Sea Knowledge And Training – Updated

 

Here’s the sea knowledge and training programme I’ve planned for the Can Opener – with updates: 

On the Water 

• RYA Yachtmaster Offshore

Theory

• RYA Yachtmaster Stellar Navigation theory – done!
• RYA Yachtmaster Coastal/Offshore Prep Theory   done!
• RYA Day Skipper Theory   done!

Specialist 

• Diesel Engine Maintenance
• Marine Radio Short Range Certificate/VHF Operator – done!
• Sea Survival/ Emergency Preparedness
• Offshore Safety
• Veterinary Offshore First Aid
• RYA Offshore First Aid – scheduled 

Other

•  Courses run by manufacturers on servicing and maintaining their equipment – Feb 2013 – done!
• Electrical Systems and Solar 
• Spanish 

That should do it… till I think of something more to decree the Can Opener shall study.

The best thing about sailing is there is always something new to learn. Constant challenges and education. What could be better?

We’re getting there! 

Any other critical courses / topics to add to the study list? 

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Crew Overboard – Steps for Rescue

  

If the worst happens and a crew member goes overboard, what are you going to do? 

Best to have practiced in advance to get them on board. That’s exactly what we did with Bernard Mitchell last week while we were training with him.

And practicing in advance gives two great learning outcomes – one is how to actually do it. The other is just how hard it is to get the boat back to the right place by the crew in the water, to hold the boat steady nearby and to get a wet and exhausted person back on board.

 

Here are the ‘Crew Overboard – Steps for Crew Rescue‘ notes that the Can Opener recorded – undiluted wisdom straight from the snout of the awesome teaching genius that is Bernard:

 Crew Overboard  

Steps for Crew Rescue –  

How to Get ‘Em Back on Board

1. notice
2. shout
3. point – one person continuously pointing at crew in water
4. stop – heave-to 
5. toss Dan buoy over
6. check for lines overboard
7. start engine
8. press MOB button on VHF/GPS to send distress signal
9. sailing/reaching backwards and forwards in front of  crew in water (no more than 75 yards away) while equipment to pick them is readied (on the side you are going pick them up on)
10. approach them at 40-60 degree angle – don’t gybe, always tack
11. lasso crew and attach them, squished up against side of boat
12. then use hoisting equipment to get them on board

‘TO DO’: When your boat is at its berth, practice using your hoisting equipment to lift various team members from a prone position on the dock… up into the boat.

The more we practice in advance, the better prepared we’ll be. We have a ‘skills & drills’ list for the team – this is top of the list.

Anything else we should add to the ‘Steps for Crew Rescue’ list? How often have you practiced Crew Overboard procedure this season? We know we haven’t practiced nearly enough.

–Captain Cat 

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Safety Walk – Newcomers On The Boat

The ‘Safety Walk’ – introducing newcomers to your boat

I like keeping the Can Opener safe. And all our friends and visitors to the boat safe too.

We’ve always moved from the stern to the bow as we walked newcomers through the boat and introduced them to the safety and emergency items aboard in that order. It’s an okay method, but the Can Opener and I realised it still leaves room for some little thing to be forgotten. And that’s not okay.

So last night, I had the First Mate type up a formal and full list of things to show newcomers to the boat. Safety things. Those things you don’t really want to think about – but absolutely must. 

Best to think about them when everything is calm, organised and at the dock. And when everyone is fresh and focused.

In order to be super methodical, we ordered the Safety Walk topics under the following headings: fire, flood, famine, float and first aid.  

Here’s what we are going to show newcomers to the boat and in the following order:

 
Fire

• fire extinguisher locations 
• one by the galley
• one in each cabin and 
• an automatic one in the engine compartment (or if you do not have an automatic, then the extinguisher should be held nearby the engine compartment)
• fire blanket (near galley)
• smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
• bucket/s
• flares
• torch (flashlight) locations

 
Flood

• bilges
• bilge pumps
• auto 
• manual
• seacocks & bungs
• loo operation

  
Famine

• food location
• water location
• victual plan (when the food rations will be doled out)
• how to turn on the stove & propane safety

 
Float

• life jackets & tethers – how to put them on how to use them (hint: all the time. Research shows life jackets only work when they are worn!)
• jack lines
• life raft
• life ring
• danbuoy
• heaving lines
• paddles
• rescue sling
• Crew Overboard procedure

  
First Aid

• first aid kit – what’s in it, where to find it

Safety is our number one priority. All else follows from there. 

And having a list for the Safety Walk gives us something we can easily convert to a Safety Equipment Checklist. Something to refer to, to make sure on a regular basis that everything is up to date and in good order.

Any other suggestions for additions to our Safety Walk routine as we bring newcomers aboard the boat?  What else can we add? What has worked best for you?

–Captain Cat 

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

RYA VHF Radio text – Reviewed!

I assigned this book to the Can Opener to read while we were on the Spain to Greece delivery. He ploughed through it quite quickly – clearly a riveting read.   

Also required reading not just by me, but by the UK Coastguard too. Anyone who operates a VHF* on their yacht must also have a VHF license. 

VHF radio equipment is regularly used for sending and receiving boat to boat, boat to marina and boat to Coast Guard messages. It is an important piece of safety equipment on most yachts.

I’ll be dragging the Can Opener with me on a course to get our licenses soon. And this is the textbook that goes with the RYA licensing course…

How do you use a VHF? What can it be used for anyways? How do you send a distress message properly? 

These answers could save our lives one day, so I made sure the Can Opener paid careful attention to this valuable little book.

Best Thing About This Book

• clear
• concise
• has all the info in it we need to know to get our VHF Operator Licenses
  

Wild Wishes

• There was no brand to brand comparison of VHF equipment – just general explanations of what an average VHF looks like and how it works.
• But hey – that was not the goal of this book. This little book did the job it promised to do.
  

Conclusion 

We like books that do their job. And if you are going to get your VHF license with RYA… you kind of have to buy it. So we did.

Fortunately this is a well written and useful little text.

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

* Very high frequency (VHF) is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz…Currently VHF is at the low-end of practical frequency usage, new systems tending to use frequencies in SHF and EHF above the UHF range…. 

Common uses for VHF are FM radio broadcast, television broadcast, land mobile stations (emergency, business, private use and military), long range data communication with radio modems, amateur radio, marine communications, air traffic control communications and air navigation systems (e.g. VOR, DME & ILS). –wikipedia

In the US

 
In the UK

Book Reviews
Next: The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat, by John Vigor
Previously: Celestial Navigation, by Mary Blewitt

Carrying Self-Inflating Life Jackets on Planes

Are you planning to fly to a start/end point of a voyage with your self-inflating life jacket? 

Inside your life jacket is a CO2 cylinder. Are these ‘dangerous items’ according to flight regulations?

Normally compressed gas cylinders would be classed as a dangerous item, but according to IATA (International Air Transport Association) regulations, they are exempted – with the permission of the individual airline.

Best to get everything in writing and carry that documentation with you (don’t just show up at the check-in counter and try to ‘wing it’). Apparently these rules are a bit of a grey area and not every security checker knows about these exemptions.


So what to do?

1. Call your airline’s customer service at least a week or more ahead of time, and explain what you want to do.
2. Ask for an email confirming they know who you are, what flight you are on and that they approve your carrying a life jacket (and replacement cylinder) on board. 
• It’s better to carry the life jacket and spare cylinder with you in the cabin which you know will be pressurized (versus checking it into the hold which may or may not be pressurized…) 
3. Then print out and carry with you:
• IATA regulations (scroll down to Passenger Information 2012) on carrying Self-Inflating Life Jackets on Planes and
• the email from your airline’s customer service.
4. When you check in, let the check-in counter know what you are carrying and show the documentation above (as in 3).
5. The airport security checkers can still refuse to let you take it on board even with all these steps done. Leave yourself enough time to go back and check it into the hold if you have to.

 
That’s what the Can Opener and I will be doing when we head down to Spain for the boat delivery. It’s about as prepared as we can get.

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Reference

• RYA/CAA Guidance
• Yachting and Boating World Forum (Note – discussion has a UK/European focus)

Safety Gear
Previously: Life Jackets – How Much Does Safety Cost? 

Previously:Sailing Boots – Dubarry or not?

List For Loved Ones

Important Note: The Can Opener is in no way responsible for this choice of picture. A Captain Cat pick through and through. And the last time he gets to select the leading image… (Ya think? We’ll see about that, mate.)

Making a ‘Delivery Itinerary and Contacts’ List

What’s on our List for Loved Ones?

…Also a Captain Cat pick.

• flight info
• basic yacht route info
• description of the yacht
• list of all crew and their contact info
• contact info for the owner’s home base
• our doctor’s and vet’s contact info
• health insurance 24 hour helpline number
• customer service numbers for our airline
• list of marine retailers along our route that carry the brand of life jacket I’ve got the Can Opener wearing and their contact info
• contact info for our smoked oyster supplier and Fedex delivery numbers

We’re giving copies of this to the Can Opener’s ex/not-ex/ex/not-ex, better known as She-of-the-eternal-smoked-salmon. Also to the-best-vet-in-the-world and to my mom, Griselda.

Any other items that should be on the list? Any advice gladly received.

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can opener)

Celestial Navigation For Yachtsmen – Reviewed

Links below at bottom of post

Book the Captain has snoozed upon:  
Celestial Navigation For Yachtsmen, by Mary Blewitt 

How do you use a sextant, take a noon site and do all those calculations to find out where on earth you are?  

Just after WWII, Mary Blewitt (past Secretary of the Royal Ocean Racing Club and then Chairman of the Royal Yachting Association Racing Rules Committee) summed it all up in 50 short pages – concise, clear, down to earth. 

Her work is considered the gold standard on celestial navigation.

If you’re thinking of crossing an ocean, it may be the best investment you make. (Well, that and buying a sextant…)

Conclusion
One of the best cruising ‘texts’ the Can Opener ever bought. The info is timeless.  

Ever read Celestial Navigation For Yachtsmen, by Mary Blewitt? How did you find it? Any good recommendations for other books for the sea library?

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Book Reviews

Previously: Sail Away!
Next: RYA VHF Radio text – Reviewed!
 

http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_mfw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822/US/httpthecruisi-20/8001/2a7349fb-703b-4388-9c61-04128e64e9dc <A HREF=”http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_mfw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fhttpthecruisi-20%2F8001%2F2a7349fb-703b-4388-9c61-04128e64e9dc&Operation=NoScript”>Amazon.com Widgets</A>

http://ws.amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?rt=tf_mfw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822/GB/thecrukit01-21/8001/c49de04e-db2c-42f8-b38e-fd7fd2410d2a <A HREF=”http://ws.amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?rt=tf_mfw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fthecrukit01-21%2F8001%2Fc49de04e-db2c-42f8-b38e-fd7fd2410d2a&Operation=NoScript”>Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A>

Sail Away! – Reviewed

Book the Captain just finished snoozing on:  
Sail Away! *, by Paul and Sheryl Shard

How do you provision and collect inventory to prepare a yacht to cruise – and what’s the cruising life really like? 

Topics Covered

• secrets of successful cruises
• the cost of cruising
• outfitting
• provisioning
• maintaining inventory
• cooking at sea
• personal comfort

Best Part
This book is not set up as an inflexible ‘to do’ list, but rather as an ‘adapt it to you’ list. The Shard’s realise (for ex.) that everyone eats differently and simply using someone else’s shopping list is unlikely to leave you happy. 

So they describe in very useful detail how they tracked their own preferences ashore, and how they created systems to adapt those preferences to life on a boat. 

Then they teach methods to create your own systems that are geared to suit you best. 

Makes sense. We like it!

Wishes
While reading this, we wished we could have copies of the Shard’s lists anyways as a good point to start from. Then we would adapt those lists for ourselves.

And lo! They made that possible. There’s info in the Appendix on how to order disks with their lists on it/them… 

…but booo! They meant floppy disks. 

It seems this book has not been updated since 1998. A quick check at the publisher’s website does not list this book. So it doesn’t look like you can still buy these disks, floppy or otherwise.

The book itself, however, is still available on Amazon, and it’s info is timeless.

Conclusion
This was the first cruising ‘text’ the Can Opener ever bought. It’s still one of his favourites.

Ever read Sail Away! by Paul and Sheryl Shard? How did you find it? Any good recommendations for other books for the sea library?

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

* (not to be confused with Sail Away – no exclamation point – by Nicole Rodriguez…)

Book Reviews

Next: Celestial Navigation For Yachtsmen
Previously: Sell Up & Sail – Reviewed 

http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_mfw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822/US/httpthecruisi-20/8001/8b4655db-b8a3-4682-99f9-a5058d06e5a1 <A HREF=”http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_mfw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fhttpthecruisi-20%2F8001%2F8b4655db-b8a3-4682-99f9-a5058d06e5a1&Operation=NoScript”>Amazon.com Widgets</A>

http://ws.amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?rt=tf_mfw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822/GB/thecrukit02-21/8001/be3f1d76-ca44-4a67-bfcc-80cbf49ab0e2 <A HREF=”http://ws.amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?rt=tf_mfw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fthecrukit02-21%2F8001%2Fbe3f1d76-ca44-4a67-bfcc-80cbf49ab0e2&Operation=NoScript”>Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A>

Ocean Passage Making

Ocean Passage Making presentation at the Red Tabby

Can’t go under it. Can’t go over it. Can’t go around… 

The First Mate and I tripped lightly last week down to the Red Tabby, eyes aglow, to listen to a presentation chock full of ocean crossing tips. Here are the…

…Highlights


Charts 
You need to have:

• tons of paper charts for the region you are cruising (for an around-the-world race you need an amazing 380 (approx) paper charts on board – which is legally required)
• electronic copies of same
• Broadcast Schedules of the Weather Forecast
• Nautical Almanac – 1 per region
• Pilots 

It costs 1000s £/$ to get all this, so look for as much as possible online – where you can often download it free (and make both paper copies and electronic copies). More and more stuff offered free online every day.

Self-Sufficiency

• On a good boat:
• everything has a back up
• everything is redundant
• eg. backup halyards – alternate tension between 2 halyards every 12 hours to reduce strain.

• Don’t rely on water-makers or refrigerators.
• Plan not to rely on them – treat them as an added bonus if you have them and they happen to still work.
• Use baby wipes to keep clean and save water! 

• VHF range is only 25-50 nautical miles max – how will you get info/data, communication outside this range? Make sure you already have what you need before you go.

Preventing breakdowns – Attention to detail

• Constantly do checks – prevention is better than cure.
• Go through scenarios and plan for emergencies 
• what if the rudder breaks? 
• what if a shroud snaps?…
• Build tools and spares inventory with this in mind.
• Prevent chafe on metal, sails and lines before it happens.
• There’s lots of chafe on trade wind routes!
  
• Get rid of metal to metal connections – eg.. use spectra lines to tie on shackles to boom.
• eg. Use cable ties or seizing wire to secure shackle pins.

Choosing Crew

• Are they medically fit? Do they get seasick?
• Know and confirm the experience and skill level of your crew in detail.
• Can you rely on them to keep a proper lookout?
• Are they reliable?
• Do they have a long attention span?
• Reliability is more important than navigational ability.
• It’s helpful to choose crew with useful, different backgrounds eg medical, mechanical, communications experts…

How will a medical emergency be handled? 

Effective helicopter range is 200 miles offshore – this leaves a big gap in the middle of the ocean where you have to handle medical emergencies on your own.

• Get pre-passage medical training – first aid, wilderness first aid, wilderness dental, pet aid, survival training…
• Choose crew with medical backgrounds, as above.

Clearly these lecture tips do not cover everything you need to know for an ocean passage. But they’re good points to think about. It was an evening well spent.

Have you completed an ocean passage? What are some highlights and tips that you recommend?

Are you preparing for an ocean passage? What other topics are you researching?

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener) 

Cruising Lectures
Previously: Cruising in Oceania

Sell Up & Sail – Reviewed

Links at bottom below post

Book the Captain just finished snoozing on: 
Sell Up & Sail: Taking the Ulysses Option, by Bill and Laurel Cooper  

How do you move from dreaming about cruising to actually doing it – and what’s it really like to live aboard a yacht?

Best Part
The authors’ dry delivery style is quite engaging. You get a strong impression of what having drinks at the taverna with them would be like – a lot of fun!

Though it does discuss repairs and some technical topics, really the focus of the book is on the stuff of ‘life aboard’. With a palatable ratio of info-to-anecdotes that makes it an enjoyable read.

Wishes
The book we borrowed is copyright 2001. It looks like there is a 2005 edition on Amazon. Still, we wish there was a more recent edition.  

A more up to date and comprehensive tome to invest in (a real biceps builder) would be The Voyager’s Handbook, by Beth Leonard.  It’s got the soft stuff as well as a ton of technical detail too.

Conclusion
Sell Up & Sail gives a feel for what cruising was like 10 and 20 years ago – and how things have changed.

Apparently it’s a lot more crowded and harder to find isolated spots in the Med these days. Since we won’t know what we’re missing, I guess we won’t be too devastated.

But things have changed and up to date info is pretty crucial to get – for instance the Gulf of Aden is listed in this book as a perfectly fine route to sail. Of course, this just ain’t currently so. Don’t leave home without getting up to date info on crucial safety topics like this!

And the sections on communications equipment and electronics really speak of a bygone age. Technology and brand names have moved on, everything’s changed.

So while it was a fun historical romp and we’re glad we borrowed it to read, it’s probably not the first investment to choose for an up to date cruising library. We’d look forward to looking at an updated edition of this in the future, however. 

Ever read Sell Up & Sail? How did you find it? Any good recommendations for other books for the sea library?

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Book Reviews
Next: Sail Away! – Reviewed

Previously: World Cruising Survey – Reviewed

http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_mfw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822/US/httpthecruisi-20/8001/470c7563-828d-4483-95cc-8b4999add74b <A HREF=”http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_mfw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fhttpthecruisi-20%2F8001%2F470c7563-828d-4483-95cc-8b4999add74b&Operation=NoScript”>Amazon.com Widgets</A>

http://ws.amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?rt=tf_mfw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822/GB/thecrukit01-21/8001/3096009c-9fd7-41b6-9981-cc701cb4c411 <A HREF=”http://ws.amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?rt=tf_mfw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fthecrukit01-21%2F8001%2F3096009c-9fd7-41b6-9981-cc701cb4c411&Operation=NoScript”>Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A>