Respecting the elements is essential to enjoying our sport. JOG has always placed great emphasis on the importance of safety at sea, setting clear rules about safety requirements right from the outset in 1950.
Today is no different, JOG expects competitors to race responsibly and make appropriate provision for the safety of crews and boats, and maintain equipment carefully. Respecting the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea is a given, and beyond that JOG race under very clear general conditions , special regulations and JOG Prescriptions (set out in the Notice of Race available to download).
Inshore / Coastal races tend to fall under ISAF Category 4, our (mostly cross-Channel) Offshore races are generally subject to ISAF Category 3 compliance with Liferaft from Category 2. Some of the occasional longer distance offshore races, like the the second leg of the 2013 BNY Mellon Challenge from La Trinité to Cascais are Category 2.
Anyone who enjoys watersports hopes that they will never reed to resort to the aid of the RNLI of whom JOG are staunch supporters. We raise money for the RNLI every year at the JOG Prizegiving dinner and many of our club members are individual members too. The RNLI provides an amazing service and are entirely reliant on donations and membership subscription fees so every member makes a difference.
Many yachts now have an AIS transponder that enables your friends and family to follow your progress in a race. Here are a couple of websites which have AIS trackers for starters:
Marine Traffic AIS (also available as an iPhone app)
Ship AIS