TSF - Safety at Sea Seminars

Safety At Sea Seminar - 2010

Timed to coincide with the biannual Vic Maui and Pacific Cup sailboat races, the Sailing Foundation conducts a two-day seminar on safe boating practices and safety equipment.

The Sailing Foundation’s Safety at Sea Seminar, held in the Armory at the south end of Lake Union in Seattle, was fully subscribed, with 113 participants on Saturday and 89 on Sunday. Many participants came to obtain required training for offshore races (Vic Maui and Pacific Cup). The 2010 Vic Maui race instructions require that a percentage of racers undergo detailed training as specified by the International Sailing Federation, (ISAF) which requires two days of intensive training—a first for west-coast American races. Others who attended were cruisers, preparing for future voyages.

People came from as far away as Southern California and Calgary, Alberta, to join the group for in-depth instruction on many facets of ocean voyaging. Subjects covered included vessel preparation, heavy weather sailing, jury rigging, storm sails, medical support, weather and communications sources, lifesaving gear, crew overboard rescue techniques, and more.

Chuck Hawley acted as moderator for the weekend. Chuck, technical advisor and writer at West Marine for the past 25 years, is a certified US Sailing moderator with considerable experience offshore and is very familiar with most of the gear available to offshore sailors. Other speakers included Dr. Paul Miller, Professor of Naval Architecture at USNA, Annapolis; Dr. Kent Benedict, Medical Director of Emergency Medical Services in Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties, California; Doug Fryer, founder of The Sailing Foundation and co-inventor of the Lifesling; Carol Hasse, Port Townsend Sailmaker; Paul Russell, 25 years as aviator and chief pilot, USCG; Jim Corenman, member of the US Sailing Safety at Sea Committee and circumnavigator, co-inventor of Sailmail and Winlink offshore SSB communications link; Anthony Lucero, Seattle Fire Department trainer; Brion Toss, Port Townsend Rigger; Bob Schoonmaker, USCG master 100 ton and ASA instructor.

Saturday’s sessions were large group lectures, punctuated with occasional outdoor demonstrations; at noon, a USCG helicopter arrived over head to demonstrate how an aerial rescue would look to a yacht in distress. Participants noted the impressive sounds and wind currents—obviously no conversation would be possible with a chopper low overhead, and for anyone in the water underneath the helicopter, wind velocities caused by blade rotation would be severe. Later in the day, participants watched a demonstration of the various flares available for distress signals and learned which ones were most likely to be visible to a rescuer.

On Sunday, participants split up into small groups for hands-on sessions—medical treatments [interested participants were able to purchase A Comprehensive Guide to Marine Medicine, by Eric Weiss, MD, and Michael Jacobs, MD], weather forecasting, yacht design as it affects ability to withstand heavy weather, storm sail preparation, rigging testing and repair. One session catered to prospective cruisers, rather than racers, giving them an opportunity to hear from and ask questions of panelists who had circumnavigated the globe, on tips for a successful voyage.

One requirement for obtaining ISAF certification was immersion in a pool, while wearing foul weather gear. While in the water, each participant inflated his flotation device and then practiced boarding a life raft. Sailors seldom get to practice self-rescue under realistic conditions and this experience was designed to demonstrate techniques that would be valuable should disaster strike.

Evaluations submitted at the end of the weekend confirmed that it was a first-class event.