Safety & Seamanship

When researching Changing Views on Chain Hooks (see PS, March 2016 online), we were surprised to discover that some chain hooks greatly reduced the breaking strength of a chain. Unless the hook itself broke, we assumed its effect on chain strength would be very minor.

Although Cuba is terra incognita for many Americans, it has been a popular destination for Canadian and European cruisers for more than a decade. Here, we look at some resources for cruisers planning-or dreaming of-a cruise to Cuba.

Plans are shaping up for my first passage to Cuba this summer, and already, Ive been getting some flack from the friends and family in Miami. My stepmother is from Cuba, so most of my growing up was steeped in the traditions of La Isla, as well as the ire of a generation uprooted by the revolution.

For centuries, navigators have been coping with two key variables that convey major consequence. The first is the quest for an accurate position fix, and the second is the hope that the chart theyre using is an accurate representation of their surroundings. Up until a couple of decades ago, cartographers were winning out and chart accuracy trumped sextant-derived fix accuracy. The tide has turned.

Heralding in a new era for electronic navigation, the U.S. Coast Guard recently published guidance that allows mariners to satisfy chart-carriage requirements using electronic charts and electronic publications instead of paper ones.

When a man-overboard (MOB) incident occurs at night, the odds of recovery become slimmer. The fate of the person in the water hinges on how fellow crewmembers respond and what the victim has intentionally or inadvertently taken with them into the water. A well-prepared offshore sailor will carry essential personal safety gear on him at all times while standing watch during a passage. At the top of the must-have list are a combination harness/inflatable personal flotation device (PFD) and a tether that can be clipped to a jackline to prevent you from being launched over the lifeline. (For an in-depth look at gear and techniques associated with an MOB incident, our downloadable e-book, Man Overboard Prevention and Recovery, is available through our online bookstore at www.practical-sailor.com/books.)

Practical Sailors testing of man-overboard lights involved both lab and on-the-water testing. Our main interest was each lights brightness (radiance), but we also wanted to see how strobe patterns might hasten or delay the recovery of a man overboard.

During our man-overboard light testing, we also looked into the effectiveness of using a waterproof flashlight as a man-overboard signal. Most offshore sailors already carry a compact flashlight or wear a headlamp during night watches-why not choose one that can do double-duty? A dual-purpose flashlight would be in some ways similar to a cellphone-a device designed primarily for everyday use, but also capable of serving a lifesaving role in the event of an emergency.

Most offshore sailors are familiar with jacklines, those long lines-typically made of high-strength, low-stretch webbing-that run along the deck, offering a convenient way for sailors to clip in with their safety tethers and still move about. They provide peace of mind when going forward, and security in the event of a misstep. In previous articles, we reviewed the use of tethers and jacklines . In this report, we take a closer look at the ideal jackline material, with particular focus on elasticity and how the best material is not the same for big boats as it is for smaller boats.

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF), the world governing body for the sport of sailing, has established clear guidelines for ISAF-sanctioned events, and these are generally applied to offshore racing-ISAF-sanctioned, or not-around the world. Among the recommendations are the following: