Okay after Thursday incident , what sort of preparations do you do prior to heaving off
Do you make a passage plan including safe anchorages in case the weather turns ?
When navigating is it old style ? Log book ,plotting on chart ,keeping track of weather, fuel consumption.
When going out are you dictated to by a time frame where you have to arrive by a certain time ,ignore the weather I need back

What would happen if you had no power for navigation on your chart plotter and didn't plot on a chart .
Do you look at the weather prior to departure or understand it ? Do you care about it
How about carrying a spare radio ,logging in with coast stations.
How much provisions water,fuel ,spare batteries,food,?
What safety plan would I implement if I was sinking ,mast breakage ,holed or flipped over ?
Is your vessel seaworthy ,what sort of safety equipment , motor spares ,alternative bilge pumps ,enough chain for anchoring.
If you haven't a life raft what other sort life saving equipment ,have you thought about how you would be airlifted ?
When sailing at night do you understand ships navigation lights ? Navigation beacons
How about understanding who has right away ?
Sound signals in fog , do you carry AIS transponder.

Are you prepared to loose it all with a she'll be alright attitude it will never happen to me.
I am positive most sea breezers yachties comply above and beyond ,we need to help those that don't.
Safe cruising everyone it's a wonderfully life when cruising safely.

spiggie said..
Okay after Thursday incident , what sort of preparations do you do prior to heaving off
Do you make a passage plan including safe anchorages in case the weather turns ?
When navigating is it old style ? Log book ,plotting on chart ,keeping track of weather, fuel consumption.
When going out are you dictated to by a time frame where you have to arrive by a certain time ,ignore the weather I need back

What would happen if you had no power for navigation on your chart plotter and didn't plot on a chart .
Do you look at the weather prior to departure or understand it ? Do you care about it
How about carrying a spare radio ,logging in with coast stations.
How much provisions water,fuel ,spare batteries,food,?
What safety plan would I implement if I was sinking ,mast breakage ,holed or flipped over ?
Is your vessel seaworthy ,what sort of safety equipment , motor spares ,alternative bilge pumps ,enough chain for anchoring.
If you haven't a life raft what other sort life saving equipment ,have you thought about how you would be airlifted ?
When sailing at night do you understand ships navigation lights ? Navigation beacons
How about understanding who has right away ?
Sound signals in fog , do you carry AIS transponder.

Are you prepared to loose it all with a she'll be alright attitude it will never happen to me.
I am positive most sea breezers yachties comply above and beyond ,we need to help those that don't.
Safe cruising everyone it's a wonderfully life when cruising safely.

All of the above. How much depends on the trip.

FIRST OF ALL, ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE, HAVE A BOAT DESIGNED FOR AND CAPABLE OF UNDERTAKING THE PASSAGE.

All the safety gear/gimmicks in the world aren't half as important as having the right boat in the right condition.

Buy an S&S34 and spend years getting it ready.

Yara said..
I totally agree that setting sail offshore on a boat you just bought is a common story of people getting into trouble. Road transport to your home port is the safe but expensive alternative. This is maybe why boats in remote places fetch lower prices.

Exactly what I did with my yacht once I spent some time on board and realized that a little bit of work was required to make her sea worthy outside Pittwater.

frant said..
Pretty simple. Cat 1 or Cat 2 if limited coastal. Most important is crew qualifications, again use Cat1 or 2 as guide.
Unfortunately that will probably knock 90% of the 3ksb's from here out.

KSB- well known German pump manufacturer. 3 ksb's ????

Spiggie this can be can of worms.
But I will stick my chin out and wait for wack.
Actually the rise of positive posts is very heartening, but lets also try and keep things a bit light, informative and amusing.

… what sort of preparations do you do prior to heaving off?
Depends on the trip. Day Bay sail Overnighter Coastal sail Extended cruise All dictate a level of preparation. Boat should always be ready for an unexpected trip at short notice.

Do you make a passage plan?
Always.
I follow three rules in everything I undertake and in my planning.
1. Do not create a problem.
2. If a problem eventuates, make sure it can be contained and not blow up to affect others.
3. If it unavoidable that the problem affects others, minimise that effect and normalise as quickly as possible with least impact on others.

.. including safe anchorages in case the weather turns ?

Always, part and parcel of cruising is to study the area you expect to cruise and learn all you can. Calculate and note the time of arrival at all destinations

When navigating is it old style ?

A bit of everything that is available at the time. If its available use it.

Log book ,
Not religiously but notes at least every day. Habitually I save all routes and tracks, which I then overlay and study as part of my relaxation so that anything I do on the boat is automatic and second nature

plotting on chart ,
Now only new places, but as above I record every track (have done since 2003).

Keeping track of weather,
Always, no sailor should go anywhere without being aware of the weather. (In practice I find this is a bit lax with motor cruisers, there seems to be an assumption Motor cruisers can always make a run for port/sheltr/home, to me a danger to boating.)

fuel consumption.
Should always know how much fuel but more importantly the range you have with the fuel you have. Always carry more than what you need to reach a safe harbour with fuel supplu available. When going out are you dictated to by a time frame where you have to arrive by a certain time , Deadlines and sail cruising are oxy-morons, don’t go if you must reach a destination at a specific time.

ignore the weather I need back
Only at your own peril. Check the weather then check it again. What would happen if you had no power for navigation on your chart plotter and didn't plot on a chart . Again depends on the nature of the cruise. But generally anyone who sails out of the sight of land should be able to calculate direction and time of day, otherwise stay inshore.

Do you look at the weather prior to departure or understand it ?
Read the above

Do you care about it
If you don’t, you should not be on a boat.

How about carrying a spare radio ,
Again depends on nature of trip. Basically carry what you can afford and know how to use it properly. Unfortunately 7 out 10 I see are owners and not users of all kinds of gadgets. If you have it learn to use it and take it with you.

logging in with coast stations.
It,s a pet habit of mine. But unfortunately in Victoria login on is rarely done.

How much provisions water, fuel, spare batteries, food,?
Sufficient for the trip/cruise plus more. Water tanks should always be topped up. Always carry spare water in plastic bottles.
Should not leave without checking fuel is more than sufficient for the intended cruise or leg of the cruise.
Batteries, this is interesting, I have changed all my devices requiring batteries to units that use only AA batteries, and I carry a spare pack.

What safety plan would I implement if…
I was sinking, mast breakage, holed or flipped over ?
Depends how I got in that situation.
But again see my 3 rules above and in particularl
- stay calm
- count to 10
- act decidedly and deliberately
- Minimise peril to others

Is your vessel seaworthy ,
Should not be at sea if not seaworthy

what sort of safety equipment ,
All mandatory equipment plus learn how to use it with your eyes closed, and store it where it is easy to get to and deploy.

motor spares ,
I personally minimise my dependence on a motor, I sail and use the motor as a convenience. Twice I have had to return to my home port at night, under sail with an engine that was disabled.

Alternative bilge pumps ,
My bilge pumps are manual, plus I carry a variety of buckets and containers. Separate bailers for my dingy always lashed in the dingy.

enough chain for anchoring.
Anchoring is a topic on its own, but I read some where that if you can’t sleep while at anchor you should upgrade your anchoring system.

…. Life raft
For off shore. Coastal and bay I carry my dingy.

…. Other sort life saving equipment ,
The usual dictated by the authorities. Also refer to my 3 rules above. Club safety manual.

have you thought about how you would be airlifted ?
Yes. Have been airlifted during my Army days

When sailing at night do you understand ships navigation lights ?
Should not be out there if you don’t.

Navigation beacons
As above

How about understanding who has right away ?
Happy to participate in a show and tell.

Sound signals in fog ,
Curiosity killed the cat.

do you carry AIS transponder.
Off shore, one would be mad not to carry an AIS these days. (But there is a story here also)

Are you prepared to loose it all
Not really, but I am pragmatic.

with a she'll be alright attitude
You now should be in the ABC, (they are more outraged than you or me!)

it will never happen to me.
The longer it doesn’t to me the sooner it’s going to. (If I am out there long enough)
But, it has never happened only to those that have never done anything.

Long post but it was a long question.
I tried to avoid making standard statements because I believe the questiner was genuinely wanting information.
Cheers

On one of the yachts I cruised on one of the most important things was to have it properly stowed so that hypothetically if it were turned upside down and shaken nothing would come loose, this meant you were prepared if the sea state suddenly changed, not having to struggle with stowing and tying things down if the weather built and safe from items being turned into projectiles in roughers.
We carried all safety gear, liferaft, flares, radar, EPIRB, radios, AIS, life jackets, harnesses etc. We had a really well equip grab bag ready to go with everything from V-sheets and signal smoke to vinegar and fish hooks for survival.
Plenty of food and water onboard, more then enough to cover the passage and then some.
We had back ups for the back ups for the back ups as far as navigation systems went running onboard three laptops with C-Map, Maxsea and Tsunami programs as well as hand held GPS and as the very minimum we had a basic mobile phone navigation app and a sextant.
We maintained 24hr watch when passage making.
We used Weatherfax and monitored the weather extremely carefully selecting a minimum of three days forecast comfortable winds window before setting sail.
We only once took crew onboard and the only requirement for them was to stay awake, keep watch and let one of us know if the yacht started tracking off course. The yacht was set up with intergrated Autohelm and would pretty well sail herself up to around 20kts, she was 42 feet and well equip with all lines run to the cockpit, including reefing, set up for single handing so sailing with two or more onboard was easy.
I think out of all of the above at the end of the day the most useful and regularly depended on safety features were making sure the crew were adequately rested and able to maintain a good watch, monitoring position (good to always know where you're at :)) and carefully monitoring the forecast weather.

Meg1122 said..
On one of the yachts I cruised on one of the most important things was to have it properly stowed so that hypothetically if it were turned upside down and shaken nothing would come loose, this meant you were prepared if the sea state suddenly changed, not having to struggle with stowing and tying things down if the weather built and safe from items being turned into projectiles in roughers.
We carried all safety gear, liferaft, flares, radar, EPIRB, radios, AIS, life jackets, harnesses etc. We had a really well equip grab bag ready to go with everything from V-sheets and signal smoke to vinegar and fish hooks for survival.
Plenty of food and water onboard, more then enough to cover the passage and then some.
We had back ups for the back ups for the back ups as far as navigation systems went running onboard three laptops with C-Map, Maxsea and Tsunami programs as well as hand held GPS and as the very minimum we had a basic mobile phone navigation app and a sextant.
We maintained 24hr watch when passage making.
We used Weatherfax and monitored the weather extremely carefully selecting a minimum of three days forecast comfortable winds window before setting sail.
We only once took crew onboard and the only requirement for them was to stay awake, keep watch and let one of us know if the yacht started tracking off course. The yacht was set up with intergrated Autohelm and would pretty well sail herself up to around 20kts, she was 42 feet and well equip with all lines run to the cockpit, including reefing, set up for single handing so sailing with two or more onboard was easy.
I think out of all of the above at the end of the day the most useful and regularly depended on safety features were making sure the crew were adequately rested and able to maintain a good watch, monitoring position (good to always know where you're at :)) and carefully monitoring the forecast weather.

Thanks for the excellent info Meg I knew you cream them all

I'm currently preparing for my delivery voyage (Sans Souci -> Nelson Bay), so I'll share what I'm currently doing now.

1. Identify outstanding OMRs (Outstanding Maintenance Requirements)
Also known as carried forward unserviceable or engineering maintenance requests. Basically identify what is currently unserviceable or awaiting maintenance. Conduct risk assessment - What must be fixed before departure = fix it.

2. Conduct check of safety systems: Are the life jackets, flares and EPIRB in date? Does the bilge pump, backup and radio work.

3. Prepare a feasibility study: How far do we want to go, how long do we have, what is the required speed of advance? Is this possible?

If yes continue:

4. Update charts: If this hasn't been done fortnightly make sure it is done now! Really though you should be doing this when Australian Hydro puts out their fortnightly notice to mariners

5. Prepare passage plan: Put tracks on chart (yes paper), record the courses into the passage plan, estimate wheel over dates and times. If travelling at night estimate times for raising and dipping of lights. Add the normal weather - the monthly wind roses are available on the BOM website. Your passage plan should also include emergency anchorages including where they are, what direction they are protected from and so on.

6. Get short range weather reports from 3 days prior to departure, keep studing these in the days to come.

7. Get weather on day of departure

8. Go sailing.

While sailing
- maintain a good lookout by both sight and by hearing as well as all other methods appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions - remember we are not top of the pile, there are alot of things we are required to give way to.
- Have life jackets readily available. Personnel on the upper deck wear life jackets at all times from sunset to sunrise.
- Display lights IAW rules of the road
- Display shapes IAW rules of the Road - remember if we have sails up AND are using the motor at the same time we are required to display shapes by day
- Conduct accurate navigation - record position regularly, you should be able to conduct several fixes between where you are and running aground. Record hourly position in the ships log (maintain accurate ship log :p)

I'm sure there are things I've forgotten to note, but that's the general plan I'm working to.

Apart from all the usual safety gear and boat prep for our delivery trip from Airlie to Perth, there were a couple of really useful items:

1. Satphone. Used daily to receive txt weathers and send updated planned route changes. We had no HF.
2. Spot tracker. Knew exactly where the boat was every 30mins. It can also be used to send a couple of user preset email messages such as "underway" and "at anchor", "need assistance" etc.
3. Land Person. Had a copy of detailed route plan, emergency procedures steps (contacts etc), sent daily weather txts, followed progress on spot tracker.

Oh & make sure you log on with VMR, I have found the volunteers extremely helpful & friendly along that part of the coast.

Mathew Flinders never had this crap and he did alright.

I reckon a lot of it is up to the person on the helm and if he's getting plenty of sleep and grub. It certainly helps if the person can sail :) but it seems you have to be a lot more than just a sailor to keep a boat in the same condition it left port in.

Presently sitting in Vanuatu and there are boats of all shapes and sized from Big $$$ to budget conscious. It ain't the type boat (with in reason) or how much gear you got on board. It's you!! The decisions make by the skipper can make or break a voyage (or a boat).

Bit ironic but the words from Kenny Rogers "The Gambler" come to mind. "You've got to know when to hold it, know when to fold it, know when to walk away, no when to run"

My thoughts anyway and I sure as usual I'll be wrong again :)

frant said..
Pretty simple. Cat 1 or Cat 2 if limited coastal. Most important is crew qualifications, again use Cat1 or 2 as guide.
Unfortunately that will probably knock 90% of the 3ksb's from here out.

Cat 2 can easily be overkill for a passage that fits into Cat 3 or 4, like a coastal overnight or day sail. Yes, in an ideal world every boat may have Cat 1, but whether that is actual the ideal place to spend money for most people is another issue. Just about everyone has limited funds. Looking at the overall risks in life, there are other areas it's probably worth spending the time and money on, like your car and health. I've never done the stats, but it could well be that the typical sailor is more at risk driving down to their boat rather than sailing it, more at risk of a heart attack due to lack of exercise or stress than of drowning.

I don't know of a single major accident during Cat 3 racing, for instance, that would have been solved if the boat had Cat 2 equipment on board. But I do know of guys who drove unsafe vehicles every day so they could afford a new life raft.

By the way, it's pretty damn harsh to call someone else's boat a "SB". Your boat is doubtless a "**ter" by the standards of some people but you no doubt love it and would not like it being insulted, so why insult the boats that others own?

Don't forget the fun and romance. Not worth doing without it.