platforms, a sense of helplessness and of desperation from crew and industry professionals, demands for change, for better resources, for something, ANYTHING to help stop this happening again. But as always, the emotions die down, people carry on, and nothing, nothing changes. So, what the hell is the yachting industry going to do about it?


So where do we start? How about with reviewing the training systems and starting from the bottom. In order to work on a yacht all crew must hold a minimum of the STCW basic safety training. First Aid? Great. Fire fighting? Excellent. Personal Survival Techniques? Fantastic! Personal Safety and Social Responsibility? Hold up what even is that? I reviewed a number of seaschool websites to find out the syllabus in an attempt to figure out what crew learn on this one day course, as surely this would be a great opportunity to address mental health, in themselves and their co-workers, surely that’s PSSR right? Apparently not.


According to the South West Maritime Academy’s website, the PSSR module “gives basic induction training in safety procedures and accident prevention and familiarises novice seafarers with employment and working conditions aboard.” Clyde Training Solutions adds, “while familiarising them with the employment conditions”. Sounds all a bit fluffy and a bit vague to me so why not use that day to cover the above (in a couple of hours as, arguably, before spending over a grand on a basic safety course you’d think the crew might have googled all that but still), and talk about mental health on board.


told me, “I’ve been saying this for some time now, but it seems getting approval to make these changes takes a very, very long time.”


Damian Martin, Head of Edmiston Yacht Management, agreed, “PSSR is a single day (often less) module. Given how the industry and how yachts have grown, I personally feel this is woefully inadequate in laying any grounding in these key areas.”


all crew with positions of responsibility have some responsibility for other human being’s welfare).”


The STCW First Aid is also just a one- day module, as any first aider knows, you can’t learn a huge amount in one 7-8 hour class, but as more senior crew have to complete more first aid qualifications why don’t we add another to the list – Psychological First Aid? In a small crew one


But as always, the emotions die down, people carry on, and nothing, nothing changes.


So, what the hell is the yachting industry going to do about it?


He rightfully pointed out how the industry takes young adults from their normal lives, and, “after a single module about what is expected of them, we throw them into a mix with a variety of people from very different societal backgrounds, in a floating tin can of pressure, with often demanding guests and then look on in amazement when some crack or break… it shouldn’t come as a surprise.”


Damian went on to discuss this further, “When we carry out an audit, we carry out a ‘root cause analysis’ to try and work out where/why something has failed… the deckhand fell off the side of the yacht because he/she wasn’t wearing a harness – that is easy to fix. The root cause analysis is very clear to me – we often set crew up to fail before they even begin, by not preparing them for what lies ahead and


We need a process in place for reporting mental health issues just as we do for reporting a


physical accident. So, MCA I’m looking at you here, let’s address that right at the start of a crew’s training.


Coping mechanisms, stress relief, what to do and who to talk to if you feel you’re struggling. We need a process in place for reporting mental health issues just as we do for reporting a physical accident. So, MCA I’m looking at you here, let’s address that right at the start of a crew’s training. Karine confirmed she feels the same and


by not equipping, auditing our leaders to ensure that they can actually look after people when they need it. You wouldn’t drive a boat without the right training, so why is it good enough to allow senior crew to take responsibility for the well- being of other crew without giving them any tools to help them (not just captains,


person could be responsible for this, in a larger crew, each HOD could attend the course in order to better understand their teams and help them cope with pressures. I spoke to Amanda Hewson-Beaver, Yacht Medic, Senior Lecturer at a University of Medicine, and Emergency Nurse, and she absolutely recognises the need for this. She’s currently in Australia and New Zealand running courses at universities for doctors working on ships, boats, and expedition vessels. Amanda explained, “I’ve been to so many conferences. Resilience and psychological first aid are big topics here for health and military personnel. I’ve just finished running four courses in psychological first aid and we actually had to incorporate psych and mental health into our marine medicine university courses.”


It’s clearly a huge area yacht training is missing at the moment; we’re being left behind by the other maritime sectors and other industries who recognise the importance of mental health.


Moving up the ladder, deck officers and engineers must complete the Human Element Leadership and Management course in addition to Advanced First Aid and Fire Fighting. Currently this is the first time courses actually touch upon the human element. There’s Operational, and then Management levels. Karine told me, “I’ve not heard particularly positive things about the HELM course. This is why I have developed a 3-month leadership course – there’s no way you can become a good leader in 3-5 days!”


ONBOARD | WINTER 2023 | 45


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