By John Rousmaniere, The New York Yacht Club: A History © John Rousmaniere
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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.
Good seamanship should include the ability to assess, address, and anticipate. The best offshore sailors use sight, smell, hearing, and feel to monitor what is going on below, on deck and in the wider environment for whatever may come next. Experience lets the crew member distinguish the significant concerns from normal variations. In a perfect world, every issue would be caught before it becomes a problem or emergency. Let’s snap back to reality—it’s not going to happen… Read moreBy John Rousmaniere, A Berth to Bermuda © John Rousmaniere
Read moreBy John Rousmaniere, A Berth to Bermuda (2006) © John Rousmaniere
Read moreSeveral decades ago, entering Morro Bay around sunrise, I was at the helm of a 30’ wooden ketch while the rest of the crew slept below.
Read moreIn Stephen Covey’s best-selling self-help book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, one chapter is titled “Sharpening the Saw”.
Read moreAfter two major collisions with substantial loss of American lives between US Navy destroyers and merchant ships, many of us went to websites that provide histories of the movements of the ships in the area up to the minute of the collision.
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AIS, or Automatic Identification System, is one of the most significant marine safety innovations in a decade. Required on much of commercial traffic and available (and highly recommended) for recreational boats and even personal gear, AIS devices can serve to track other boats, alert to risky situations, and even help locate a navigational aid or crew overboard.
Read moreFrom The Annapolis Book of Seamanship
Here are accounts of two successful rescue efforts in the stormy 2011 Chicago to Mackinac Race. Each rescuing crew was awarded an Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal by U.S. Sailing.
Read moreA collection of a few tips from the acknowledged masters of sailing
Anticipation
“A seaman laboring under an undue sense of security becomes at once worth hardly half his salt.” (Joseph Conrad, The Mirror of the Sea)
“The rule of the 6 Ps: Proper prior preparation prevents piss-poor results.” (John Bonds quoting a Navy bosun)
Read moreFrom The Annapolis Book of Seamanship
Read moreThe Bermuda Race’s medical chair (a race skipper) describes the causes, prevention, and treatment of this all-too-common and potentially dangerous condition.
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