Our boat sat unused last year because of Covid, and I scheduled a two day in depth inspection last week to look at the boat, and safety issues. Issues found were extremely surprising and have led to improvements in boat safety.
We have a…
Articles, White Papers, and Safety Moments (shorter items for presentation to groups) are available for your personal use. We hope these will enhance your time on the water and preparing for it.
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Communications
Since the discontinuation of SeaTow's radio check service, the US Coast Guard recommends all VHF checks be held by DSC test call to their Rescue 21 system on digital channel 70 (the only all-digital channel). All fixed marine radios since 1999 have…
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Culture of Safety, Good Practices Underway
Armed with a small amount of misinformation, we concoct a story to fit what we think we see and then twist additional evidence to comply.
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Emergency Signalling
In recent years, the US Coast Guard has, in response to comments from recreational mariners and professional mariners attempted to address the complex issues of required Day and Night Signals.
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Fire/Flooding
With the recent indictment of the Captain of the Conception due to the loss of life during the fatal fire on board the dive boat on September 2, 2019, it is timely to consider how we have our vessels set up for charging the batteries on portable…
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Emergency Signalling
Emergency services have not always responded to an EPIRB alert
When voyagers purchase and register an EPIRB, the first step is to register the EPIRB with the beacon authority. In the US, go to …
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Rendering Assistance
CCA Safety Moment for March 2021
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Anchoring
Perhaps a meta-analysis of anchoring tests is the only way to get a sufficiently broad idea of what will work best for an individual. No single test proves very much, and all are compromised by the simplifying assumptions in the test protocol.
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Safety Gear, Personal
After an initial stage of having existing life jacket designs updated with modern labels, new life jacket designs created under a new UL standard (UL 12402) will begin to enter the market, and these life jackets may have features and innovations…
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Safety Gear, Boat, Safety Gear, Personal
Sea and be Seen
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Seamanship and Awareness
Sailors can learn from the crash of flight 8303. We can, on occasion, get into a situation that gets more and more difficult from which to recover. This can be caused by ego, or by a sudden change in the expected circumstances, or a lack of “…
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Sails and Rigging
Preventers for off wind sailing has always been a popular discussion topic.
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Safety Gear, Personal, Overboard
I like to think that the courses and articles and online tutorials are complete and easy to understand, but anyone who teaches knows that the best way to check comprehension is to listen to the questions that are asked. After my “story” in Lectronic…
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Dinghy Management
Several years ago, I was asked to serve on the National Boating Safety Advisory Council, which is a group that (as the name suggests) advises and coordinates with the Coast Guard on issues related to recreational boating safety.
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Good Practices Underway
Six key points to keep in mind when docking the boat. Chuck explains it all.
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Safety Gear, Personal, Overboard
Coast Guard Safety Alert:
This safety alert reminds all inflatable life jacket users of the importance of performing periodic maintenance on their equipment. Instances of fatal accidents where inflatable life jackets failed to properly inflate have…
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Preparation of Boat and Crew
Racing "Big Boats" on SF Bay aboard a classic wooden schooner highlights the need to brief crew on the specifics of their roles onboard.
|
Safety Moment
Subject:
Safety Gear, Personal
The failure rate of life jackets can be alarmingly high without proper attention