paul.j said...surf4fun said...
There is another race on today so Dean and all the organisers are still over here.
The rules weren't changed last minute re life jackets/bum bags it was something that SUPWA had approached Dean about and he said that for SUPWA members they could wear the bumbags. I am sure Greg (the president) will chime in with all the details and exactly how and why it happened.
Having said that were there ski guys wearing the bumbags? Because if they were it seems unfair that only the SUPs had to wear jackets.
That's all cool but no one from the east coast knew about it and if it was not last min thing then everyone should have been notified! No real big deal though everyone had unreal fun and it was goodd to see the wind for the race.
Hi Guys I didn't want to steer the thread away from what was a fantastic Doctor, well done to Travis, Beau and Lincoln as well as everyone that competed.
I explain the background to this situation:
In July 2012 the WA Department of Transport (DoT) changed its regulations on offshore paddle craft. It deemed PFD 1 (including inflatables), 2 and 3 were acceptable minimal safety equipment. Prior to this only PFD1 (including inflatables) were accepted, so the organisers of the Doctor had to apply for an exemption to allow PFD2 and 3 - which is why they deemed PFD 2-3 the choice as they had made the effort for the exemption and provided the additional safety boats
SUPWA has worked with the WA DoT to comply with optimal PFD - which they recommend as the PFD type 1 (inflatable accepted), but PFD 2 and 3 are also accepted. Our personal insurance is based off this regulation and this forms the basis for our membership and all our offshore events. All Aocra events and combined CWA (with SUPWA) events have also followed this protoccol. The only SUP event in WA that doesn't was the Doctor.
We approached the organisers of the Doctor on behalf of our members and the growth of SUP in WA. The issue we had was the fact the event didn't allow for choice - which the new DoT regulations dictate - PFD 1 (inflatable accepted), PFD2 & 3, which we had worked to put in place for our members. We also arrange a PFD 1 inflatable canister service for our members as part of seasonal scrutiny of safety equipment (any PFD type 1 older than 2 years use have to have a service certificate to be used in our events).
Dean was considerate of our issue and it was proposed that we (SUPWA) would take responsibility to ensure scrutiny of all PFD 1 inflatables for the doctor. For this reason this was only open to SUPWA members.
There was no intention of exclusivity in this allowance, simply complying with local regulations and the organisers taking on local input and the fact we had an existing scrutiny process in place. Listening to Beau, Zane and Lincoln yesterday it is apparent that all events overseas allow use of PFD 1 inflatables. If you feel that your local events should comply, contact your State affiliated SUP club/association and support them to act to standised safety equipment (there are moves under foot toward this National standard for SUP).
Sorry this is long (difficult to explain without the background). The 2013 Doctor was a great event, superbly organised and we are appreciative of the organisers allowing SUPs to take part as well as an interest in the development of our sport.
cheers
Greg
