Does the thought of crossing a bar intimidate you? Well there is no need for it to. Crossing a bar is perfectly safe when you know what you are doing.
This is the latest and newest course recognised by the Coastguard available to teach people best practice for crossing a bar. We will teach all the required theory, then hop on a boat with an instructor and go out to a bar for some practical driving and learning how to take on waves correctly and safely.
The Bar Crossing course consists of the following and will take one day:
Theory
- Bar formation
- Tide effects
- Wind/wave/swell effects
- Shifting of channel
- Local knowledge
Visual observation/orientation
- View/observe
- Sketch channel
- ‘Reading’ waves
Safety Precautions
- PFDS
- Boat checks
- Secure loose gear
- Crew Brief
- SAR watch/Bar watch/TR
Strategy
- Approach
- Observe
- Boat handling techniques
- Throttles
- Trim
- Commitment – if in doubt don’t go out.
What if it goes wrong?
- MOB
- Break-down/engine/fuel
- Rogue waves
- Grounding
MNZ resources
- Safety guidelines & bar crossing DVD
- Accident reports & lessons learned
- Bar crossing sticker