MEDICAL OPERATIONS & PARTICIPANT SAFETY ADVICE

MEDICAL OPERATIONS

Our team is there for you in case you have an incident with which you require assistance. We will have two sea guides with you on the water at all times and the Event Director either close by with our Floating HQ or in the safety support vessel. As this is a low impact and shorter trip, we don’t have a dedicated medical professional travelling with us, however we will have an extensive medical kit to assist with any daily complaints. We encourage you to be proactive with your own health and listen to your body if it is trying to tell you something.   

MEDICAL PRE – SCREENING

At this stage we are inviting you to have a medical screening process, which can be completed via the link below. Please complete this as soon as possible – and certainly please, no later than 30th June. If you do have any condition that you feel we should know about, however small you feel it may be, please do share this with our Medics. Experience has shown that early pre-screening can assist both us and you greatly in enabling the care you need pre and during the trip. If you do not share information on conditions which are likely to affect your participation or decide to share them very late in the process, we are all under pressure and we will always reserve the right to cancel your participation if we feel there is a medical issue that may affect yours, or others’ safety. So please, do share anything and everything you feel our team should know about, at the earliest opportunity.

IMPORTANT NOTE ON SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS AND MEDICAL INFORMATION:

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We are very fortunate to have an excellent Medical Director providing oversight, planning and screening on all of our international trips. Rat Race also conforms and has been audited to the rigorous BS8848 standard of expedition management. This means our approach to all things safety and medical is extremely thorough and it is designed throughout with your best interest at heart.

Your medical screening details will be sent direct to our medical team and under medical confidentiality rules, this will only be shared with our medics and no-one else. If they decide this is info that is in the best interests of everyone for us as organisers to be privy to, they will seek and gain your consent before doing so. It is therefore important you complete the link to the medical survey; do not send Rat Race medical information direct. If you have any queries at all on the medical side of things in relation to this event, you can email our Medical Director, Dr Patrick Musto confidentially on office@trailmed.com and he and his team will assist.

It is imperative that we all keep our health standards at a high level and to be open and honest about possible issues before they become a problem. We will be taking an advanced medical kit with us, including emergency care kit plus various tapes, lotions and other items to assist in possible kayaking-specific injury and preventative care.

Please bring a personal first aid kit as suggested on the kit list as our supply will quickly become exhausted if we all need the same general medicines.  

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PERSONAL MED KIT

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Our minimum spec for mandatory medical kit (to be carried at all times) is as follows:

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·        1 x triangular (or comfortable roller) bandage

·        Gauze or similar absorbent dressing

·        Steri-strips

·        Antiseptic (spray or cream)

·        Assorted plasters

·        Rubber gloves

·        Prescribed medication

·        Zinc oxide tape

·        Compeed – various sizes

·        Lube stick

INSURANCE

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We have asked that you have in place Travel Insurance cover and specified evacuation cover to last for a minimum period of the event duration from 13th August –17th August 2023. Evacuation and medical expenses cover should total no less than $500 000. Please bring a copy of this cover/ covers (if separate policies) is required. 

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We recommend that participants have insurance to cover damage, loss, theft, injury, and non-attendance. Rat Race cannot accept any responsibility for the loss of, theft, or damage to any Participant property or the circumstances of Participant non-attendance. Within the 12-week departure window, we cannot provide any transfers, and, in all cases, we cannot entertain requests for refunds. We respectfully remind all participants that unforeseen circumstances preventing attendance is what travel insurance is designed for and is the reason for this as a strong recommendation on such undertakings.  

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GENERAL SAFETY AROUND THE ISLAND

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The majority of kayaking is done along the coastline of the two main islands, Whitsunday Island and Hook Island. As this is a popular tourist destination, expect to see tourist boats, private catamarans, seaplanes and more as we progress through our own adventure. Many of these will keep further out to sea, so no bother to us.  Please show extra caution however, when kayaking or swimming anywhere near a boat and do not assume they have seen you as you will be sitting low on the water and can be difficult for other vessels to see. This is especially the case when crossing the Hook Passage at the start of the day two.

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Our adventure does overlap with Airlie Beach Race Week, six days of offshore yacht racing. You may see some of these racing yachts during our trip but again, they will be out chasing the wind while we’ll be keeping out of it for the best part.  

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LITTER 

We want to show that this event has exemplary control of littering. Please help us achieve that. Pack your litter into your pack, pockets or nearby bin bag (trash sack) . No exceptions.  Is a beautiful environment, and our absolute commitment is to keep it that way. 

MARINE LIFE

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This is North Queensland and the open ocean so expect to see a wide variety of sea life on our journey. Some will be planned, others not so. Please treat all with respect and let them go about their day in peace. There are sharks, stringers and yes, Irukandji jellyfish. Our local boat guides will provide us with up-to-date accurate information about these litter critters, but it is best to assume they are always there.

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POOR WEATHER CONTINGENCY 

Winter in the Whitsundays is normally the best time of year to explore the region. That being said, it is still the Australian coast and the weather is unpredictable. Rains are unlikely but possible. We are expecting south easterly or easterly trade winds for the duration of our trip and have planned the kayaking accordingly. If these winds do not prevail, we may look at an alternative route if it is unsafe to proceed as planned. We’ll always have our floating HQ with us to ensure no matter where we go, we’ll have a bed and a meal at the end of the day.

The event will proceed in many conditions, but if it is deemed unsafe to continue due to weather conditions, the event will be halted at the current location (or nearest safe bay). If required, we will await more favourable conditions to re-commence. This may result in some stages being cut short in order to achieve daily distances within the time available.

In all cases, the decision of the Event team is final in these matters. 

We will monitor weather throughout.

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EMERGENCY PROTOCOL 

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In the event of a true emergency or serious incident protocols will be followed to provide the quickest available evacuation to a healthcare centre. These protocols will be made clear to you upon arrival at a pre-activity briefing by the Trip Leader.

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