Make Sure Your Harness Fits Properly

To be safe, all harnesses, whether integral with a PFD or not, should fit properly.

This may be an issue if you are smaller than average, as noted below.

Regarding the fit of a sailing harness, the core instructions are: the attachment point of a harness must be “above the lowest point of the rib cage” (from ISO 12401). US Sailing has expanded on the ISO rule to note that many inflatable PFDs with a built-in harness are designed for people 5’6” in height or greater.

Focus: AIS

Hailed by some as perhaps the greatest safety development for the recreational mariner in a decade, AIS  ("Automatic Identification System") provides a robust tool for locating and identifying nearby traffic, announcing your presence, and even locating a crew overboard.

With prices dropping steadily, and installation becoming simpler, AIS should be considered by any boat contemplating coastwise or ocean passages. 

The Care and Feeding of the Sailing Crew

Despite the title, this is hardly a cookbook; rather it s a primer on successful cruising. Certainly, anyone contemplating, or preparing for, off shore passages would want to read and then keep this volume aboard. A 50 day passage from Japan to Victoria, Canada in 1979 provides Lin a base for discussing everything from menus to clothing, to choosing a fresh chicken, to dealing with port officials, to preventing sea sickness, to buying liquor abroad as well as the best material for underwear.

Crew Overboard Insights

Last weekend [October 2015], I was asked to take part in US Sailing’s National Faculty during their annual meeting. My goal was to create a “unit” in US Sailing’s Safety at Sea Course on Crew Overboard, and this required that I come up with a plan on how to explain this challenging seamanship problem to sailors of all backgrounds.

I won’t go into too much detail in this document, as this is supposed to be a safety moment, not a safety eternity. But I have culled some of the most important points from this weekend to share with you.

Flooding and Damage Control Kit

A well-equipped, centrally located damage control kit together with a damage control plan are important to a safe voyage.  

This is particularly true in waterways such as the Pacific Northwest which has a high proportion of deadheads and debris in the water from logging.  Although many cruisers abstain from operating at night in an effort to reduce this risk, many of these logs are quite waterlogged, making them difficult to see even in good visibility.

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