After several fatal short-handed crew overboard incidents involving members of the Sailing Foundation in Seattle, three of the members (Fred Hayes, Dick Marshall, Doug Fryer) began to search for a solution to short-handed overboard accidents. Their research into accidents, both successfully and unsuccessfully executed, found that a consistent theme for recreational boaters was that the skipper or the more experienced sailor was likely to be the one who went overboard.
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Articles are of general interest to the entire CCA membership, and are not particular to any specific station. Categories include Feature Articles, Safety Moments, White Papers and For Ocean Racers.
Whether you call them flares, or visual distress signals (VDS), or pyrotechnics, some visual form of getting attention from boaters or rescue agencies has been a mainstay of the Federal Recreational Boat Equipment requirements for decades. And during that time, boaters have cursed the negative attributes of these devices: their need to be replaced every 3 ½ years; the difficulty of disposing of them; their potential risk to health when in use; and their relative… Read moreIn March of 2018, three of our members presented a panel in seamanship to a full house in New York Yacht Club's renowned Model Room.
Presenting were:
Read more- This article suggests how the principles of handling emergencies on large ship can be applied to smaller private yachts – yachts capable of being cruised comfortably by two people. The principles can be easily extended to crews of more than two people, larger yachts, and professionally crewed vessels. Read more
- "What If?" is an excellent game to play onboard or ashore, with both experienced and inexperienced crew, day or night, at anchor or underway. Read more
Our highly successful all-day weather seminar is available in video form. Presented by acclaimed experts including Frank Bohlen, Lee Chesneau, and more, this series provides a comprehensive overview and drill-down into many aspects of coastal and offshore weather. Attendees agreed that this was time well spent. Please enjoy these videos and feel free to share them. Read more- Lithium batteries are a fact of life in this day and age, and, like so many other things aboard, we must treat them with care. When I wrote the CCA article on Fire in the Boat – Prevention, I gently danced around the issue of fires in smaller Lithium-Ion and Lithium-Metal batteries. There I talked about the issues of charging them (don’t let that happen in a bunk or under a sail), and the high heat they generate when shorted. Read more
In this reprinted article from SAIL magazine, CCA member Rich Wilson shares the tale of a terrifying capsize at one of the roughest patches on the water.
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Techniques, Tactics and Equipment
As weather conditions get progressively more severe, there is a line that is eventually crossed.
Excerpts from Passage East (the skipper/author’s log of the 1952 transatlantic race aboard his yawl, Caribbee)
By Carleton Mitchell
Read moreIn the attached article, Ralph Naranjo reviews his development as a sailor.
Opening paragraph:
Read moreBy John Rousmaniere, The New York Yacht Club: A History © John Rousmaniere
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