CHECKLIST: RETURNING FROM A CROSS-OCEAN RACE
Now that the race is done, check these things to assure that the boat is ready to come home safely
Fire in the Boat – Prevention
The best way to avoid this emergency aboard is to prevent it.
Safety at Sea is no Accident: Drills for Success
I learned never to take anything for granted---even something so small as the knife that should have been in the raft. We learned that all of the drills, the discussion sessions, the walk-thru practices had not only taught us our tasks, but had made us an effective team and given us confidence.
FLOODING: PLANNING FOR AND DEALING WITH A SINKING SHIP
Dealing with a flooding situation: water coming in faster than the pumps can deal with it. I.e. you are sinking. A planned and practiced strategy is crucial as flooding calls for specific directed actions, quickly executed.
A Guide to Steering without a Rudder
The purpose of the tests was to determine the best method and equipment to effectively steer the vessel to a safe port in the event of catastrophic rudder failure. The goal was to utilize the equipment normally taken on the vessel on offshore passages or races. The overriding premise was; utilization of an efficient and controllable object to create drag and transmit to directional stability which results in the desired directional stability. It was my view that a drogue might be used to exert the appropriate drag.
Safety for Cruising Couples
CCA's popular Safety for Cruising Couples (SCC) seminars have been presented to hundreds of participants each year as a public service to the cruising community. Handbook on sale here.
Themes from Incident Reports
When we think about boating safety, all of us can come up with a specific story, perhaps several, that previously taught us about the ocean, how sailboats perform, and how to avoid trouble. Frequently, these stories involved trouble of one sort or another, since the school of hard knocks provides a pretty effective education.
Life Jacket Changes Ahead
In the early 1970s, a new method of categorizing life jackets was introduced by the Coast Guard and Underwriter’s Laboratories, using five “types” and a new, strange name for life jackets: the Personal Flotation Device.
The five types fell into recognizable styles: Type I were for commercial use and had the most buoyancy; Type IIs were inexpensive “yoke” style; Type III were vests that were more comfortable, but had relatively low buoyancy; Type IV were “throwable devices” for man overboard; and Type V were anything that didn’t fit into the previous definitions.