Paris, prevention and safety at the Nautic

For starters this week, the Nautic is placing a large amount of emphasis on the topic of prevention. In this way, Macif and the French Lifeboat Association have made it a point of honour to raise awareness on the subject amongst the public and professionals who were out in force again at the Porte de Versailles today. Their campaign includes the hosting of teaching sessions and supportive operations for young and old alike. As such, prevention and safety were at the top of the agenda at today’s boat show.

SNSM (RNLI-equivalent): volunteers at the heart of the Nautic Taking centre stage again at this year’s Nautic are several measures to highlight the work of those who embody France’s lifeboat association, from those in an On-board Rescuers’ station, to a training centre for Rescue Swimmers, and those based at the association’s headquarters. The association has geared its stand around the theme of voluntary work, inviting sailors, stars and volunteers to come along to chat and air their views on human commitment on its web radio platform. In conjunction with this operation, a rich programme of entertainment punctuates the days at the boat show: a lifejacket workshop to learn to select the right equipment and discover how to maintain it, rescue demonstrations, a sailor knot workshop, and a Christmas shopping boutique with proceeds going to the rescue services. This afternoon, between 1300 and 1400 GMT, the public also had the chance to attend a demonstration by three rescue dogs in the pool at the Spot Nautic. Macif operation to locate a man overboard Within the context of the Nautic, instructors from the Macif Centre de Voile cruise training school are organising demonstrations to locate liferafts, automatic lifejackets as well as systems for pinpointing a man overboard. The reasoning behind this is that Macif is very involved in actions benefiting the prevention of risk and safety at sea. This project is notably fuelled by a substantial awareness campaign carried out in the region by Macif Prévention and the Macif Centre de Voile. Eco-design: Brittany commits to sustainable watersports with Roland Jourdain Armed with an abundance of resources and skills in the domain of offshore racing and competitive sailing, today Brittany is stamping its mark in eco-design, an area where the focus on sustainable, responsible watersports is combined with a taste for innovation. To provide an insight into the vitality of this developing sector, the Bretagne Développement Innovation agency has organised a 100% eco-design meet at the Nautic. The most dynamic protagonists on the subject, who share a solid spirit, showcased their various projects, all of which have a common aim: that of getting people to rack their brains and roll up their sleeves to reduce the environmental impact of marine activities. And in the land of eco-design ‘made in Brittany’ all roads lead to Kaïros. Indeed Roland Jourdain’s offshore racing stable, which no longer has to prove its expertise in terms of composite materials, is involved in the very core of some of the most avant-garde projects relating to the use of biomaterials (flax, cork…) and eco-sourced resin. Evidence of the solidity of this concept comes with the Tricat 25 eco-design, which the skipper has been getting his head around for the past few months in order to validate these new composites. NB: on Wednesday, between 1500 and 1600 GMT on the Nautic Stage, the French Marine Industry Federation is running a must-see conference on this theme of eco-design: “The organised and responsible marine industry”. Conference by Francis Giniaux Francis Giniaux, Director of Sail The World, the primary European Association for long-distance cruising, boasts a vast experience of offshore sailing. A trained psychologist, he has created and run a management institute for several years within a large international group, which has enabled him to acquire genuine expertise on the links between climate and team performance. At the Nautic this Monday, he gave a conference called “Un tour de l’Atlantique” (A tour of the Atlantic) where he distilled some precious advice to the public with regard prevention and managing tension aboard. Safety equipment: he who can do more can do less! This is unquestionably the most useful precept when you cast off for the open ocean or a jaunt along the coast. The equipment manufacturers have grasped this fact and have developed a whole range of expert safety products, which they are showcasing in Hall 2.1 of the Nautic. In this way, Icom, the world leader in radiotelephony, is presenting an ultra-comprehensive fixed VHF, the IC-M506. Naturally it is completely watertight and connects to the on-board network via the plug & play NMEA 2000, which is par for the course now with regard anything electronic aboard, and integrates two key technologies for safe navigation: the AIS and the ASN. The former enables automated surveillance of the water, the second a simplified dialogue with its contacts and the sending of standardised distress messages. Innovations also abound in the lifejacket domain and though the antiquated foam jacket has long since had its day, the first generation self-inflating jacket is also taking a back seat now given the plethora of new, innovative products like the Deckwest 5D. Less cumbersome, lighter and more hardwearing, they integrate a multitude of options (beacons, knife, flashlight, kits, etc.) and above all they are safer. The latest range includes the Survival 220 by Sécumar, whose ergonomics and inflatable lungs have benefited from a massive amount of development work by the German manufacturer. The result is a jacket that is more comfortable to wear and provides a genuine feeling of lightness that, once inflated, provides greater buoyancy than on earlier models. Another plus in this new generation of jackets is that the personal distress beacons have become miniature and ultra high-performance. At Furuno, there is the minuscule Ocean Signal PLB, which is registered on the Sarsat Cospas site and triggers a rescue via satellite in the event that there is a man overboard incident. Similar devices include the new McMurdo FastFind from Navicom or the MT410G by GME at MCTechnologies. The Nautic also contains some personal AIS beacons, like the new McMurdo S10, which is watertight to a depth of 60m and enables a diver in difficulty to be rapidly located. Finally, despite being a more trivial navigation aid, Topoplastic is showcasing its fluorescent yellow marinised headtorch at a price that beats down the competition. At less than €30 you get an LED torch with a range of 200m integrating a directional flashlight mode that can shine constantly for some 4 hours. He who can do more and do less: this headtorch is watertight to a depth of 50m! Evidently Hall 2.1 is reminiscent of an immense Aladdin’s cave, where all the latest equipment is presented to the public, including the latest innovations in terms of power, deck fittings and comfort through to the most innovative safety devices. The progress made in this area since Eric Tabarly’s victory in 1964 are impressive, drastically reducing the risk at sea so that the sailor can concentrate on just enjoying being out on the water. The Nautic – Salon Nautique International de Paris, is an exhibition from the « Fédération des industries nautiques », organized by Reed Expositions France, a division of Reed Business. Fédération des Industries Nautiques Port de Javel Haut -75015 Paris – France www.industriesnautiques.fr – [email protected] President of the Nautic – Salon Nautique International de Paris : Yves Lyon-Caen Commissioner General : Alain Pichavant Organization Reed Expositions France – Culture, Luxury and Leisure pole E-mail : [email protected] – www.salonnautiqueparis.com.