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How Bluewater Sailing Informs Coastal Cruising Safety By John Herlig
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SpinSheet columnist John Herlig mostly lives aboard his 1967 Rawson 30 cutter Ave del Mar. He has sailed the East Coast between Connecticut and Florida, and the Caribbean from Guatemala to the west to Grenada to the south, as well as extensively through the Bahamas. Here are some of his experiences with onboard safety:
have a picture of my friend Chris stretched out in the cockpit of my boat, sleeping in the pitch black of a moonless night. We were southbound off the coast of Florida, hugging the shoreline to stay out of the gulf stream and beating into a breeze that was neither light nor from the east, as it was supposed to be. We were close hauled and taking a beating. In the picture the camera’s flash bounces off the reflectors on Chris’s jacket, and what little you can see of him makes it pretty clear that he isn’t all that comfortable. He was also clipped in by a Kong tether. Safety means different things to different people, and any discussion about it is rife with personal opinion and style. But offshore miles and offshore days give you plenty of time for thought about safety decisions, and the lessons apply on coastal waters, too. The onset of winter gives us a chance to sit back and think about how we will conduct ourselves come summer. There is only one “Number One Boat Rule” on my boat: Stay On The Boat. There are some co-number-one rules, such as “one hand for yourself and one hand for the boat,” but in the end, stay30 January 2022 SpinSheet.com
ing on the boat trumps everything. It is the granddaddy of boating safety rules. But what else do we have to consider when heading out?
Lifejackets and PFDs A lifejacket or personal floatation device (PFD) can only keep you alive if you wear it, but let’s also be real here and acknowledge that most folks probably don’t wear one all the time. Fair enough. But whether you are a weekend warrior or an offshore passagemaker, the bottom line remains the same: you need to have the equipment onboard, know how to use it, and apply rational thought as to when. If lifejackets exist on your boat only to satisfy the Coast Guard in the event of a boarding, you’ve already lost the battle. Having a supply of general-use lifejackets is always smart, and inflatable PFDs can be worn nearly unnoticeably for long periods of time. Many offshore rated PFDs have integrated safety harnesses, important if you are out in unsettled weather and need to clip in. Have PFDs and lifejackets available, adjusted, and wear them when you should.
Tethers and Jacklines My boat, Ave del Mar, has stout stainless padeyes in the cockpit and jacklines rigged forward for offshore passages. Together with an ISAF-rated double tether, I can navigate my way fully around the decks without ever being unclipped. You probably don’t need that for a Saturday ##The author’s boat in Norman Cay.