Safety Afloat

Phenomenon

By Chris Edmonson

     Here’s a bit of curious behavior that I have both observed and fallen into at times but do not exactly understand.  We use a GPS to navigate more easily than the old days of sun sights and sextants and it has led to a strange sense, for some, that there is more certainty in the world than is truly warranted.  One of the screens that you will see on a typical GPS involves a highway looking visage where the boat representation then is “supposed to” track solidly down the highway.  I...
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A Safety List, of Sorts

By Chris Edmonson

Ask anyone who has lived on a boat and put a few miles under the keel a question like, “What sort of safety precautions do you take?” and you will start a long conversation.  The problem is that almost everything on the boat, even those things that bring comfort, are contributing to the safety issues.

     When we left Portland we knew the boat wasn’t really ready.  That is, it is a well found boat but there was still a long list of things that needed to be done before we coul...
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Projects – A Study in Safety

By Chris Edmonson

In the last two years I bought another sailboat.  The purchase was not about finding a boat in perfect condition where everything worked already.  What I wanted was a project.  This project needed some elements of difficulty that I had not yet tackled in the upkeep of a boat but it could not be a ground up build or I would never complete it.

Most of the boats I saw were closer to the latter category of complexity than they were to a completed boat.  Finally a project boat of the right...
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A Case Study

By Chris Edmonson

Twelve foot seas and 25 knot plus winds… are we there yet? Are we having fun yet?

There was a boat left on the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez in a small three boat cove during the November cruise and it needed to be retrieved. The first attempted crossing back to San Carlos had resulted in the sail tearing and becoming useless while the motor ceased functioning. The original crew had rounded up a fresh motor and mains’l to carry from San Carlos back to the boat. Sailors “Y” and “Z” (original crew) had ask...
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Fatigue and Short Cruises

By Chris Edmonson

When I went with the last club cruise from San Carlos to Mulege and Bahia Concepciòn there was no doubt we were going to have fun. In crewing for Rex in Shellback then racing on our return I had time to contemplate our schedule and it reminded me of several lessons involving safety. Our way across was started around noon on a Friday and we had excellent conditions. During daylight we had worked out which watch we each would take for the rest of the trip over to the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California). Si...
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Fueling Anchoring & Rigging

By Chris Edmonson

One of the favorite moments in sailing for most sailors is when we turn the motor off.  That is when we are actually doing what we came to the boat to do.  At first when I got on a boat larger than 15 feet I was a little intimidated.  All that area to negotiate to get out of the typical marina was full of unfriendly things to bump into and things don’t work the same in water as they do on land.  It all took time to get used to how it was supposed to work.  The whole time near the dock was spent w...
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Early Lessons

By Chris Edmonson

In thinking back to when I learned to sail I came across some safety lessons that didn’t seem like safety lessons at the time. Since then I have used every single one of them to my benefit and personal safety.

After learning the basics of sailing on lake Pleasant, courtesy of a course from Scottsdale Community College, I signed up for a course in larger boats in San Diego. Going over to San Diego became an on-going experience from that time forward… one of my favorite places on the planet. We were learning...
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A Second Look

By Chris Edmonson

You may recall a tragedy that occurred a couple of years ago. There was a powerboat lost with all hands approximately 80 miles southwest of Puerto Peñasco. It was a catamaran fishing boat and it was with shock that the family enlisted the aid of pilots and fishermen and finally found the boat and some of the bodies. There are lessons to be learned from this incident… even (especially) for sail boaters.

From the accounts of what condition the boat on the boat. The report was that the skipper had a problem b...
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Staying Attached to the Boat

By Chris Edmonson

Greetings from the land of safety!

When I was learning to sail my instructor’s first question to the group of us student types was, “How many of you can swim?” He then defined “swimming” as staying afloat for a minimum of 5 minutes by any means possible. He didn’t give a fig for form or style. My reaction to this was deep down and heart felt. Like most of the students there at the time I just wanted to learn how to sail. Why was the first issue about whether or not I could survive apart from the boat?
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Propane Systems

Mort Caplan - TSC Safety Afloat Officer

This month I want to make a few comments about propane Systems.

This article isn’t intended to be comprehensive, or a do-it-yourself guide, but is just some of my own observations and opinions that I believe might serve to help prevent some potentially serious problems if you consider blowing up your boat and being propelled a significant distance up in the air as serious.
I had a potential client who did that one time, although he managed it not with the propane system, but by...
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Holey Hull, Boatman, the vessel is sinking Part II

By Pete & Nancy Hardy

Last time we took a look at some of the emergency supplies you should have aboard to stop the leak if your boat starts taking on water. However, before you can stop the leak you must find it, often not an easy task.
Unless you hit a rock or something (use the collision mat for this - see the last installment), chances are the water is coming from an existing opening in the boat or from the fresh water tank. if you are on the ocean, tasting the bilge water (Yuck!!) is one way to find out if it is fresh wate...
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Holey Hull, Boatman, the Vessel is Sinking

Pete & Nancy Hardy

Nothing will get your attention faster then going below for a cup of coffee only to find the floorboards awash; "We're taking on water!"

First priority, find the source (this in itself can be a monumental task, one we will discuss next month). Once you find the leak, stop it, and for that you may need some emergency supplies which you hopefully have aboard.

1. Softwood tapered plugs. These are available at most marine stores in a variety of sizes. In the case of a seized throu...
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Make it Easy on the Crew When Docking

By Pete & Nancy Hardy

It happens all too often. The crew is expected to make a very dangerous leap in an attempt to salvage a lousy approach to the dock.  We have seen it and we have even read, in a major sailing publication of all places, of a skipper who actually "trained" his wife to make that leap.

We could not believe the piece ever made it to the press. We have seen a crew member make that leap, slip on the dock, fall and then slide off the other side, sustaining a serious laceration in the process....
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Recovering the Crew Overboard

By Pete & Nancy Hardy

In a previous issue we discussed showing the crew how tor eturn to pick up the skipper who has fallen off the boat. Once you have made contact with the overboard crew (COB), the next challenge is getting the person back on the boat. The crew must be prepared to cope with a person who is not able to assist either because of injury or hypothermia. If you don't have a "Life sling" mounted on your stern pulpit, consider adding this valuable piece of safety gear It is a ready-to-launch wraparound float with 50 feet of attached polypropylene (floati...
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First Aid

By Pete & Nancy Hardy

Someone on the boat should be first aid and CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) trained. It only makes sense. By the very nature of going sailing you have placed yourself and crew an appreciable distance from the emergency response system (911). If you are in Mexico quality assistance is even more remote.
Take a First Aid class, stay current, have a complete first aid kit and know how to use it.
We purchased a medium size tool box and filled it with medical supplies and manuals. If you build it yo...
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When a Skipper Goes Missing

By Pete & Nancy Hardy

When the Skipper goes Missing For the inexperienced crew, losing the captain overboard can be the worst nightmare. It happens, and the safety of everyone is instantly at risk. The American Sailing Association recommends using the"Figure Eight" maneuver when a person goes overboard be cause it is completed without the need to jibe the boat.Inexperienced crew members can learn to sail the boat back to the crew over board (COB)with just a few basic skills and a little practice.

1. Have the n...
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