Sailing & safety
What do I need to know about sailing?
- The #1 marine toilet rule:
Never flush anything that didn’t come through your body (e.g. no paper, no dental floss, no tampons, no condoms, no q-tips, no needles, no wipes, no hair, no gum, etc.).
- How to operate a marine toilet:
watch this video..
- Conserve water. For example:
turn the water off while shampooing and soaping in the shower
wash dishes with salt water (rinse with drinking water)
use a cup of fresh water to brush teeth
- While underway:
Cabin and bathroom windows and hatches closed to avoid flooding by waves.
Living/dining areas & kitchen: stuff stowed & cabinets secured to avoid breakage.
Items on deck (kayaks, SUPs, paddles, tanks, ropes, personal items) are secured, walkways are free.
- How to operate a dinghy
watch this video.
- Avoid the props
When swimming, snorkeling or diving ALWAYS stay clear of the props of the yacht. On a catamaran, stay at the side of the swimming ladder.
- For fanatics only: Practice the following sailing knots:
Round-Turn-And-Two-Half-Hitches (used to attach a rope to a ring, bar, pole, life-line, etc., we’ll use it frequently to secure e.g. kayaks, paddles, SUP). See instructions.
Clove hitch (used to tie fenders that protect the sides of the yacht). See instructions.
Cleat hitch (used tie the yacht to the dock). See instructions.
Bowline (a secure loop – used all the time). See instructions.
Plus some safety stuff…
You should know the following by the time we leave the harbor area. If not, ask the captain.
Location of life vests and fire extinguishers.
Wear a life jacket at sea if you are not a good swimmer (see below).
Emergency call procedures via the VHF radio (see below).
Man over board procedures (see below).
How to turn off auto-pilot (see below).
Who to contact in an emergency.
Not a good swimmer?
If you are not a good swimmer, let the captain know and wear a life jacket at sea.
Bring and wear a comfortable auto-self-inflating life jacket (available e.g. at Amazon) or one of the yacht’s regulation life-jackets (which are however very bulky for daily use).
Emergency call via VHF
Select channel 16
Full power (25 watts)
Press speaker button
“MAYDAY” “MAYDAY” MAYDAY”
“THIS IS” ________ [name of the vessel). Repeat three times.
Describe your position, the problem and the vessel (e.g. sailboat, one mast, white).
“OVER”
Release speaker button.
Repeat at intervals until an answer is received
Man over board (“MOB”) aka Crew over board (“COB”)
If you fall over board, scream!!!
If you notice a crew member fell over board, scream “man over board!” and point at them, continuously, no matter what, until the MOB is rescued. You are now the “spotter”!
The “spotter” points at the MOB continuously, no matter what, until the MOB is rescued. The head of a MOB is easily obscured by small waves. The spotter assures that we never lose sight of the MOB.
Somebody else, not the spotter:
Throw something floaty, like a fender, a life vest, the horse-shoe, a kayak…
Turn the auto-pilot off (see instructions below).
If under sail:
Turn on engine – make sure there are no lines near the propellers.
Steer yacht into the wind and quickly lower all sails.
Motor to MOB and recover them.
Propeller in neutral (not off!) when MOB is near the propeller.
How to disable the auto-pilot
Press STBY (“Standby”)
