Circumnavigations, Antarctica, Women Sailors and more. Read it here Read more

The CCA Offshore Communications Committee has prepared an in-depth overview of offshore communications methods and considerations, from VHF to Starlink. Those planning an offshore voyage should consider reviewing this document.

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... There did seem to be some sort of moisture on the interior surfaces of the engine enclosure, but those surfaces led down to a gel-coat covered bilge pan, intended to keep any engine drips from going beyond the engine and messing up the rest of the bilge. Read more

If your boat is equipped with a Jefa rudder system, the design may be the type with a locking ring located above the top bearing to prevent the rudder from sliding out of the vessel. During 2022 and 2023, we discovered four boats equipped with a Jefa rudder system, where the step for pre-drilling the set screw locations had not been performed. Read more

“Safety Moments, presented at CCA Stations and Posts”

By Chuck Hawley, San Francisco Station, November 2023

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A fire at a marina in Maine destroyed one boat and damaged another. Loss or significant damage to several other boats was averted due to the unusually fast response of the local volunteer fire department. There are several important observations and lessons learned from this incident. Read more

The biggest issue with mid-sized batteries is charging. Think the battery on an E-bike, or even an electric outboard. These batteries are known sinners. The New York City Fire Department counts over 200 E-bike lithium fires per year, primarily when batteries are being charged. Read more

The excitement of a new boat, even after you’ve toiled over it to prepare for its maiden voyage, should not be an excuse to neglect your safety preparation, nor forget your operational checklists... Read more

In view of Stan’s apparent knowledge, I delegated the pilotage to him and, stupidly, didn’t keep an eye on the charts and the marks although I had read up on the passage. At that stage we did not have a chart plotter so we were relying on paper charts and eyeball navigation in very clear visibility. Read more

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

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 fixture was unscrewing from the mast due to the movement of the boat as we sailed upwind plus the tapered threads used to attach the mounting post to the aluminum mast. I mulled over the possible explanations for a while, but what… Read more

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 through an uncontrolled gybe ... Read more