Safety

Regulations for pre-Worlds training

Dear class responsibles and head coaches,

This communication is aimed at providing you the necessary practical and regulatory information regarding the training ahead of the Worlds.

All countries are encouraged to come and practice in advance of the World Championship: for the people having ample vacation possibilities there is the possibility to participate during the Open Belgians which is held during the NIeuwpoortweek from 1 till 5 July, after that we will open the camp site on the WSKLuM from 15 July onwards. This mail is aimed to explain the procedures that must be followed if you want to practice and hold training sessions prior to Saturday 22 July since group activities in the Belgian North Sea are subject to permit and regulations from our Ministry of Mobility (FOD MOB).

There is the possibility to practice under the WSKLuM club permit (no. BNP 23049), but we need to collect and add the names of the responsible persons per country to the permit.

A number of conditions are to be respected under the permit:

• The sailing areas is zone 3 indicated in the map enclosed, within 2 NM NE of the harbour entrance and not sail closer than 200 m from the low water line. Please mind there is also an offshore farm which is a prohibited area (see Nieuwpoort.jpg)
• Training sessions are to be held between 10 AM and 18 PM.
• The approach channel to the port should be avoided as much as possible and the traffic rules must be respected.
• Activities shall be done under supervision of the responsible coordinator at all times who must have legally required boating license, such as an International Certificate for Operators of pleasure craft (ICC) valid for Coastal Waters and the legal certificate for operating VHF radio
• Support boats shall have a valid registration, legal identification and safety equipment.
• The WSKLuM nor the BNCCA cannot be held liable for any damages, accidents or losses that may result from the pre-Worlds training activities.
• Enclosed “omzendbrief 2019.02” shall be respected.

In short, the practical regulations are as follows for the permit holders:

1. Check-in: Before launching call the MRCC (Marine Rescue and Coordination Centre)  using phone number +32 59 341 020 to communicate to them your permit number (BNP 23049), number of boats, number of RIBs and total of number of persons that will be afloat. Usually they also want to know on which VHF channel you can be reached (e.g. 13 or 72)
2. During: always keep the list with all names of persons afloat. You do not need to submit this list beforehand, just have it with you in case of an incident. Make sure you can always be reached by portable VHF.
   In case of an incident, reach out to MRCC on channel 67 (of course, first line of support are the other coaches /support boats of the different training groups)
3. Check-out: immediately upon return in the harbour phone the MRCC to inform them that all your boats and persons are safely ashore.
   (The people of MRCC prefer phone over VHF for check-in and check-out for not overloading channel 67)

Each responsible should continuously monitor the prevailing and expected weather conditions and based on this, take the necessary measures to ensure that his training sessions are held safely.

Jointly afloat and joint communication is certainly the safer approach and will allow to support each other in case something happens or if some of your boats need to return to harbour.

The permit requires every incident on the water to be reported immediately to the MRCC indicating whether assistance is needed yes or no. On land please also inform the WSKLuM.

We recommend to communicate your responsible coordinator so we can add his name to the club permit as it will give flexibility in planning your sessions.

For this purpose, each country shall communicate latest by Monday 12 June the name, email and telephone number of the person responsible for coordinating the training sessions for your country (usually your head coach).

If you experience difficulties, the Belgian Class Association can offer assistance under its own permit for a limited number of additional boats if you need support.

Please find hereby also the tidal information to facilitate scheduling your training sessions.

Towing in and out of the harbour channel is strongly recommended and boats shall be tight up well in advance of the flood barrier under construction.  

Please also mind the small ferry across the channel and its wash.

If any questions, or if we can be of help, let us know.

I kindly request to keep me and info@wsklum.be in when communicating the names of the responsible persons.

Kind regards,

Nathalie Gunst

President