It is imperative that all clubs and schools affiliated with Rowing Tasmania, as recommended by Rowing Australia, have an appointed safety officer who is responsible for developing and maintaining a Safety Management Plan (SMP). This SMP must adequately cover the situation of crews rowing alone and training without a coach boat.
MAST has worked with Rowing Tasmania to produce a guide to make rowing safer for all in Tasmania. This guide covers :
- Safety equipment for coach boats
- Lighting requirements for coach and rescue boats
- Lighting requirements for rowing shells
- Rescue in the event of rowing shell capsize
- Exclusion zones
- Correct side of channel for rowing
- Tamar Map
- Tasport’s advice to Rowers and Coaches
This guide should be used in conjunction with the Rowing Australia, On Water Guidelines.
Life Jackets
A person in a rowing shell must wear an approved life jacket unless accompanied by a powered craft that remains within 500 metres of the rowing shell at all times. The powered craft must also carry four approved life jackets for the people in the rowing shell, in addition to the life jackets required for those on the powered craft.
Life jackets are not required to be worn in a rowing shell that is being used for, or in connection with a rowing competition, regatta, event or other race that is being promoted, controlled, managed or conducted by Rowing Tasmania.
Lighting Requirements
Navigational light requirements – rowing shells
Lighting requirements are as follows:-
- a white strobe light on the bow with 360 degrees of visibility, for at least one nautical mile, when operated between sunset and sunrise.
- a white light on the stern with 270 degrees visibility aft of the stern, for at least one nautical mile, when operated between sunset and sunrise.
Navigation light requirements – coach, rescue boats
• Port and starboard side lights showing an arc of unbroken light of 112.5 degrees from the bow (combined 225 degrees); and
• An all round white light showing an unbroken light over an arc of 360 degrees OR a stern light and mast head light.
Lake Barrington Rowing Course
The following map details the requirements when operating on and around the rowing course.
These rules should be adhered to at all times. Courtesy and patience should also be shown when regattas are being conducted or when rowing shells are using the Lake for either competition or training.
