(a) Patients shall be taken to sea by either the duty boats (preferred) or their own crews. Patients shall be placed in the water at their allocated patient pick-up buoy. For the rescue tube event the patient shall be placed at the allocated rescue tube patient buoy.
(b) Patients may hold onto their buoy until the patient pick-up. Patients are not permitted to attempt to move the buoy in any direction to gain an advantage. For the pick-up they shall release all contact with the buoy and position themselves clear of and behind their pick-buoy on the seaward side.
(c) In the mass rescue and teams events the second patient will wait on the beach side of the pick-up buoy and move to the seaward side of the buoy after the first patient has been picked up and the IRB has crossed back to the shoreward side of the pick-up buoy.