Schedule and Program
Safety equipment
Navigation rules
Tips and Suggestions
Safety rules
Declaration of indemnity

Schedule and Program

    
We recommend to bring with you a minimun safety equipment:

- VHF (mandatory!!)
- anchor
- line 10-20 m long
- oars

- life jackets

- compass

- lights

- whistle

- first-aid kit

- boots

- mooring lines

- fenders

- binocular

- sailing suite

- adequate clothing

- sleeping bag

- sun cream

- water and mineral salts

- umbrella/canopy

- insects repellent

We suggest you mark your luggage with the name of the owner of the boat in order to recognize it in case of massive transport from the mooring to the accommodation.

WARNING: the luggage, however, must be transported and kept safely by each owners on board of their own boat.

The Organization will not take any responsibility for your luggage.

Good mood and willingness to adapt will be greatly appreciated as well as your understanding if something won’t be organized exactly as you would have thought or preferred.

    
NAVIGATION RULES

Issued by HARBOUR OF VENICE Ordinance no. 175/2009: ART. 10  Sailing

The sailing in the harbor waters is prohibited with the following exceptions:Units sailing boat is allowed to make sailing in the Lagoon sea channels, only in daylight hours, with the observance of the following special rules:

a) The units in sailing, in the channels of great Navigation, do not have the right of way on the drive motor boats, especially the ones dedicated to the public transport
b) All units sailing, with or without motor, must stay in the sea channels without taking strange routes and reducing as much as possible the tacking only in case of need.

TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS

The VelaRaid routes will bring us to see and visit the lagoon of Venice as a whole; we will move from channels navigable by ships to "palughi" with a few inches of water, from muddy to rocky surfaces or even worse, with broken shells that are very sharp, from areas sheltered from salt marshes to open waters with no shelter.

You should know where you are and where you are going.

The first thing to consider is the tide; it has a cycle of 12 hours. It is better to avoid run aground with the ebbing tide; you can certainly lighten the boat and push her out from the mud but pay attention! Better if you wear shoes because there are areas with mussels or other debris on the bottom, sometimes very sharp.

Outside the channels and in shallow water, you might find some fishing nets, "the seragie" which are 20-30 meters long  and held by the wooden stakes. Sometimes you see them too late, and you can also pass through the center where there is an opening: it is better if you pull on the keel and the rudder if possible. Remember,

however, that if damage is done you are responsible to refund the owners. In the areas of shallow water you can find other poles, of all types.  

Isolated thin poles indicate a mudbank or a wreck or stones or other things: better to keep a few feet away and in case test the depth of the water from the bow of your boat with a boat hook or a stick.

When you see the big wooden poles “bricole”, it will means that you are near a canal, a waterway. Usually between the shoal and the channel there is a strip of higher land. The canal may be designated by 1 or 2 rows of bricole. The beginning of a navigable channel is indicated by a particular type of bricola, having one central pole higher than the others. 

In the main channels there is a reflective tag attached to the bricola on the navigable side of the channel.

The bottom is generally muddy and then an error of assessment of the depth normally leads only to stop, but there are the "hard dry", particularly "Bacan" on the East side of S. Erasmo island.

The prevailing winds in the lagoon are bora from the North-East and scirocco, from the South‐East. Both can achieve strong intensity.

Sometimes in bad weather conditions you can experience a dragging anchor. Please notice that in the lagoon you can find several opportunities to find a shelter near an island or a “barena”. In case of emergency you can also tie the boat to a bricola or a pole.

If you have any problems, please notify the organizers before disappearing on the horizon (out of range of VHF and without coverage for cell phones).

       
SAFETY RULES

Each boat participates in the raid along with the fleet.
There is a chain of command and the raiders are required to respect it. Decisions will be taken by fleet leader, supported by the deputy head of the fleet.

All participants are requested to respect the sea’s law: if a boat needs help than report the problem to the other participants and they are required to stop and help.

Personal Responsibility

•    It is each skipper’s responsibility to ensure that their boat is equipped for coastal navigation and maintained in such as to be safe under all conditions that may occur during the course of Sail Raid. 

•    At any time of the raid the skipper is responsible for the safety of the boat and its crew: every decision must reflect an awareness of this responsibility.

•    it is part of the responsibility of the skipper to navigate while protecting the fleet and possibly report any navigation problem.

Support

•    A safety boat is assigned to the fleet and has the task of supervising navigation, communication to the fleet, logistic organization. Each participant agrees to follow the instructions of the safety boat. The person in charge of the safety boat is capoflotta (fleet leader) 


•    In the event of unavailability for any reason of the capoflotta, there is a deputy/vice-capoflotta who takes over. Before departure each skipper will be informed about who is capoflotta and who is vice-capoflotta 


Safety Policy and Team Sailing

We intend to have two boats available, to provide safety cover for the smaller boats, and to supervise safety and communication for the fleet as a whole.

Personal Responsibility

We don’t see the assistance boats as being the main safety resource. It is the skippers and crews of the boats themselves who will take the moment-by-moment decisions which will take them into danger, or away from it, and in most cases solve the problems which arise. They need to take appropriate and informed decisions at all stages of the Raid. 
They are also responsible for equipping their boats for inshore and coastal sailing*, and for maintaining them so that they remain seaworthy in any conditions they are likely to encounter during the Raid.


Collective Responsibility

In order to develop a sense of collective responsibility within the fleet for its safety, the fleet will be divided into teams, each containing a mix of smaller and larger boats, and in each team there will be a motor-equipped ‘first-responder’ whose crew will scan ‘their’ team throughout the passage-making to ensure a rapid response to any problems which arise. They should be equipped with VHF to inform the covering boats if a situation develops which is requiring their intervention, or is beyond the resources available to the boats in the team. 


This policy assumes that boats with different speeds will stay in sight and hailing distance of each other. The fast boats will need to sail longer courses and return to the group from time to time.
Under this policy if a problem develops for one or two boats in a team, the team as a whole slows down. If we offer prizes at all for sailing, it will be for the teams which look most together at certain passage-points and not for those which arrive first.

The teams will carry  flags in their rigging so we all know who they are. In case of emergency or need to provide assistance/rescue to one or more boats, the head of the fleet or fleet leader on the assistance boat will rely on the support of those raiders who have offered “Assistance OK” to the capoflotta.

It is to be noted and known that Velaraid shall not be liable for any loss, damage, death or personal injury howsoever caused to the Owner/Skipper or crew, as a result of their taking part in the event. Moreover, every owner/Skipper warrants the suitability of his boat for the event. The safety of a boat and its entire management including insurance shall be the sole responsibility of the owner/skipper, who must ensure that the boat is fully found, thoroughly seaworthy, manned by a crew sufficient in number and experienced who are physically fit to face bad weather. The Owner/skipper must be satisfied as the soundness of the hull, spars, rigging and all gear. He must ensure that all safety equipment is properly maintained, stowed and in date and that the crew know where it is kept and how it is to be used.