No Steering? No Problem!
No Steering? No Problem!
“Safety Moments, presented at CCA Stations and Posts”
By Dick York, NY Station, 12/1/2025
On October 11, I had the honor to skipper a committee pin boat during the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta, with 50 schools sending teams to race on borrowed handicap boats, organized by Storm Trysail Club and Larchmont Yacht Club. During the day, the winds built from drifters to 10-12 with higher gusts, giving the college kids more training as the day went on.
About 30 seconds before the start of the fifth race, a J/109 suddenly lost steering. Fortunately, they were able to back their jib to slow and stop the boat, letting all the others on starboard tack get to the starting line without collisions. After some minutes of investigation, they found the steering cable had snapped due to chafe, and they were out of the last two races of the day.
Their trials were not over though. Even with various motor and sail combinations, they could not steer back to Larchmont Harbor. Our rescue boat was able to tow them in with enough time to join the festivities.
The owner was a bit upset that his boat was not able to perform for the whole day. The kids took it all in stride.
Lessons Learned:
- It's October! The summer is over and higher winds may be expected. Your steering cables have not been inspected since April (I bet). As fall winds come on those worn parts of your boat will jump up at you. (A local yacht club has a race in October called the Gearbuster, for this very reason). Solution: take a morning and go over the boat as if you were about to launch it in the spring. Check every hose, cable, hanging wire, line with possible chafe, and crawl through your bilge. At the very least, make sure your steering system is sound.
- How would you self-rescue if there were not a rescue boat around? This could have happened mid-week with no other boats nearby, with you drifting toward a lee shore. Yes, SeaTow may be nearby, but do you have another solution? My suggestion is to use your autopilot in the case of disabled steering system. (I have had to do this). Most autopilot manuals show how you can use the pilot like a rudder angle device. So read beyond the first few pages, and see how your autopilot can be used to steer you home. It may be as simple as pressing AUTO, and then pressing a series of +10 and -10 buttons until you’re headed in the right direction. Practice this in open water before you do it in real life, obviously. But I have fetched my mooring under autopilot and engine.
The Cruising Club of America is a group of accomplished recreational offshore sailors bound together by friendship and the desire to foster the responsibilities, expertise, and skills needed for the adventurous use of the sea. Safety Moments are brief updates on marine safety issues, presented by station Safety Officers at meetings. They are published by the CCA Safety and Seamanship Committee and are intended to advance seamanship and safety by highlighting new technologies, suggestions for safe operation and reports of maritime disasters around the world.
