With the summer season fast approaching, Bermuda Water Safety Council is inviting boat owners to attend a seminar to avoid and deal with emergency situations.

Chairman Ralph Richardson said the preseason class would provide new boat owners with basic tools and knowledge to stay safe on the water. The seminar is designed to be practical with part of it taking place aboard Police Marine boats when participants will get hands on experience in using radio communications equipment.

It is the second year the council has hosted the course which will be led by trainers at Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and members of the council.

Mr Richardson said: “The council is an information committee that tries to get out messages about water safety on a regular basis but we decided to not just say you should do something but provide the means for people to get the knowledge.

“The focus is to provide safety training and the basic seminar on how to use fire extinguishers, how to use all types of safety equipment but it is also very practical.

“We re-enact different situations on the water like how boats should approach each other in certain conditions and how they take the right method to avoid a collision. There will also be boat handling to show new boaters about how they can handle certain boats in different conditions.”

Mr Richardson said the real focus this year would be on using radio communication on the water.

“A lot of people buy boats and radios and have no idea how to use them, they try to learn by error which is not good so there will be a practical training session on how to use marine VHF radios, make emergency calls as well as some other VHF features such as Digital Select Calling.

“Sometimes people have one chance to make an emergency call before the fire spreads, etc and they just say, ‘I am in trouble’ and don’t give the location, the nature of accident or how many people are on board so that Harbour Radio can prepare the proper resources to get out to them.

“I taught the Royal Yachting Association courses at the Bermuda College for several years. Every exam requires you give a marine call that you are able to write what you would say in a particular emergency.”

No training is required for owners to operate boats on the water.

Mr Richardson added: “In other countries US and Canada some sort of training is mandatory. That is not going to happen in Bermuda in a hurry — legislation has to be enacted — but we are working on a plan that will make basic information available to all boaters and that is something we will be announcing soon.”

He added: “The rules for approaching boats aren’t as simple as they are on the road because there are no boundaries. When you approach another boat there are certain actions to take and mistakes are often made.

“Another common thing is at night — many don’t realise the dangers of travelling at night. Some of the most serious accidents where there has been major damage or loss of life or major injury, they have occurred at night when people have hit things they didn’t realise were there.”

The seminar takes place on May 17 from 1pm to 4.30pm at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club with a fee of $10.

Those intending to attend must preregister by e-mailing njtrott@gov.bm. For more information visit www.wsc.bm