Browsing: emergencies

Cruising Life
By

How To Use Flares in an Emergency. Take Heed…

Here’s some great advice about how to use flares safely from Skipper Tips.  Take a look now; these tips could help save you and your boat in an emergency: You cannot fire flares without permission from both the US Coast Guard and local authorities (check regulations in your area if outside of the US). But, you can train your crew before you cast off for cruising. Hold mock simulated drills out in the cockpit.  Follow these five steps: 1. Face Downwind Move to the edge of the boat. Put your back to the wind. Brace yourself as the vessel pitches and rolls. Double…

Cruising Life
By

How To Make A Mayday Call that Works

If the absolute worst happens, a fire on board, a collision with a sunken object, a sudden storm or rogue wave, and you need to place a Mayday call for help, do you know what to do? Sure, we all have probably tucked away the proper protocol in the back of our consciousness someplace, and if we have our act together we have also shared that knowledge with our crew. But in the event, when the panic sets in, do we know how to prioritize the Mayday call so that we are ensuring that the Coast Guard or other vessels…

Cruising Life
By

How To Keep Your Boat from Sinking

Unfortunately, this happens a lot more than we’d like to think. Small boats, big boats, all kinds of boats. Lots of times there are things you can do to keep your boat afloat (like not hitting that reef in the first place) before you get in serious trouble. The point is, seconds count; so do strong bilge pumps. Here’s some great advice about what you can do once things start to go south: http://www.boatingmag.com/how-to/how-to-prevent-your-boat-sinking#page-7

Cruising Life
By

Fires on Board: What You Can Do. A New Report and Video from the BoatU.S. Foundation

We’re all aware of the possibility of a fire on our boat. But I know from my own experience, and that of most of my friends, we tend to put that possibility in the back of our minds. Yes, we have enough extinguishers; yes, we check them periodically, and yes, we tell our family or crew where they are and how to use them. But that’s clearly not enough. Because fires are much worse than we think they are. They spread faster. They often cut off escape routes. They can be explosive. All this is spelled out in a great…