Cruising Safety
Boat owners and operators are responsible for the safety of their passengers and must provide safety equipment appropriate to their vessel and, most importantly, to the prevailing weather conditions.
Some useful safety related links are provided below. Please note that the information on these linked sites may vary from time to time. The Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia does not accept responsibility for the information provided in the links:
Being Safe on Your Boat
An informative site published by the SA Government
Category 3 Safety Form
A detailed list of safety equipment, used by the racing community for open water sailing that is close to shorelines.
Bureau of Meteorology
The marine and ocean link published by BOM.
Should you have any questions, concerns or need advice, please feel free to contact members of the Cruising Association.
Join our Facebook Cruisers Group – CYCSA Cruising
Don’t be caught at sea without an AED
Over 30,000 Australian’s suffer a sudden cardiac arrest, some of these situations happen at sea. By having access to a defibrillator pack onboard vessel, the chance of survival increases by up to 80%.
AED packages for your boat will help keep you and those around you safe during trips on the water. Nothing’s worse than an emergency without immediate attention, and having an AED available will give a patient who’s suffering from sudden cardiac arrest a chance of survival.
Club members since 2013 (owners of Riviera ‘Sassy’) Harvey and Amy Grantham support CYCSA as Club sponsors with AEDs through their Adelaide based business Cellmed. They have sold defibrillators since 1996 and are the sole suppliers to SA Health installing new equipment into every hospital in South Australia and have an exclusive offer for Club members.
For more information please contact Harvey on: 0435 050 257 or email: [email protected]
Marine Radio Information
(If any of the below links do not work correctly please advise Reception)
Operator Requirements
If your boat is fitted with a radio, chances are that you will need some form of qualification to operate it. Both VHF and HF require as a minimum, a Marine Radio Operators Certificate of Proficiency (MROCP).
The Australian Communication and Media Authority have an extensive website on the subject of operator requirements and we urge you to visit their website page for more information.
There are various courses held from time to time to acquire the appropriate qualification but in the first instance club members should look to our own Marine Academy where courses are held regularly.
Radio Bases for Local Waters
The channel most widely used for local waters is 80 on VHF
Bases for log on/off are:
Coast Guard Adelaide – 6.00 am to 6.00 pm
Coast Guard Ardrossan – 7.00am to 6.00 pm
VMR American River/Tiddy Widdy Beach 24hr
At the bottom of Gulf St Vincent switch to Channel 21 VMR American River for cover to Cape Spencer then go to Channel 81 to contact Tumby Bay for Spencer Gulf to Port Lincoln.
There are several other radio bases operating on weekends that may be useful depending on your destination, but the above will cover most local needs.
Note: Adelaide Ports are monitoring both 80 and 16 24/7 so that contact can always be made if the station you are using is not on the air.
The following links will provide more extensive information on operating bases throughout the state:
Volunteer Marine Rescue
SA SES Website – (Click on the VMR section for links and detailed information about base stations)
Similar information can be found for other states by visiting
Marine and Safety Tasmania Website
Marine Radio In Tasmania – Stations
