Posted by jmurrant on June 20, 2010 under Boat Handling, Boating Bible, Grab Bag or Miscellany, Navigation and Passage Planning, Safety and Emergencies, Skipper and Crew, Weathercraft, language of the sea, passage planning | 
This month you can buy The Boating Bible Manual of Seamanship and save:
Remember, this special offer expires on 30 June 2010.
Don’t miss this great opportunity. Use the ‘Share This’ button to tell your friends.
Posted by jmurrant on June 6, 2010 under Boat Handling, mooring, mooring buoy, mooring line, moorings |
Last Friday, a vigorous storm hit Sydney. A number of boats in Manly Cove were driven from their moorings and later towed to safety by the Water Police.
It was a timely reminder that boat owners should check get their moorings checked, preferably every year. If your mooring is owned by a marina or club, it should be maintained as part of your mooring agreement.
Just because you’re paying for someone to service your mooring doesn’t remove your responsibility to check and care for the line that you attach to your boat. Look for signs of wear on the mooring line. If chafe is developing where the line comes over the bow, use a piece of garden hose pipe over the line to protect it.
After picking up your mooring, make sure you stow the mooring buoy correctly. Don’t allow it to drop over the side or bang against the mast.
After a big blow, you should visit your boat to ensure that it is safely moored, exactly as you left it when you were last aboard.
Posted by jmurrant on August 9, 2009 under Boat Handling, COLREGS, Safety and Emergencies, Skipper and Crew, Knots and Ropework, collisions at sea, navigation lights |
Rule 5 of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) states:
Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and of the risk of collision.
This rule would seem to be common sense. Who would want to have a collision, whether with another vessel, rocks, debris or the land? And yet, how often do we read of vessels of all shapes and sizes that have failed to maintain a proper look-out?
As skipper, when you’re out on the water, you must get your crew to watch out for anything that may hinder your progress. When they see something of concern, they should tell you its position and distance off. You can then assess the risk of collision and alter course, if necessary.
When racing, this is a standard part of a yacht’s routine. When cruising, it is no less important.
And if you are sailing at night, your look-out must be even more alert, as the navigation lights on buoys and vessels can merge with lights on the shore and become hard to identify.
Posted by jmurrant on July 8, 2009 under Boat Handling, danger of dinghies, dinghies, dinghy, selecting a dinghy |
Where do you think most fatal boating accidents happen? Worldwide, the most likely time for a sailor to have such an accident is while they are in their dinghy or getting in or out of it.
Because of their size and need for buoyancy they are far less stable than the vessel they serve. It doesn’t matter how careful you are when selecting a dinghy, it will always be a relatively unstable, unsafe form of transport.
Rowing our dinghy ashore
Perhaps the safest form of dinghy to have is one with two ‘hulls’ like a catamaran. But even they would not be truly stable. What about inflatables you may ask. They are relatively stable but unfortunately make the person getting into them unstable because they give when a body’s weight is put on them.
In the past, the basic danger of dinghies has been increased when the sailor has taken alcohol. I doubt very much that this has changed much although maritime authorities increasingly set limits for the amount alcohol that may be consumed.
Posted by jmurrant on July 2, 2009 under Boat Handling, ready to tack, tacking |
Picture this: The helmsman has completed tacking the boat. The main trimmer has tacked the main. The headsail hand has trimmed on the sail for the new course.
What should happen next, i.e. before the crew settle into position for the new leg?
If you’re responsible for the headsail, your next job is to reload the windward winch, ready for a tack. Even if you expect to be on the same tack for half an hour or more, you still should put at least one turn round the windward winch – and make sure it’s the right way round by spinning the winch as you do it. Don’t pull it on too hard or it will affect the shape of the headsail.
Cruising or racing, the helmsman needs to know that he can tack the boat almost at the same time as calling “Ready about”.
What with commercial shipping and ferries, to say nothing of sailing vessels of all shapes, sizes and speeds, everyone on board needs to be ready to tack to avoid a collision.
Posted by jmurrant on June 30, 2009 under Boat Handling, Skipper and Crew, Knots and Ropework, one hand for the boat |
This saying, passed down through generations of sailors, is one of the first things a novice sailor needs to learn.
In closed waters, your helmsman will often warn you that another vessel’s wake is about to rock the boat. But everyone on board should be alert to the possibility, particularly when going forward or moving around on board.
Remember, you go sailing on the water and don’t want to end up in it!
Posted by jmurrant on June 25, 2009 under Boat Handling, pop the kite, raising the spinnaker, spinnaker, spinnaker pole, windward mark |
Generally, when racing, the rule is to round the windward mark and pop the kite. Can you think of a time when this rule may not apply? A time when the closest you come to raising the spinnaker is rigging the spinnaker pole?
Find out the answer in our recent Newsletter, Spinnaker or …