Each group was also shown the effectiveness of the inexpensive ABC or BC dry chemical extinguishers, again using a short well-aimed blast at the fire. However, during one of my demonstrations, I accidentally grabbed the halon extinguisher that I had used in a discussion of different fire-fighting agents. I pulled the pin, aimed the nozzle and let forth a brief blast of banned, terrible-for-the-environment, not-Sierra Club approved halon Read more

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. Closed circuit cameras showed that around 2:00 am, the fire started in the cockpit, and then grew slowly over an hour or so before someone noticed it and called the fire department. By then, the yacht was engulfed in flames.… Read more

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 recovered his unresponsive son from the brackish, murky waters. The mother and other son remained on board the boat and called 911. They were unable to assist further as the boat’s motor shut down due to the lightning strike. Read more

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 post instructions for how to broadcast a Mayday in the nav station.” With full knowledge that seamanship resolutions may have the same chance of succeeding as those we make about our behavior on land, I nonetheless suggest that we… Read more

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 coordinates to the Coast Guard. He was picked up by a Coast Guard MH-60J shortly thereafter, apparently hypothermic, and was transferred to a local hospital where he was reportedly recovering. Read more

Safety Moment, Cruising Club of America, SF Station, Sept 2018

Chuck Hawley

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Typical MOB situations (dark, rough seas) may make maneuvering the rescuing vessel tricky. The development of the Lifesling and similar devices assists in recovering a person in the water without having to get dangerously close. Read more

Inspect, test, and practice your life jacket! Read more

Three Star Fix 

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How would you go about figuring out if a life jacket design is capable of saving a life when used in rough water? What would you look for? How would you measure the life jacket’s effectiveness? Which models would you accept, and which ones would you fail? Read more

Fast forward 20 or so years, and Stan is again sailing on state-of-the-art multihulls, but now on Gitana 17, a foiling trimaran, whose crew intends to set the around the world record: the Jules Verne Trophy. While the personal gear that the crew wears is similar to what we had on Playstation, there are some subtle differences. Read more

Remarkably, the list of required safety gear for a 35’ sail or power boat is remarkably short. Life jackets and throwable flotation, navigation lights, visual distress signals, a sound making device, and a couple of fire extinguishers is pretty much all you’re required to have Read more