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:
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:
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…
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School of Hard Rocks
Subject:
Preparation of Boat and Crew
After sitting next to Stan for about an hour, I stood up to stretch and get some blood flowing in my legs. As I did, I heard the faint but unmistakable snap of a circuit breaker going from the On to the Off position, followed by the sound of an…
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Safety Gear, Boat, Emergencies
Safety Moment, Cruising Club of America, SF Station, Sept 2018
Chuck Hawley
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Safety Gear, Boat, Fire/Flooding
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…
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Safety Gear, Boat, Safety Gear, Personal
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…
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Safety Gear, Personal, Overboard
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…
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Culture of Safety, Preparation of Boat and 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…
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Preparation of Boat and Crew
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…
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Practice and Safety Training
Recently, we discussed some New Year’s Resolutions for safe voyaging that included having a pre-departure chat with your crew so that everyone had basic safety (and comfort) information when on the water: where the safety gear was stowed, how to…
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Safety Gear, Personal
In 2017, US Sailing Yachtswoman of the Year Timmy Larr asked me to participate in a series of life jacket tests in Tampa Bay, about ¼ mile from the University of Southern Florida. These tests were reasonably similar to other life jacket testing that…
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Safety Gear, Personal
Bottom line: safety gear is a compromise. Too foolproof, and it may be either too expensive or too difficult to use. Too heavy, and people leave it below decks. Too much maintenance required, and it may not work when it is supposed to.
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Preparation of Boat and Crew, Seamanship and Awareness
I had the wonderful opportunity to charter a Moorings 4600 catamaran in Croatia for two week in late May, and in fact I am writing this Safety Moment from the catamaran as I sit in the lovely Palmizana marina on the island of Klement.
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Preparation of Boat and Crew
“Safety Moments, presented at CCA Stations and Posts”
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Practice and Safety Training
Safety Moment, Cruising Club of America, June 2017
Chuck Hawley
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Safety Moment
Subject:
Practice and Safety Training
Safety Moment, Cruising Club of America