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Volvo Ocean Race crews choose SafeLink R10 SRS

Every crew member on the six Volvo 70 yachts crossing the start line of the Volvo Ocean Race on 29th October will be carrying a SafeLink R10 SRS. In addition to being carried by the crews, an R10 SRS will be fitted to Ocean Safety’s tried and tested Jonbuoy Recovery Modules; two on each yacht. The R10 SRS will automatically activate if the Jonbuoy is launched. The R10 can also be fitted to lifejackets, including those of the five out of six teams which will be carrying Kru Sports Pro lifejackets manufactured by Ocean Safety, McMurdo’s UK distributor.

The unique AIS and GPS benefits of the R10 mean if a crew member falls overboard, the alert will transmit both onboard the yacht, and also on other vessels in the area.  The yacht will know the person’s position in the sea and have a better chance than ever before of locating and recovering them.  If the yacht itself is in distress, once again, other vessels in the area can rapidly assist, as crew members activate their R10s.  It makes sense that an automatic R10 is also attached to each Jonbuoy so that once a man overboard is supported by the inflated Jonbuoy ‘cradle’ they can also be located and easily recovered from the water. 

Mark Hart of Ocean Safety comments, “It is only natural that we would select our premium products to give the Volvo Ocean Race crews the very best chance of survival in the unlikely event of having a major problem. All the equipment we are supplying is designed with withstand the huge demands of the oceans and yet be compact in design for space and weight saving.”

The six yachts are naturally making no compromise to safety.  Each edition of the Volvo race has seen a giant leap forward in advancing onboard safety to protect the crews and for this gruelling 39,000 mile sprint around the world carrying the R10 SRS provides every crew with the very latest in life preservation, and location and recovery that technology has developed.