Safety at Sea Seminar: Randy's Report
Last weeek, a group of Tiddlies traveled to Seattle to attend the 2010 Safety at Sea seminar. They all played hard (some more than others!) and worked hard to complete the two day event. All passed their exams with flying colors!
Timed to coincide with the biannual Vic Maui and Pacific Cup sailboat races, the Sailing Foundation conducts a two-day seminar on safe boating practices and safety equipment.
The seminar, designed and conducted by sailors, all experts in their fields, provides novice and experienced mariners with information and skills required to prepare for sailing offshore, boat preparation, handling heavy weather, recommended safety equipment, and emergencies at sea.
The two-day, US Sailing-sanctioned event is open to all cruising and racing skippers, crews and their families, recreational power boaters, as well as commercial fishermen. The program, endorsed by CRUISING WORLD and SAILING WORLD Magazines and sponsored by West Marine and Landfall Navigation, has evolved from the highly successful program developed by the Sailing Foundation and the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. It incorporates the latest techniques and information available.
Saturday's certified program is designed to meet the US Sailing requirements for Safety at Sea training for offshore racers in US events. The 2010 event included an optional session on Sunday, which provided hands-on training with in-the-water demonstrations, key survival tactics, man-overboard recoveries, flare procedures and helicopter evacuation. This session was designed to provide in-depth discussions, and set the stage for the training to be required by ISAF in 2012 for foreign offshore racers. As such, it was a logical preparation step for those sailors seriously preparing for independent, self-sufficient offshore sailing - both racing and cruising.The in-the-water session was particularly fun and interesting for anyone who has yet to experience what it is like to jump in the water wearing full winter sailing gear. Many myths were dispelled that day:
- First is, "Just get the boat close to me and I'll swim to you.". Forget about swimming- your are just like a piece of driftwood and swimming any distance is out of the question.
- The second, "Put down a boarding ladder and I'll climb out on my own." Almost impossible, particularly in cold water, wind and waves.
- Third, "We will flake a sail overboard and you can climb into it so we can raise you with a halyard." Doesn't work, even in the calmest of conditions.
Nuggets of wisdom we all took from the weekend.
- None of us practise emergency procedures nearly enough, particularly over board drills and on deck MOB retrieval.
- The Lifesling® is the original MOB retrieval system that works! Don't rely on the MOB to climb back on board under their own power. Use the recommended block and tackle off the halyard to hoist the MOB back in the boat.
- Wear a PFD at ALL times. Even going overboard in benign conditions can have tragic consequences.
We even had one person get sea sick in our liferaft!