What priorities do you have for staying safe

[RaymondR]

Good lifelines around the boat.

A preventer on the boom thats easy to use.

A stable dingy.

Rig the boat so you can sail it from the cockpit.

Reef down and slow the boat down at night if you single hand.

Be paranoid about hull integrity and crocodiles.

[pbmaise]

Avoiding areas with other sailboats is very high on my list because I am in typhoon prone area. One packing 170 knot winds is headed my way now.

In this same month
28 yachts moored on
'cyclone- proof ' moorings in Port Vila were wrecked with loss of life. Looking at photos you can see damages caused by one sailboat hitting another.

Access to a big open sea in a typhoon and 24 hour watch is important to me.

Yes typhoons can bring down the mast, but that is usually just top deck damages.

[Rustic Charm]

Your one tuff cookie

When I first got my boat and planning on sailing it to my home state an elderly mariner gave me one piece of advice. If the weather turns bad and you can't get into port, head out to sea. I took that advice on the trip down. It sort of goes against the grain to do that as the minds natura instinct is to head to land.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

Your one tuff cookie

When I first got my boat and planning on sailing it to my home state an elderly mariner gave me one piece of advice. If the weather turns bad and you can't get into port, head out to sea. I took that advice on the trip down. It sort of goes against the grain to do that as the minds natura instinct is to head to land.

RC, once you've experienced a few times that you really are safer at sea away from the hard bits, that sense of land being safer is likely to fade somewhat. It's getting there that's dangerous. Those guys in the boat lost off Cuba would probably have been okay if they had gone to sea and reached deeper water---a sad loss of vessel.

Ann

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

RC, once you've experienced a few times that you really are safer at sea away from the hard bits, that sense of land being safer is likely to fade somewhat. It's getting there that's dangerous. Those guys in the boat lost off Cuba would probably have been okay if they had gone to sea and reached deeper water---a sad loss of vessel.

Ann

Yep, three years down the track and the feeling is gone.

[Aussiesuede]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

Your one tuff cookie

When I first got my boat and planning on sailing it to my home state an elderly mariner gave me one piece of advice. If the weather turns bad and you can't get into port, head out to sea. I took that advice on the trip down. It sort of goes against the grain to do that as the minds natura instinct is to head to land.

Yep, I think the old axiom is correct:

"When there's no way out, you find a deeper way in"

[thinwater]

A safe attitude. I have my cat with all sorts of gear, but it isn't the gear that matters. For example:

Kayaking. I do have a PFD, though I probably don't wear it. What does keep me safe is...

• Knowing my limits, both weather and distance.
• Dress for the water temperature or stay ashore.
• Have the skill set you need. For kayakers this includes self-rescue.
• And most of all, retreat when it doesn't feel right.

Float plan? I'll most likely be dead long before that matters. It'll just give them something to bury.


Whistle? If they can hear me, I can swim there.


Blah, blah, blah. It is sea sense that keeps me out of trouble on the sailboat. I've never, in 30 years, needed any bit of safety gear anyone listed (not counting maps, which I see more as a part of the boat than safety gear). If I can't handle the conditions, I stay home, and once I'm out, I focus on what I'm doing.


Climbing. I have rock climbed for 35 years. I've helped pick up 5 broken bodies, 4 of which were wearing helmets... yet less than 20% of climbers wear helmets. My postulate, right or wrong, is that many people think safety gear makes them bullet proof. It does not. All a helmet does, if you fall far, is keep the brains together.

I do use the safety gear. But I recognize that paying attention is key.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by thinwater

A safe attitude. I have my cat with all sorts of gear, but it isn't the gear that matters. For example:

Kayaking. I do have a PFD, though I probably don't wear it. What does keep me safe is...

• Knowing my limits, both weather and distance.
• Dress for the water temperature or stay ashore.
• Have the skill set you need. For kayakers this includes self-rescue.
• And most of all, retreat when it doesn't feel right.

Float plan? I'll most likely be dead long before that matters. It'll just give them something to bury.


Whistle? If they can hear me, I can swim there.


Blah, blah, blah. It is sea sense that keeps me out of trouble on the sailboat. I've never, in 30 years, needed any bit of safety gear anyone listed (not counting maps, which I see more as a part of the boat than safety gear). If I can't handle the conditions, I stay home, and once I'm out, I focus on what I'm doing.


Climbing. I have rock climbed for 35 years. I've helped pick up 5 broken bodies, 4 of which were wearing helmets... yet less than 20% of climbers wear helmets. My postulate, right or wrong, is that many people think safety gear makes them bullet proof. It does not. All a helmet does, if you fall far, is keep the brains together.

I do use the safety gear. But I recognize that paying attention is key.

I think your 'safety list' is what gets people in trouble. But thanks anyway.

[ALAIN97133]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Good lifelines around the boat... A preventer on the boom thats easy to use... Be paranoid about hull integrity and crocodiles.

Crocodiles ? How about paranoid about mermaids ?