CCA Fleet Surgeon Memorandum for Offshore Passages
Jeffrey S. Wisch, M.D.*
We offer several types of article covering a wide range of topics. Choose your topic or article type below:
- Feature Articles. Discussions of one or more topics regarding Seamanship, Safety, and best practices afloat.
- School of Hard Rocks. First-person narratives of ... challenging ... experiences and lessons learned.
- Safety Moments. Short items suitable for a quick read or presentation to a group.
- White Papers. In-depth dives into topics of interest.
- Travelogs. Stories of near and far journeys afloat, including selected articles from our Voyages magazine
- Videos. A growing library of streaming content, from weather seminars to member highlights.
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School of Hard Rocks
Subject:
Preparation of Boat and Crew, Damage and Repair
I idly looked aloft at the tricolor light, and it appeared to be showing its red light aft, which didn’t register as a problem, at least initially, until I looked aloft again and now saw the green light showing aft. It became obvious that the light…
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School of Hard Rocks
Subject:
Preparation of Boat and Crew
... We were being blown onto the dock and had to make a hard turn to starboard into the wind to get out of the boatyard. This was not really a problem, but just when I went to use the bow thruster that we had tested days earlier, it failed. A…
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School of Hard Rocks
Subject:
Preparation of Boat and Crew, Electronics
A few minutes later, however, the familiar sound stopped, and the swing of the rudder and tiller came to a halt with perhaps 10 degrees of port rudder locked in. Before I could get to the tiller and lift the tiller pilot off its pin, the boat flew…
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School of Hard Rocks
Subject:
Overboard
This story is not a bluewater sailing story, but it illustrates how you can get into trouble in calm waters within sight of home. A friend of mine had this happen to him a few years ago and told me the story the next day, while he was still somewhat…
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Fire/Flooding
The story in MarineLog on this year’s Summer Solstice seemed both familiar and odd at the same time. A yacht valued at $1,500,000 burned to the waterline, and later sank, while undergoing some routine maintenance at a marina in Washington state.…
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School of Hard Rocks
Subject:
Culture of Safety, Good Practices Underway
“Safety Moments, presented at CCA Stations and Posts”
By Chuck Hawley, San Francisco Station, May 2023
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School of Hard Rocks
Subject:
Heavy Weather
“From the CCA School of Hard Rocks
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Voyages
Subject:
Narratives
From Spain to Maine to Ukraine. A wide-ranging collection of narratives in the post-COVID era.
Read about it here
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Emergencies
The weather at the ramp was sunny and clear, yet lightning struck the son standing on the bow. The lightning bolt came in his tail bone and out his foot. The son immediately went overboard and started to sink. The father jumped overboard and…
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School of Hard Rocks
Subject:
Dinghy Management
It was low tide. I needed to navigate shallow water to get to my usual tie up spot. I did what I frequently do in this situation, turning around to lift the idling motor into the shallow water setting. The new motor we bought this year doesn’t raise…
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School of Hard Rocks
Subject:
Medical, Dinghy Management, Overboard
Beware the Dinghy
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Culture of Safety, Preparation of Boat and Crew
But what about the resolutions we make with regard to the safe operation of our own sailboats and cruisers? How many times have you heard a fellow voyager say “Ya know, the next time we’re out, we ought to do a man overboard drill” or “I need to…
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School of Hard Rocks
Subject:
Fire/Flooding
About 30 minutes later we were startled to see about 6 inches of water all along the low side from the galley forward along the settee berth and the floorboards were beginning to float. We removed them, turned on two electric pumps, and began…
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Overboard
A passenger on a Carnival Cruise Ship, traveling from New Orleans to Cozumel, was reported missing about 13 hours after he was last seen onboard. A search ensued, and the passenger was spotted by a commercial vessel, which then relayed the…
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School of Hard Rocks
Subject:
Good Practices Underway
A short trip becomes a near disaster by ignoring engine alarms.
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School of Hard Rocks
Subject:
Preparation of Boat and Crew
I took down the radio panel and, with a multimeter in hand, was able to determine that the stereo wasn’t getting its 12 volts. When I improvised a 12-volt supply, it came to life. Progress, but a mystery remained behind the dead 12-volt supply line…