Alcohol and Safety on Board

A yacht is a small, moving space surrounded by water. Decks can be wet, the boat rolls in a swell and there are ropes, hatches and fittings to trip over. Ashore you might shrug off a stumble. On board the same stumble can mean a fall down the companionway or over the side.

Alcohol also adds to the effects of sun, heat and seasickness. It dehydrates you, and a long afternoon drinking in the sun often ends in a headache, nausea or worse. Alcohol is a well-known risk factor in drowning, because it impairs judgement and swimming ability and makes cold water more dangerous.

This guide is part of our safety information for sailing weeks.

If you have been drinking, stay out of the water until the next day. That includes jumping off the stern after lunch, a late swim in the bay and swimming back to the yacht from shore after a night out.

Take care stepping between the yacht and the quay or a tender. Falling into the gap between a hull and a quay wall is dangerous at any time and much more likely after a few drinks. Our guide to swimming safely from a yacht covers the rest.

Most evenings end in a harbour or at anchor, and the walk back to your cabin happens in the dark. A few habits keep everyone safe:

• Keep one hand for yourself and one for the yacht
• Cross the passerelle one person at a time, slowly
• Use deck lights or a torch, and wear shoes with grip
• Do not sit on the guardrails or lean on the lifelines
• Use the heads (the toilet), never the side of the yacht
• Stay in the cockpit rather than going forward on deck

If you are going ashore and returning late, tell someone on board and agree how you will get back.

At anchor, getting to shore usually means a ride in the tender, a small inflatable with an outboard engine. After dark and after drinks, these short trips need care. The person driving must be sober, and the skipper decides who that is and whether a trip is safe at all.

Sit down, keep your weight low and hold on. Wear a lifejacket if the skipper asks you to. If the skipper sets a last pickup time, be there. Water taxis are often a better choice late at night, especially in busy places such as Hvar. See our Hvar nightlife guide for more.

The skipper is responsible for the yacht and everyone on it, and stays fit to handle it at all times, including at night in case the anchor drags or the weather changes. Croatian law also sets alcohol limits for the person in charge of a vessel.

The skipper has the final say on safety, including asking someone to stop drinking, stay out of the water or stay on board. That is part of the job, and the whole group benefits.

Read house rules on board for quiet hours and how shared space works, and food and drink on board for how meals and drinks are usually arranged.

Drink water between alcoholic drinks and keep a bottle with you through the day. Eat properly, especially at lunch. Shade and a hat help more than you expect. The guide to sun and heat at sea explains the signs of heat exhaustion.

A hangover on a rolling yacht is miserable and can tip into seasickness. If the next day has a long passage, plan the night before with that in mind.

If someone in your group has had too much to drink, do not leave them alone. Keep them in the cockpit or a cabin, away from the edges and the companionway, and tell the skipper. If they are sick, help them lie on their side.

Call 112 and alert the skipper straight away if someone cannot be woken, has trouble breathing, has a seizure or has hit their head. It is always better to ask for help early.