A practical safety primer for cruising sailors — VHF and DSC basics, EPIRBs and PLBs, life jackets and harnesses, MOB procedure, and the drills that turn equipment into competence.
Safety on a yacht is layered. No single piece of kit saves a life on its own. The flares only work if someone sees them; the EPIRB only works if rescue is hours away rather than minutes; the life jacket only works if you're wearing it. Competent sailors build safety as a stack — equipment, training, drills, and habits — that compounds.
This guide covers the four pieces of equipment that matter most, and the drills that turn ownership into competence.
VHF radio: the first call
A correctly fitted DSC-equipped VHF is the most useful piece of safety gear aboard. It connects you to other boats, to marinas, to the coastguard, and (with DSC) to a digital distress call that automatically transmits your position.
The basics every skipper should know:
Channel 16. International distress and calling. Always monitored when at sea. Channel 67. UK coastguard small craft safety in some areas. Channel 9. Some UK marinas; check local conventions. Channel 80. UK marinas standard working channel. A digital MMSI number. Programmed once into the radio at first install. Identifies your boat globally on DSC.
The mayday procedure (memorise the format):
Mayday Mayday Mayday — this is yacht name, yacht name, yacht name — Mayday — this is yacht name, MMSI number, callsign — position latitude longitude or bearing and distance from a named point — nature of distress (e.g., crew overboard / sinking / fire on board) — assistance required — number of persons on board — over.
The DSC distress button (red, often under a flap) sends the same information automatically when pressed for five seconds. Always send DSC first, then voice on Channel 16.
A handheld VHF as a backup, kept in the grab bag, is essential. Hard-wired VHFs fail when the boat does.
The Short Range Certificate (SRC) is the legal qualification to use VHF in the UK. Get it before you sail.
EPIRB and PLB: the long-range backup
A 406 MHz EPIRB or PLB transmits a registered distress signal to the international Cospas-Sarsat satellite system. Within minutes, the relevant national rescue authority is notified with your position.
EPIRB. Boat-mounted, larger, broadcasts indefinitely on water activation. Standard for offshore-equipped yachts. Mount in a HRU (hydrostatic release unit) so it floats free if the boat sinks.
PLB. Personal, small, attaches to a life jacket or pocket. Activates on manual button press. Increasingly common as a personal-level backup for ocean cruising and offshore racing.
Both must be registered in the country of the vessel's flag. UK boats register with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Registration is free, takes ten minutes online, and dramatically speeds the rescue response. An unregistered EPIRB still works but rescue starts hours later than it should.
Service the battery on the schedule the manufacturer specifies. Don't store an EPIRB upside down; some types release the antenna.
Life jackets and harnesses: the layer between you and the sea
The life jacket is the single piece of gear that's worn rather than stowed. Choose carefully:
Type. Self-inflating (CO2-cylinder activated). Manual inflation is a backup, not the primary mode. Solid foam types are heavy and awkward; gas types are standard for cruising.
Buoyancy rating. 150 Newtons is the cruising standard for adults wearing waterproofs. 275 Newtons (offshore rating) for very wet or cold conditions.
Crotch strap. Non-negotiable. A life jacket without a crotch strap rides up over the wearer's head when they hit the water.
Harness point. A built-in D-ring lets you clip a tether to the jacket itself, which is more comfortable than a separate harness.
Light. A small water-activated light attached to the jacket — make sure yours has one and the battery is fresh.
Personal AIS beacon. Increasingly common: a small AIS transmitter clipped to the jacket. When activated, your position is broadcast to every AIS-equipped vessel within VHF range. Greatly improves rescue chances at night.
Wear them. The standard rule: at night, in fog, in heavy weather, always; in calm daylight cruising, at the skipper's call. Don't argue with the rule. Crew who push back about wearing jackets at night are signalling they don't yet understand night sailing.
MOB: the procedure that matters
Crew overboard is the worst case. Even on a calm day, recovering a person to deck is hard. At night, in waves, with cold water, it can be impossible without practice.
The standard MOB procedure (memorise this):
- Shout "Crew overboard, port/starboard side!" Everyone aboard hears it.
- Throw the buoyancy aid. A horseshoe or dan-buoy goes immediately, even if the casualty is close — the casualty needs flotation now, and the dan-buoy gives you a marker.
- Press the MOB button on the GPS or chartplotter. Logs the position the casualty went over.
- Assign one crew member to point at the casualty constantly. Eyes-on-target, no exceptions, until recovered.
- Manoeuvre the boat back to the casualty. A choice of techniques (figure-of-eight, quick-stop, deep-beam reach) depending on conditions.
- Approach from leeward. Stop the boat with the casualty on the windward side.
- Recover. Throat line or recovery sling for a conscious casualty. Block-and-tackle or engine-driven recovery for an unconscious casualty.
- Treat for hypothermia and shock. Even brief immersion in UK waters drops body temperature.
This procedure must be drilled. Reading it is not the same as having done it. RYA practical courses include MOB drills under sail; do the drill at least annually with your own crew on your own boat. The first time you try it, the boat will be in the wrong position, the throw will miss, and the casualty (a fender, in drill) will drift past out of reach. The tenth time, it works.
Other essentials worth naming
A complete cruising safety stack also includes:
- Liferaft. Serviced annually. Sized for crew + 1. Mounted accessibly.
- Flares. In date. White, red, and orange smoke (UK standard for an offshore-equipped boat).
- First aid kit. Comprehensive, including motion-sickness medication and extra prescription items for crew with medical conditions.
- Grab bag. In a known place. Includes flares, handheld VHF, EPIRB, water, snacks, light, knife, spare glasses, basic first aid.
- Tethers and jacklines. Two-leg tethers per crew. Jacklines run fore and aft on each side deck before any night passage or rough conditions.
- Fire extinguishers. In date. Galley extinguisher in the galley; engine compartment extinguisher accessible from outside the engine bay.
- Bilge pump. Manual, working, mounted accessibly. The electric pump is a backup for the manual, not the other way round.
Drills
Equipment without drills is decoration. Twice a year minimum, with your normal crew:
- MOB recovery under sail
- Mayday call practice (on a test channel, with a partner ashore monitoring)
- Liferaft deployment (in a marina, with the manufacturer's deployment procedure)
- Fire response (galley fire and engine fire scenarios — talked through, not actually lit)
- Hypothermia recognition and treatment
The drills feel awkward. They reveal small problems (the dan-buoy lashing has corroded; the handheld VHF battery is flat; nobody remembers the MMSI number). Fix the small problems before they become big ones.
Where to find safety gear and training
The directory on this site lists UK chandlers, safety equipment specialists, and rescue-and-safety training providers in the Safety & Rescue and Training categories. The RYA and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency publish the most authoritative free guidance on safety procedures and certification.