Two RYA sail training centres have been 'derecognised' by the RYA and their Directors prosecuted by the Maritime & CoastGuard Agency (MCA) for certification and coding offences. At Southampton Crown Court on Friday 4th February 2011, the two commercial yacht operators pleaded guilty to using unsafe commercial yachts on trans-Atlantic voyages when carrying students signed up for RYA training courses.

Two separate operators, George Haworth of In2Sail Ltd and Colin Thomas of Straits Sailing had taken advantage of the growth in demand for trans-Atlantic sail training. Both used the internet to sell training courses for those wanting to go from novice to Yachtmaster Ocean.

 

They ran inclusive costly courses but did not have vessels equipped to the minimum levels of lifesaving equipment.

It was shown that George Haworth had sent students on a voyage from Cowes to St Lucia with a skipper that was not properly qualified on a yacht that had only the basic equipment to operate no more than 60 miles from a safe haven. Prosecutor Mary Gibbons told Southampton Crown Court that as managing director of In2Sail, Haworth had:

* Allowed the boat on a commercial voyage from Cowes to Tenerife and then from Tenerife to St Lucia to proceed beyond a safe haven that the skipper was qualified to go
* Permitted the trip to be undertaken without a qualified mate on board
* Failed to have two life rafts on board
* Failed to have communications equipment on board which was operable outside the VHF range
* Failed to have appropriate medical equipment

The voyage is classfied under the coding regulations as a category 0 voyage, but the yacht did not meet category 0 requirements. These require a skipper to hold a Yachtmaster Ocean qualification with a commercial endorsement, and to carry a First Mate with at least Yachtmaster Offshore qualification. It requires Category 0 vessels to carry liferafts "of such number and capacity that, in the event of any one liferaft being lost or rendered unserviceable, there is sufficient capacity remaining for all on board" (MCA Coding requirements). Category 0 coding also requires a yacht to carry a radio installation capable of transmitting and receiving messages to and from a radio communications centre on land.

The yacht Quay Three had only one valais liferaft stowed in a locker and the only means of distress alerting was by a VHF radio (of limited range) and an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon). The vessel had no qualified mate.

Colin Thomas of Straits Sailing was endeavouring to try and get his yacht, Summer Breeze of Haslar up to the required coding category to legally do trans-Atlantic crossings from Gibraltar to the Caribbean but could not get the vessel through the required stability test. He had already taken bookings from students and sailed without a qualified mate and with only one liferaft. Mr. Thomas, an experienced Yachtmaster did not have the required qualifications to take an uncoded yacht across the Atlantic.

As soon as the RYA learned of these matters, they suspended their recognition of In2Sail and Straits Sailing

George Haworth of In2Sail was fined a total of £16,000 including costs and Colin Thomas was fined a total of £17,549. Both were given a default prison sentence of 6 months if the fines were not paid within 6 months.

Simon Milne, Head of Vessel Policy at the MCA said: "The codes of practice for small commercial vessels lay down minimum safety standards. Some sailing schools and charters go above minimum standards. In both these cases the operators fell very well short of even the expected standards.

RYA Training Manager, Richard Falk, said: "The RYA sets strict guidelines for schools that operate under RYA Training Centre recognition. These guidelines are in line with MCA coding requirements and are designed specifically to safeguard those people who choose to undertake a sailing course through one of our recognized training centres. All our practical training centres across 44 countries are subject to a rigorous annual inspection to ensure compliance with the required standards. We will not hesitate to suspend or derecognize any RYA training centre that compromises the safety of its students. In the cases of both Straits Sailing and In2Sail Ltd the operators had failed to comply with the requirements of RYA recognition and as a consequence their businesses were derecognised".

Both In2Sail Ltd and Straits Sailing are now operating as Charter companies in the Caribbean. In2Sail's website says: "Our philosophy is simple, ‘be safe and enjoy a brilliant and memorable time on the water’,