The quote, “Luck favors the prepared,” gets thrown around a fair bit when sailors wax poetic about going to sea. And for good reason. The underlying sentiment is when our boats and crew are properly prepared for the rigors of the ocean, we may be more capable of handling potentially dangerous or unexpected situations that arise while underway. Or, at the very least, the chances of having a problem are reduced on a well-found vessel with a competent crew.
Before I delve too deeply into a subject about which books have been written, I’ll acknowledge that no article can completely sum up every variable of making a sailboat ready for the sea. For the purposes of this article, we must assume the vessel being prepared is designed for ocean sailing and has been maintained to a seaworthy standard by her owner.
Fully understanding that every boat and owner are different, and no singular approach to ocean preparation is necessarily “correct,” here’s how my wife, Jill, and I prepared ourselves and our 1984 Grand Soleil 39 Yahtzee for going offshore.
With a goal to sail north from the Pacific Northwest to Alaska and then back south to California, Mexico and beyond, we knew we needed to go through all our boat’s safety gear with a fine-tooth comb. To accomplish the task efficiently and thoroughly, we downloaded the Safety Equipment Requirements (SER) from races that take place in these waters – the Pacific Cup, Pacific Northwest Offshore Race and Vic Maui – and then cross-referenced those with the latest U.S. Sailing Safety Equipment Requirements and ISAF Offshore Special Regulations. And we each attended a U.S. Sailing Safety at Sea (SAS) seminar.
What we learned from comparing these safety lists to our boat’s gear is no matter how prepared we thought we were, or whether we knew what items were “required” or “recommended,” there was always room to improve or upgrade our onboard safety equipment and seamanship skills. If you’re planning to make long, coastal hops or head far offshore, I’d highly recommend doing a similar assessment of your boat and crew preparedness. Here are some of the things we learned along the way.
Crew Safety
Personal safety is paramount when the boat leaves the dock, and it’s more than just the old maxim, “One hand for you, one for the boat.” Every crewmember needs to have a safety harness and tether. Tethers should be no longer than seven feet and should have a means to allow for a quick disconnect under load. Life jackets are obviously a must, but they should be specific to the wearer, have a leg or crotch strap, plus a whistle and a waterproof light. They should be fitted with marine-grade, retro-reflective material and be clearly marked with the boat’s or wearer’s name. They also should be compatible with the wearer’s safety harness if one is not built in.
We purchased leg straps and SEE-ME Personal Locator strobes for our inflatable PFDs, and we each have a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB). PLBs are not currently required but are encouraged by many experts and should be seriously considered for every crewmember. Another consideration is to have PLBs that are also AIS capable.
A waterproof flashlight for each crew member is also required and it is a good idea for everyone to have a knife and headlamp as well. Speaking of knives, one should be secured somewhere in the cockpit or on deck where it is easily reachable by all crew. Also, a high-powered spotlight should be readily available.
The boat should have jacklines rigged to allow crew to clip on before coming on deck and to unclip after going below. There also should be adequate places for on-watch crew to clip into the cockpit; permanently installed pad eyes are the most common choice.
A LifeSling or equivalent device should be stored on deck and ready to use at a moment’s notice, as should a 50-foot throw rope. In addition, boats are required to have a man overboard pole and flag with a lifebuoy, self-igniting light, whistle and drogue attached. A self-inflating Man Overboard (MOB) module such as a MOM-8, Dan Buoy or similar device will satisfy this requirement; it should be tested and serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications. These items should be stored on deck, ready for immediate use and affixed in a manner that allows for a quick release. It is a good idea to stencil the boat’s name on all safety gear and life rafts. In the instance of gear such as life rafts and MOM-8s, you’ll have to do this when you have it serviced next.
Our life raft, which is packed in a valise, fulfills all requirements and is kept in a stern lazarette that is easy to get at in case of an emergency. While sailing offshore, life rafts should be stored in such a way that they are capable of being launched within 15 seconds. But don’t just assume you can do this. If your raft doesn’t have a hydrostatic release and must be deployed by hand, do several dry runs and time yourself to see how quickly you can move your raft to a place where it can be launched.
Ditch bags are an entire topic on their own and are personal to each boat owner and the needs of crewmembers. At a minimum, they should contain an EPIRB and a waterproof VHF, which can be counted as part of the ship’s gear.
Emergency Communications
From Starlink to Iridium Go and more, the communication options for offshore sailors have never been vaster, which makes redundancy an achievable goal when outfitting your boat. Many offshore rallies and races require multiple devices to be able to send and receive email and access weather information. On Yahtzee, we currently have Starlink, a Garmin InReach and an SSB radio, and each one has a place in how we communicate with friends and family ashore and with other sailors on the water.
Along with satellite-based communications, nothing can replace a reliable VHF radio setup. VHF radios should have a permanent connection to the masthead, as well as a backup antenna. In addition to a fixed-mount VHF, you should have a watertight handheld VHF radio or a handheld model with waterproof case. The recommendation here is that the radio has Digital Selective Calling (DSC) and GPS capability as well. DSC functionality is important because it will be tied to an identification number (MMSI) specific to your boat. When paired with GPS, DSC can let the authorities know exactly who you are and where you’re located.
No article of this scope would be complete without a pitch for having AIS aboard. Whether it’s on my own boat or on boats I’ve delivered, having AIS has proven itself as a capable safety feature time and time again. In busy shipping lanes or out in what is seemingly the middle of nowhere, having the ability to track and, if necessary, contact other vessels, is crucial. Couple AIS with a quality radar system and the benefits to vessel and crew are immense. That said, nothing replaces the need for reliable watchstanders who can dutifully scan the horizon, identify traffic and then decide how to avoid a collision.
Coast Guard regulations regarding flares are not quite as robust as those of offshore race SERs. We supplemented the USCG regs with two SOLAS orange smoke flares, six SOLAS red parachute flares and four SOLAS red hand flares. There are also several electronic flare options on the market now, but make sure to check that they meet governmental regulations for the waters you’ll be transiting.
Hull Openings & Pumps
Along with having reliable communications, I’d be remiss here if I didn’t mention the need for high-quality, high-volume, manual bilge pumps and the ability to drain the cockpit sufficiently. Having a permanently installed manual bilge pump of a capacity of at least 10 gallons per minute (GPM) that is operable on deck with the cabin closed and with the discharge not dependent on an open hatch is a must. And unless a bilge pump handle is permanently attached to the pump, it should be attached to the boat with a lanyard or catch. Also, the bilge pump’s discharge should not be connected to a cockpit drain and should not discharge into a cockpit unless it opens aft to the sea. You also should have a second manual bilge pump of at least 10 GPM capacity that is operable from below deck and meets the same criteria as above. And the old saying holds true, “There is nothing more efficient than a sinking sailor with a bucket,” because two sturdy, two-gallon buckets with lanyards are required for most offshore races.
Along with being able to pump out water, you have to keep it from coming in in the first place. Companionways need to be watertight and if you have interlocking removable washboards, as we do, they must be attached to the boat with a lanyard so they cannot be lost overboard.
Through-hull openings below the waterline are an obvious incursion point for water and each should have an appropriately sized bung secured to it. Another requirement that is helpful in general is to have a posted waterproof placard indicating where all through-hulls are located, along with the vessel’s safety equipment. We have a thorough diagram of Yahtzee’s interior, with all of these locations color-coded and numbered, mounted on a bulkhead at the navigation station.
Seamanship Skills
From the information I’ve been able to gather, every offshore race and many coastal races in North America require some percentage of a boat’s crew, including the captain, to take an approved Safety at Sea seminar. There is a reason for this: they are informative and well run and they will greatly improve the overall safety of everyone aboard in the event of an emergency. Cruisers and racers participate in teaching and taking these courses and from pyrotechnics to storm sail handling, there is a ton of great info to be gleaned from a SAS seminar.
It is a requirement that a boat carry an appropriate emergency tiller and that all crewmembers know where it is and how it is fitted and used. But the crew is also required to be aware of multiple methods of steering the boat with the rudder disabled and should have chosen and practiced one method of doing so and be prepared to demonstrate it, steering both upwind and downwind. We have an emergency tiller, but we also have a Hydrovane, which works independently of our main rudder and can be used as an emergency rudder.
Brief Your Crew
On Yahtzee, we cruise as a family of four, and our boys, now 9 and 11, are helpful and knowledgeable. We’ve discussed onboard safety regularly as they’ve gotten older. Over the years, we’ve brought on other crew to either help with a passage, to cruise with us, or for a race. Many other cruisers do the same, especially singles and cruising couples who sail shorthanded.
When a new crewmember joins your boat for an extended passage, it’s important to brief him or her on all the safety gear that you have, where it’s located, and how it’s used. Give the newcomer a tutorial on the chartplotter, AIS, VHF radio, EPIRBs/PLBs, and any other communications equipment that you have aboard. Having a thorough checklist to help with this task can make it easy and will give him or her something to look at if he or she wants to review it later on his or her own.
Along with the boat’s safety equipment, you need to ensure that new crewmembers have their own PFDs and foul weather gear. If they don’t have their own PFD, you should have one for them that is of appropriate size. I once cruised on a friend’s boat that had an adult PFD, PLB, and handheld VHF radio reserved for extra crew.
It’s also a good idea to give new crewmembers a “boat show.” Down below, walk them through the boat and point out through-hulls, especially the sea cock for the engine and its associated raw water strainer. Point out where bilge pumps are located and any switches that operate them manually. Show them where the fire extinguishers, fire blanket, propane shut off, and flares are. Having a schematic of your boat with the location of all these things can be as useful as a checklist.
Next, take your show on deck and introduce them to the Life Sling, life raft, throw rope, emergency tiller, and more. Ensure the anchor is secure and explain how it should be deployed. Talk through the sheets, halyards, and control lines, and give a briefing on your steps for reefing, because every boat is different.
It’s also important for crew who are not regularly part of the boat to be aware of various safety procedures. Have they done a crew overboard maneuver before? Do they know how to deploy a life sling or crew overboard module? Do they know how to mark a crew overboard on the chartplotter. If not, practice.
Yes, this all sounds like a lot just to bring someone along for a ride or have extra help. But when something goes wrong in the middle of the night, or you just need a helping hand, you’ll be glad you went the extra mile in preparing your crew.
A crew overboard maneuver is never something any sailor wants to do in a real-world situation. The requirement is that crew shall practice this procedure in a manner appropriate for the boat’s size and speed. This practice should consist of marking and returning to a position on the water and demonstrating a method of hoisting a crew member back on deck.
After thoroughly going through Yahtzee’s onboard equipment, it became obvious that while we had the vast majority of the required or recommended items, especially some of the big-ticket items like storm sails and a life raft, there were definitely holes. We filled some right away and are now looking at a list that isn’t too daunting to complete.
The above is just a portion of the requirement list we looked at, so whether you are setting out on offshore passages on your own, joining a cruising rally or planning to compete in an offshore race, I highly recommend downloading a Safety Equipment Requirement checklist and applying it to your boat. You might be surprised at what you find – or don’t find. Heck, you might even get lucky. n