Be intelligent - be safe.

So, lets break it down into digestible chunks.

Before you put your boat on the water:

Are YOU happy with the river / weather conditions ?
Check your shoes have heel restraints fitted and that they are adjusted correctly.
Check your under seat hatch covers are in place and can be closed correctly.
Make sure your cox / steersperson checks the bow ball is in place.

Any concerns, fix the problem or do not go out. NEVER go out in a broken boat or in high winds.

Boating:

Firstly - there are only really two things that spoil your day that you need to avoid, Bridges & rowing boats going in the opposite direction to you. Forget all the waffle about inshore zones, Port & Starboard etc, just remember the few simple rules below and you will be safe, believe me, I am a Paramedic .....

Some facts to set the scene:

The tide:

We always boat against the stream going out, and come back home with the stream, so we get home quickly.

In round numbers, the tide takes 8.25 hours to go out, and 4.25 hours to come in. So, a quick calculation shows that an incoming tide flows almost twice as fast as an outgoing tide. That is why when we go upstream towards Kew, we always seem to go a lot further than if we head off towards Putney. That is also why we do not take really new people out on an incoming stream, as it flows faster than they can row, with inevitable results....

Another quick calculation shows that as the tide takes almost twice as long to go out as it takes to come in, and given that we always boat against the flow of the stream, then we head off towards Kew twice as often as we head off towards Putney.

The final calculation shows that if you add the 2 times together and double them, you get 25 hours. That is why if you came down and rowed every day at the same time, the level of the tide would be about one hour earlier in its cycle day after day.

Luckily, most boats have coxes and there are Tide Tables - so the average rower need not worry !!

And finally, why do we boat with our bows facing into the flow of the stream ? - because that way, once we push off, the boat is actually moving relative to the water, if not the land - AND THEREFORE THE RUDDER WORKS SO WE CAN STEER THE BOAT - always an advantage. Lets face it, rowing boats do not really do reverse, and the whole "backing down thing" is for still water or slow flowing rivers.

So - the rule to remember is ALWAYS BOAT WITH THE BOWS FACING INTO THE FLOW OF WATER.

General navigation:

As a general rule:

* if we are going against the stream, keep into the appropriate bank.

* if we are going with the stream, keep to the right (rowers left) of the imaginary centre line of the river (as viewed from the cox's seat). How far right is the subject of hot debate. The safest place is just to the right, as this means you are unlikely to hit the 2 most prevalent hazards to your health, Bridge Buttresses and other rowers coming upstream.

Why do we do this ? - because we have a special exemption that allows us to row in the part of the river where the flow is at its least powerful, ie, on the inside of bends (or meanders as you may recall from your O level geography).

Any motor boats who will be coming upstream in the normal navigation channel (keeping to their right) have 3 very significant safety features that Bridges and Rowing Boats do not have, a) a human being facing forward with working eyes, b) an engine to allow rapid changes of position and c) a horn to signal that they are there.

You have got to try really hard, and I mean really hard to hit a motor boat !!

Heading off to Kew / Pink Lodge against the stream:

Keep into the bank on our side of the river until about 200 metres before Chiswick Bridge, then cross over to the far bank and arrive there opposite the Ship Pub. Obviously a) do not cross if other boats coming down stream through the bridge will cause problems and b) do not stop for a chat etc, as the zones around bridges and crossing points are "no stopping zones" for obvious reasons.

This is called The Ship crossing point.

If you see a sculler coming through the bridge with yellow and red blades, it will be from Tideway Scullers and will almost certainly stop in the no stopping zone and turn onto your bank in order to get back to its boat house and generally cause chaos !!

Once across, keep to the other bank, going through the inside arch of Chiswick Bridge and heading up past Putney Town RC etc.

Now, due to the rules about boats keeping to the right when travelling with the stream, this stretch of river now become far more hazardous. Why - because boats going up and boats coming down are all in the same half of the river. As clubs can get "penalty points" for not observing the rules, a lot of boats will now be so paranoid about being spotted and being reported to Safety HQ, that they keep right over to their right (rowers left) and end up very close to boats travelling upstream.

In addition, on this stretch of the river, as the tide goes out, it gets very shallow and running aground is a real risk, hence crews tend to stay further away from the bank.

Stay on this side of the river all the way up past Kew Rail and Kew Stone Bridges, up past the islands at Brentford and then up above the moored barges / boats on your right (rowers left). The crossing here is hard to describe and often people get it wrong. The best features to look out for are basically where the river really starts to bend to the right (rowers left.

Here are some links for the safety information provided by the Amateur Rowing Association

• Safety Code - be good, and if you can't be good, be safe.
• Lifejackets & Buoyancy Aids - the cox is not a buoyancy aid.
• Weill's Disease - the nasties aren't just under the water you know........
• Trailer Towing Handbook - go on enjoy yourselves...
• Back pain - you have it, they have a committee for it.
• Rules of racing - All races don't start "Ready, Set , Official Warning Barnes Bridge"

Want a personal alarm? Let me know...

Remember, be intelligent, be safe.

And some words from the clubs resident Paramedic about what to do if you see someone collapse.
 

Firstly - if you are on your own and someone collapses with a suspected heart attack (as opposed to a few too many Fullers), the first thing to do is CALL AN AMBULANCE via 999. There is nothing you can realistically do, even if you are trained in CPR, that will make the persons heart start again. GETTING THE AMBULANCE RUNNING is the best thing you can do for that person. If you have help, one person should call the ambulance whilst the other people should make the person comfortable, remove them from any other immediate danger and keep talking to them. If anyone is trained in CPR, obviously commence as soon as possible. Think about the location, and consider sending someone to the main gate for example to direct the ambulance when it arrives. A couple of things you may or may not know. Firstly, when you are talking to Ambulance Control, it is very important to answer the questions in the sequence asked. The first thing they will ask is the location. Then they will ask what the main problem is. When you say suspected cardiac arrest / heart attack / they are not breathing, an Ambulance is immediately despatched (if one is available) even though you are still on the line giving further details. If you state that the person is not breathing, Ambulance Control will offer to talk you through delivering CPR. Depending upon the distance the Ambulance has to travel, it can often arrive whilst you are still on the phone to Ambulance Control / delivering CPR. Secondly, delivering CPR is not about trying to start the persons heart, it is about pumping oxygenated blood around the system to minimise damage to the brain and vital organs. The Ambulance Crew will deliver a "shock" or "shocks" to the heart with their De-fib / AED, and administer appropriate drugs if required. Survival from a cardiac arrest in a non-hospital environment depends upon the patient being given immediate effective CPR and "shocking" the patient as soon as possible. It is a real team effort, and by being calm, organised and thinking straight, you can make a big difference.