By Chris Jones
The Ministerio de Fomento is the Spanish government
organisation responsible for, among other things, public buildings
and works. It includes within it the Merchant Marine department
and the Marine Safety Agency which, between them, are responsible
for all aspects of safety at sea and the legalities involved. If
you break maritime law, these are the people you will have to deal
with. But, apart from being the upholders of the law, they also
publish two immensely useful booklets to assist mariners.
One of these is the Guia Practica para la Nautica
de Recreo (The Practical Guide to Pleasure Sailing) and the other
is Seguridad en las Actividades Nauticas (Safer Water Sports).
The first deals with a multitude of topics, including
maritime communications, safety and emergency procedures, survival
techniques, environmental contamination, and obligatory documentation.
It also has a statistical section and lists all the current and
projected maritime rescue co-ordination centres. These presently
exist in the south at Almeria, Algeciras, Tarifa, Cadiz and Huelva,
and are planned for Malaga and Seville.
The second of the booklets concentrates, as its
title indicates, on water sports safety, covering swimming, pleasure
craft, windsurfing, diving, waterskiing, jet-skis and, finally,
contamination. It also lists the rescue centre network and the maritime
rescue fleet.
Both booklets are available in a variety of non-Spanish
languages, including English, French and German, from most marina
offices, chandlers and boat retailers.
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