Several decades ago, entering Morro Bay around sunrise, I was at the helm of a 30’ wooden ketch while the rest of the crew slept below. It was near a full moon, and the boat was bucking about a 3-knot ebb with her 4.5 knots of speed through the…
After two major collisions with substantial loss of American lives between US Navy destroyers and merchant ships, many of us went to websites that provide histories of the movements of the ships in the area up to the minute of the collision. Using…
AIS, or Automatic Identification System, is one of the most significant marine safety innovations in a decade. Required on much of commercial traffic and available (and highly recommended) for recreational boats and even personal gear, AIS devices…
A collection of a few tips from the acknowledged masters of sailing
Anticipation
“A seaman laboring under an undue sense of security becomes at once worth hardly half his salt.” (Joseph Conrad, The Mirror of the Sea)
“The rule…
From The Annapolis Book of Seamanship
Here are accounts of two successful rescue efforts in the stormy 2011 Chicago to Mackinac Race. Each rescuing crew was awarded an Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal by U.S. Sailing.
The Bermuda Race’s medical chair (a race skipper) describes the causes, prevention, and treatment of this all-too-common and potentially dangerous condition.
CCA Member John Jourdane sailed the 2008 Hobart Race on the Spencer 65, Ragtime. He witnessed a successful rescue of all the crew off a sinking boat. The following is from John’s journal.:
The methods for dealing with Man Overboard emergencies on a short-handed boat require a few modifications from the standard recoveries taught for fully-crewed race boats. The purpose of this note is to highlight those differences in technique and…
This list of tools and spares is intended to be a minimum guide to tools and spares that might be helpful in routine maintenance at sea or effecting emergency repairs when outside assistance is not available.
You have been reaching along fast and you step below after a great watch on deck, and splash, your foot goes up to the ankle in water in your boat. Oops, no one wants this scenario. Like many other emergencies, water in the boat can be minimized…