Much thought and preparation have been invested into the safety procedures and qualifying paddles. At 5.00am, all the adventure paddlers depart DYC together, under a setting moon, led by the top mast of the guiding yacht till sun rise when paddlers break into pods determined by their average speed and remaining within 200 metres of their safety boat at all times.
Based on a reverse start model any advanced paddlers registered - wanting to race the event - can leave the club at sunrise and must be escourted by their own Safety boat.

Paddlers still in the water after the 8 hour cut off mark will be asked to board a safety boat to ensure their safe arrival.

All paddlers are required to carry essential safety equipment (please note that this will be checked before depature. No gear - No paddle!), including;
 
1.    Life jacket/PFD.
2.    A waterproof VHF radio and/or a cellphone in a waterproof pouch with emergency contact details and where possible a navigational app such as ‘Navionics African maps’ 
3.    Paddle & boat leash
4.   Lighting & reflection as follows: flashing LED on paddler and/or kayak and glo-sticks on paddler and kayak and reflective tape on kayak and paddle, with optional waterproof headtorch. The paddler needs to make sure they are visible to safety boats supporting at the front and the back. 
5.    Bright hat & bright/reflective wear for day paddle
6.   Whistle & 8m rope
7.    Each paddler will carry their own food and drink (suggest 4 litres)additional supplies can be placed on safety boat for your batch – must be labelled and in dry bag so safety crew can throw to you. Please note that collecting things from a safety boat is an advance paddle skill so please try to carry as much of what you need on you.

It is highly recommended all paddlers carry;

1.   Sun protection
2.   Essential personal medicine
3.  Flares (of a type commonly carried on yachts, but if carried they must be suitably and safely stowed and you must know how to use them) and/or water dye marker.

There will be additional safety measures in place for the event. These will include;
1.      Nominated Pod Leads (paddler keeping tabs on a pod) and we will operate a buddy system for pairs to keep track of one another. Please not that if you ate nominated as a pod leader you must carry a waterproof VHF radio, an know how to use it. 
2.   Service from Tanzania Sea Rescue: TSR volunteers will act as spotters to assist with hourly checks and search & rescue should anyone go astray.
3.   Medical personnel on the safety boats and Doctor on standby.
4.   Safety Boats will have 2 engines on the boat, swim ladder, Marine VHF radio, rope to pull boats on board, First Aid kit, lookout & helmsman, one person familiar with CPR & basic first aid, a horn, flashlight and water.
5.   13h00 is the cut off time – at this time all outstanding paddlers will board safety boats and proceed to finish/prize giving.
6.   Should bad weather arise the event organiser’s reserve the right to call for all kayaks to be mounted onto safety boats."
 
In a paddle such as the Annual Stanbic DYC Zanzibar Adventure Paddle, paddle fitness is of great importance. The nature of the open ocean conditions make 40km seem further than it may be in more sheltered waters. To assist paddlers prepare, both mentally and physically, for the event, qualifiers events have been implemented. Although only two of the qualifying events are compulsory, we suggest that paddlers participate in as many of the qualifiers events as they can to ensure that they are prepared for the rigor of the open ocean conditions.