing in the port shallow water. Alberto has produced in May 2023 an updated map of the estimated depths in the port and Nathalie and Tim added the concrete blocs (yellow rectangles):
Forget the water plug, or do not repair a hull crack, and our dinghy will sink!
On RS400 expecially, warned o-ring of the inspection hull, or missing to open the self-draining plug while sailing, has already caused a semi-sinking event in 2017.
Collision risk in the port because of strong wind/gust or too slow hull speed
It happen at YCC almost all the season and should not happen at all: A collision inside of the port.
There are two major causes:
Boat is sailing too slow and drifts. This also happen often on the Yngling, before hoisting the sail, when not enough paddling effort is applied. Remember, no speed, no control on the rudder, boats should always have speed over water to maneuver!
Boat is too fast and in the port channel, there is not enough space to maneuver and prevent the collision. This can easily happen in 2 cases: Yngling going downwind to stop at the downwind buoy in the channel,
easily avoidable by going to the upwind buoy and than paddle downwind. Catamarans navigating full speed in the channel, again, easily avoidable going upwind and then reaching the CNV ramp, that is more protected by the wind.
Skipper / Crew unprepared to deal with the maneuver, and delay in tack/gybe, a non prepared or non-understanding of the maneuver brings to a delay in the actions, that ends up in avoidable collisions.
In the picture Alternative emergency landing points for catamarans, when strong NE wind is blowing, and a re-entry in the central channel is very dangerous. Also in case of storm, the private
port Nord to Port Choiseul or the buoy field could be a temporary safe alternative!.
Part loss / mechanical failure / not-proper rigging risk
We have seen it over and over again every year at YCC and we had multiple accidents of mast, centerboard, rudder loss not because of mechanical failure, (that rarely happen if boat is properly inspected and
maintained), but just because the rigging of the boat was wrong or incomplete.
On our small boats, we have no redundancy, a single tiny pin could be the critical component to hold a shroud line and consequently the mast in place. A missing safety pin in the rudder on the dinghy
will cause the rudder loss at first capsize!
Another classical mistake, is a main not fully hoisted to the top of the mast, resulting especially in the Yngling, in a very low boom in the cockpit, preventing a pleasant sailing and making
all the maneuvers slow and uncomfortable for the crew!
Always inspect all the boats, and check for rigging errors, read rigging manuals.
The temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius, until mid of April. That means, deadly cold.
Mario Vittone, a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer states "It is impossible to die from hypothermia in cold water unless you are wearing an approved flotation device, because without flotation, you won't live long enough to become hypothermic, you will most assuredly drown."
When the temperature of water is below 10 Celsius, significant physiological responses occur, including the possibility of death. The effects of cold water immersion are predictable and well documented. Have a look at the table that shows the expected time before exhaustion or unconsciousness, and the expected time of survival.
On our sailing boat, things are even worst, Consider not only the delay of the man over-board rescue maneuver, but also the time and the energy needed to come back on board of our sailing boat? You have for sure experience this during the summer. How difficult is to come back on board of our Surprise after a pleasant swim? Think about the same, wearing winter clothes, wet and heavy, and consider the natural involuntary body reaction to cold water of the wet body: involuntary gasp, followed by hyperventilation of up to 10 times regular breathing in the first 10 minutes, and different symptoms from panic, confusion to unconsciousness.
Safety first! It is responsibility of the skipper to ensure everyone wear the life jacket in cold water conditions and to clearly inform and discuss with all the crew about this danger before sailing.
A very interesting article : http://www.shipwrite.bc.ca/coldwater.htm
a full detailed report on the subject, quite shocking to read: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/marinesafety/tp-tp13822-section3-1433.htm
You Check the water temperature www.cipel.org/le-leman/temperature-leman/
Other risks
Collisions in the water: To be avoided at any cost, respecting the priorities rules, watching danger around you, using whistle/horn to signal.
Collision with obstacles To be avoided at any cost, understanding and respecting the navigational signals.
Lost in the lake! Getting lost in the lake after sunset in slow visibility and not knowing where to go to come back. Versoix is now easily recognizable by the super-bright illumination lights, however, always consult the map and be aware of your position.
No wind Could easily happen on Dinghy, catamaran and yngling, that winds suddenly drop, and we are very far from the port. In those cases, consider always the option to start paddling: the major risk is to get cough by the night and have no lights, to have no water on board, to suffer for the strong sun and have no protection. Consider that paddling you will not get more than 0.5, 1.0 knots of speed.
Fire Can easily happen on board by distraction: that's why we recommend not to smoke on board. On boats without inboard engine, the fire extinguisher is not mandatory, and we do not have it on board. Outboard fuel and sails are highly flammable.
Water current Water current flow is very strong in Geneva, do not approach the Jet d'Eau area with a sailing boat without the engine.
Metar format, wind-direction and wind speed is the K paramenter.
Most updated metaR with precise wind and direction measurement,
are broadcasted from Geneve Airport on: Air Band Radio 135.570 Mhz AM , You can easily receive in Versoix with a VHF radio scanner or Air band radio.
Strong Wind Warning Lights
On the Lac Leman, there is a Strong-Wind Warning light system.
By YCC Rules, it is not allowed to go out from the port when strong wind warning lights are on. If you are already sailing,
you should Wear life jackets and go back immediately to the closest port.
Catamaran and Dinghies, can use the Versoix Beach north to the Port Choiseul entrance, as an emergency landing area, avoiding to maneuver in strong gust wind inside of the port.
If you are at the bouvette, and you see storm-warning lights, check in the key system kiosk which boats are out, take the binocular and observe if they are in trouble, help them during re-entry maneuver.
MeteoSuisse APP Can give your LAKE LEMAN alerts on your smartphone! that are in sync with Storm warning lights.
Here is a summary document (in French) from Méteo Suisse which explains the lake alerting system.
Wind forecast
Better wind forecast for Versoix is available clicking on SuperForecast in the graph below. SuperForecast uses local models, that take into consideration the effects of local terrain profiles (mountains, valleys, breeze).
Last modified April 2024 by MCH
Safety
Improper actions and non adequate risk prevention while sailing can cause Death or serious injuries.
When going downwind, the boat is apparently more stable and levelled, the apparent wind is low because we are moving in the same direction of the wind.
This is however one of the most dangerous sailing point, as a short change of wind or a moment of distraction of the crew/skipper can end up in
an uncontrolled gybe. Uncontrolled gybe presents many risks: Boom is smashed from one side to the boat to the other, crew/skipper heads can be hit by the boom, and the energy involved, can easily kill a man by cranial trauma.
Even if not hitting a crew, the energy of an uncontrolled gybe could heavily damage the mast rig, bringing to shrouds,spreaders or full mast loss.
As part of the tests for getting a YCC Key, we obviously request skippers to master a simulated Man Over Board recovery maneuver.
From Jan to May, the controlled Lac Leman water level is kept low. 
It happen at YCC almost all the season and should not happen at all: A collision inside of the port.
There are two major causes:
We have seen it over and over again every year at YCC and we had multiple accidents of mast, centerboard, rudder loss not because of mechanical failure, (that rarely happen if boat is properly inspected and
maintained), but just because the rigging of the boat was wrong or incomplete. 
