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Articles are of general interest to the entire CCA membership, and are not particular to any specific station. Categories include Feature Articles, Safety Moments, White Papers and For Ocean Racers.

  • In a test pool
    What Makes One Life Jacket Better Than Another?
    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
  • Simple liferings
    New Ideas on Personal Safety Gear
    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
  • Simpler than this
    Fire Safety Rules SIMPLIFIED!
    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
  • MOB1
    MOB Beacons: Getting Better and Better
    One of the most exciting developments has been the progression of Man Overboard Beacons (or Crew Overboard Alarms or whatever you want to call them). Over the last 20 years or so, through about four generations of products and technology, these life-saving gizmos have evolved from being a bit iffy to being reliable and near-mandatory. Let’s briefly review the path that led to where we are now. Read more
  • image of checklist
    ​​​​​​​Standard Operating Procedures: Briefing New Crew
    Suppose you’re heading off on a two-day race and some of your crew haven’t sailed with you before. They come highly recommended, but they don’t know your boat or your standard operating procedures. What should you discuss with them as you head for the starting line? Read more
  • Illusion under full sail
    Doublehanded Crew Overboard Practices

     

    Chuck Hawley, San Francisco Station, with immense help from
    Stan Honey and Sally Lindsay Honey, San Francisco Station

    Read more
  • Comanche
    Crew Overboard Procedures on Comanche

     

    By Chuck Hawley, San Francisco Station, October 2019

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  • old gps
    The Infallible Memory of Navigational Devices: Forgotten workarounds can be a problem
    It would be prudent for all navigators on unfamiliar boats, or perhaps when returning after a period of time to a familiar boat, to ensure that the hidden, potentially helpful fudge factors buried in silicon memories are actually helping, not hurting, your navigational accuracy Read more
  • An electric winch
    Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely: A powered winch risks havoc

    Lessons from a British Virgin Islands Charter

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  • Chasseur
    Upside Down with Nowhere to Go: Have a way to get help!
    As I was leaving the boat around 1630, having completed my chores for the day, I gathered my gear and prepared to get off onto the dock. I stepped out the shrink wrap door, I put my right foot on a boarding step, and my knee promptly gave way. My left leg was still on deck but was tangled up in the shrink wrap zipper that was inside the door. I fell backwards with my head in the water between the boat and the dock. Try as I might, I could not pull myself back up onto the… Read more
  • Bad Advice: "Simple solutions" are seldom either
    ​​​​​​​A problem can easily arise when several knowledgeable sailors are on deck during a passage or even a daysail and it is not clear who is charge. Each is partially attentive, but no one is paying attention to the details on the chart or what other boats are hidden under the jib but are on a collision course. Even couples on a passage can have this problem when both are on deck during the day. Read more
  • Mr. Murphy Never Sleeps
    ​​​​​​​A problem can easily arise when several knowledgeable sailors are on deck during a passage or even a daysail and it is not clear who is charge. Each is partially attentive, but no one is paying attention to the details on the chart or what other boats are hidden under the jib but are on a collision course. Even couples on a passage can have this problem when both are on deck during the day. Read more