Ocean Signal: Ocean Signal Supplies Man Overboard Devices for Dauntsey’s School Tall Ship Jolie Brise

Crew of famous gaff-rigged pilot cutter will be equipped with rescueME MOB1s for Rendez-vous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta

Ocean Signal has supplied its rescueME MOB1s for the crew of Dauntsey’s School Sailing Club tall ship Jolie Brise in preparation for their participation in a challenging transatlantic race, the Rendez-vous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta.

Visiting Portugal, Bermuda, the US, Canada and France, the famous 1913-built 56ft gaff-rigged pilot cutter is one of the tall ships from all over the world converging for the five-month event to mark the 150^th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation, starting in Greenwich and covering some 7,000 nautical miles.

Head of Sailing at Dauntsey’s Toby Marris is equipped with 12 of the Ocean Signal devices to enhance safety on board for the crew, usually consisting of 10 trainees, plus a skipper and first mate.

The award-winning Ocean Signal rescueME MOB1 will greatly improve the chances of retrieving anyone who has fallen into the sea. It incorporates both AIS and DSC technologies to provide two methods of communicating back to the vessel, plus visual indication with the integrated strobe light. Once the MOB1 is activated, it transmits an alert within 15 seconds to all AIS receivers and AIS-enabled plotters in the vicinity as well as activating the DSC alarm on the vessel’s VHF radio to alert fellow crew members.

Toby Marris, who has managed the Dauntsey’s School-owned Jolie Brise for 24 years, said: “With this significant celebration and regatta in 2017, we wanted very good safety equipment, particularly for the students on the leg from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Le Havre, France. The AIS technology is really a game-changer for us. In a rigged cutter like Jolie Brise, turning the boat around quickly can be very dangerous for the people on deck, so the chances are quite high that we could lose sight of someone who has fallen overboard. We really liked the Ocean Signal rescueME MOB1 because the trigger mechanism goes round the bladder of the life jacket and the aerial is harder to obstruct. It is also really important to us that the Ocean Signal MOB triggers a DSC alert as well, setting off an alarm on the VHF radio.”

Jolie Brise’s participation in Rendez-vous 2017 started at the port of Royal Greenwich on April 13, and is followed by stops at Sines, Portugal, and then Bermuda to coincide with the 35th America’s Cup. Boston and the Gulf of St Lawrence are the next ports of call before the rallying point at Québec City for the main focus of a tour of Canadian waters when thousands of people will have the opportunity to admire more than 40 Tall Ships at host ports in Ontario, Québec and the Maritimes. The final leg for Jolie Brise will be from Halifax to La Havre, where the tall ship was originally built.

James Hewitt, Sales and Marketing Manager at Ocean Signal, said: “It is a pleasure to support the crew of Jolie Brise and such an inspiring venture which gives so many young people the chance to experience life on an historic vessel and to visit different places around the world. We are very pleased to add another level of safety for all the crew with our AIS man overboard devices and wish them all the best on their future voyages.”

Jolie Brise has been owned, maintained and sailed by the pupils of Dauntsey’s School for 40 years and is currently under the command of full-time skipper Toby Marris and first mate Adam Seager.

The pilot cutter was the last boat to carry the royal mail under sail and has won the Fastnet Race three times, including the inaugural race in 1925. In 2015 and 2016 she was the overall winner of the Tall Ships Races. During the spring, summer and half-term holidays, Jolie Brise cruises to Spain, Portugal, Iceland, Norway and the Shetland Islands, among other places, takes part in the Tall Ships' races, and competes in the Round the Island Race.

The award-winning Ocean Signal rescueME MOB1 will also be integrated into all lifejackets of crew taking part in the Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race through Official Supplier Ocean Safety.

More information about Jolie Brise is available on the website at www.joliebrise.com. For more details about the Ocean Signal rescueME MOB1 and other products, go to www.oceansignal.com.

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For further information, please contact:

James Hewitt

Ocean Signal

Tel: +44 (0)1843 282930

E-mail: james.hewitt@oceansignal.com

www.oceansignal.com

or

Jules Riegal

Saltwater Stone

Tel: +44(0)1202 669244

E-mail: j.riegal@saltwater-stone.com

www.saltwaterpr.com