Port Melbourne

Read the wind, the tide and the change before you launch. Match clothing, sun cover and wetsuits to the day.

Cold and heat: the crew check each other, not only the instructor — the one affected is the last to notice.

• Cold: shivering that won't stop → off the water and warm up. Shivering stopping while still cold is worse, not better.
• Heat: confusion, stumbling, or skin that's stopped sweating → Triple Zero (000) and cool fast.
• In doubt either way, head in.

Full signs and steps on the Cold & Heat page.

Water quality: stormwater after rain lifts the bacteria count — hold off immersion a day or two after heavy rain, worse near drains and the pier outfalls. Check EPA's water-quality and incident map for Port Melbourne.

The area & the launch

• The triangle: Station Pier — Lagoon Pier — the G marker. Depth about 2–5 m.
• Launch from the east beach by the club (the Dog Beach) — the shared 5-knot zone, and no access lane, so 5 knots the whole way to 200 m. Stay clear of the Port Melbourne lifesaving-club swim-only zone.
• Sandbank 20–30 m out: seen at high tide, barely covered at low. Wade the boat onto / past it to launch; head into the wind just short of it to land. Don't copy the cat sailors up the sand.

The piers

• Lagoon Pier (ESE): wide berth. The stormwater drain ~100 m short is the turn-back line. Fishing lines; kids jumping.
• Station Pier (W): keep 50 m and well clear of a berthed ship — check today against the cruise-ship schedule (the east berth is “OESP”).

Traffic, marks & wildlife

• Jet skis are the number-one hazard, even in the 5-knot band. Swimmers, SUPs, dogs on the Dog Beach, anchored fishing boats between club and G marker, water police.
• The G marker is a race mark for the big clubs — leave it when a yacht fleet is heading for it.
• Dolphins on flat northerly mornings; jellyfish in season.

• Start and end.
• Plan summary.
• Boat allocations and roles.

Current time is in the header.

• Help — one fist overhead, or two fists overhead.
• Attention, come closer — a low one-hand wave.
• Fun — any other wave, with a happy face.

Return To Shore (RTS)

From the power boat: whistle, shout, November flag. Every boat returns on its own — shortest and safest way the captain judges. Don't wait for a further signal. Any beach will do, through a swim zone or beyond Lagoon Pier if needed; ideally the club launch. Regroup on the beach.

Radio: VHF generally CH 73.

Buddy system & counting

No one alone, ashore or afloat. The fleet looks after itself and stays together. X3s: small, orange stripe, 1–4 of them. Quest: bigger, white mast float, green accents, only one. Count before, count often, spot the gap — everyone's job.

Capsize drill

Reviewed on land each time. The three to remember:

• Stay calm.
• Is everyone OK?
• Hold on to the boat.

Then: bow to wind, weight on the centreboard, take control, collect crew, set lines, sail on. Several boats over at once — stay calm, stay out of the water if you can, wait; someone will come.

First aid

Notify the safety boat first — it radios ahead. Kits: clubhouse upstairs by the tower stairs, and the boat shed by the sailing-school shed. Log what's used; incident report usually needed. Small cut, help yourself; anything real, get assistance.

Head knocks — concussion

A knock to the head doesn't always show at once, and the one hit is the worst judge of it — so the crew watches.

• Knocked out, even for a second → Triple Zero (000); treat the neck as injured too.
• A hard knock → come in and sit it out; don't sail on to test it.
• A light bump → keep an eye out; it can come on over hours.

If in doubt, stay ashore or head back in — rest, and keep watching. The graded response and signs are on the Concussion page.