safety equipment

Cruising plans, discussions, etc.
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mike cunningham
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Location: Jacqueline, F30 #3, Discovery Bay, California

safety equipment

Post by mike cunningham »

I am preparing for my annual cruise down the California coast from SF to Monterey or possibly Morro Bay. I typically singlehand but this time I am thinking of inviting my Son and his friend along. The added responsibility of looking after the crew's safety has me in a quandary. Typically I sail this route with basic safety equip.: Mustang PFDs, harness, tethers, jacklines, DSC VHF, GPS. So I have a pretty good chance of staying on the boat and reporting a position and communicating in an emergency...so long as the boat floats. What to do it the event of serious boat damage/sinking?? I expect to remain within 25 to 30 miles of the coast (max). The boat is well found and cared for. So its going to take a catastrophic failure or some sort of hard object strike to get to a sinking. But if that were to happen I could never forgive myself if crew was lost as a result of poor prep. Of course I might not have myself to forgive.

So I've pondered and come up with a couple options

1. Buy high quality immersion suits, rent a beacon - plus - I own the immersion suits so they are always available and the crew can drill with them, the beacon can be taken into the water, existing tethers keep us together. Minus - if disaster strikes we are in the water and we'll need rescue within some finite number of hours. Its gonna be very scary.

2. Rent a liferaft rent a beacon - plus - you're out of the water in a liferaft, beacon in your lap, sipping a mint julep while you await rescue - minus - high cost, inability to drill, hassle obtaining and dropping off raft. I can't justify purchase and subsequent maintenance cost

3. Middle ground - combine strategy 1 with a small inflatable dingy??

So what do you guys think? I am sure there are a host of alternative solutions including quit being paranoid.

Mike
Mike Cunningham
Freedom 30 (Mull) Hull #3
Build date...June, 1986 . Freedom Yachts USA, sloop, shoal keel
Gun Mount and pole retrofitted (purchased from a Hoyt Freedom 32)
Yanmar 2gm20F , 1600 hrs fixed two blade prop
e-rud and ocean racing equipment

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Michel
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Location: Zaanstad, the Netherlands, EU

Re: safety equipment

Post by Michel »

Mike,

I'm in more or less the same deliberations as you are right now. I want to cross the Northsea to Scotland from the Netherlands, a 500 nm trip in cold and unfriendly waters to be done singlehanded. I also want to prepare myself and the boat for offshore racing in the future. I read several reports and books on mishaps at sea and the lessons to learn from that.

I decided to use the guidelines of ISAF Offshore Special Regulations as a base. So I'm going to buy a liferaft and an EPIRB and a handheld VHF. I have a flotation/survival suit like they use on oil rigs in addition to my heavy foul weather clothes. I have the usual set of flares and rockets. I also need third reefs in my main and mizzen.

Like, you I feel the boat would need a very hard beating to punch it so bad that it sinks. But did you think about fire?? That's my main concern for being able to go off board into a raft. If you want drill, you take an offshore survival training. Under ISAF, that's obligatory for every crew member, as is a first aid training.
Michel Capel, Freedom 44 #4 1981 'Alabama Queen', NED8188, cat ketch with wishbones, home port Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, 52*42.238'N 005*18.154'E.

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GeoffSchultz
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Re: safety equipment

Post by GeoffSchultz »

Mike,

I've done extensive off-shore cruising and strongly suggest option 2. The cost of owning and maintaining a life raft is very high, so renting one is quite reasonable when you look at the normal maintenance costs. Have you thought about buying a used life raft? You might be able to get one from a life raft dealer. You don't want to buy one that hasn't been serviced in years as you don't know what you're getting and the last thing that you want is one that fails when you need it.

I can't recommend option 3, as you may not have time to inflate it during an emergency.

My real concern is hitting something, like a submerged container. The boats are well built, so I'm not worried about storms, and I must admit that I haven't really thought about a fire, but that is a possibility.

-- Geoff
BlueJacket
1997 Freedom 40/40
http://www.GeoffSchultz.org

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THATBOATGUY
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Location: F40 CC CK Maryland
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Re: safety equipment

Post by THATBOATGUY »

I think you should seriously consider renting.

I really like San Louis Obispo, what a great place! I was fascinated by the micro climate and sea life; rather whimsical at times. I've heard that Morro is similar but I didn't get a chance to go check it out.

Michael, send me plane tickets! :) Although I think I might have used up all my kitchen passes on this last gig and it will be some time before Kerri is sick of me enough to kick me out again. ;) BTW I could not agree more with the third reef points. We actually have to add second *and* third reef points to ours.

George
George and Kerri Huffman S/V Marquesa Freedom 40 CC CK Sail MarquesaImage

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mike cunningham
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Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:21 am
Location: Jacqueline, F30 #3, Discovery Bay, California

Re: safety equipment

Post by mike cunningham »

Thanks for the responses. I had not thought about fire either. That would suck! Guess I will take a look at life raft rental, I have to admit it will be comforting to have one aboard with the kids.

Regarding reef points I am seriously considering a set of fourth reef points on my 30. I had a hell of a time on San Pablo Bay last summer, must have been gusting to 35Kts. I had the third reef in and wished I could have taken the main down to a hankie, same thing when I was offshore Norcal in about 30kts with an 8 foot swell. The boat is sail able but too powered up to handle comfortably, I bashed through on San Pablo Bay but when I was off shore I turned tail went back down to Santa Cruz to wait for a window. I might have stuck with it if I could have reefed the main further.
Mike Cunningham
Freedom 30 (Mull) Hull #3
Build date...June, 1986 . Freedom Yachts USA, sloop, shoal keel
Gun Mount and pole retrofitted (purchased from a Hoyt Freedom 32)
Yanmar 2gm20F , 1600 hrs fixed two blade prop
e-rud and ocean racing equipment

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Michel
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Location: Zaanstad, the Netherlands, EU

Re: safety equipment

Post by Michel »

Good point about a fourth reef. If you think through the line arrangements, you could set it up so that before you head offshore and are 'asking for trouble', you exchange the line(s) of the first reef for the line(s) of the fourth reef. In that way you don't need extra blocks, bulls eyes and jammers.
Michel Capel, Freedom 44 #4 1981 'Alabama Queen', NED8188, cat ketch with wishbones, home port Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, 52*42.238'N 005*18.154'E.

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mike cunningham
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Location: Jacqueline, F30 #3, Discovery Bay, California

Re: safety equipment

Post by mike cunningham »

Re reefs, yes, that is how I do the reef set up. Now. I typically rig the second and third reef, I find I rarely use the first reef. As it turns out I don't often use the second reef either, Out here on the Bay it seems like its either blowing like crazy or its full main weather, just doesn't seem to be too much in between. The only issue with keeping the fourth reef rigged is that you have a lot of reefing line flopping around up there. I have considered using the Cunningham to secure the tack and a removable strap to secure the clew and provide outhaul tension if and when I go to the fourth reef.
Mike Cunningham
Freedom 30 (Mull) Hull #3
Build date...June, 1986 . Freedom Yachts USA, sloop, shoal keel
Gun Mount and pole retrofitted (purchased from a Hoyt Freedom 32)
Yanmar 2gm20F , 1600 hrs fixed two blade prop
e-rud and ocean racing equipment

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Michel
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Location: Zaanstad, the Netherlands, EU

Re: safety equipment

Post by Michel »

John,

There's a trick to prevent the extremely long reefing lines fouling things up and catching necks and hats. Vendee Globe Open 60 sailors use this too. They have a few grommets in the sail where the reef lines pass by on their way up and down. Through the grommets and around the reeflines are short lengths of thin shock cord to keep the reeflines in place.
Michel Capel, Freedom 44 #4 1981 'Alabama Queen', NED8188, cat ketch with wishbones, home port Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, 52*42.238'N 005*18.154'E.

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Alain
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Re: safety equipment

Post by Alain »

Michel wrote: Through the grommets and around the reeflines are short lengths of thin shock cord to keep the reeflines in place.
??? Michel, a sketch maybe? I don't quite see the shock cord going through the grommets and around the reef lines without interfering during the reefing maneuvre...
Alain
Naïade, F39PH '83, Montréal

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Michel
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Re: safety equipment

Post by Michel »

I'll try to make a sketch. But it's really simple; the shock cord is tied very loosely around the reef lines and through the grommets (or cringles? anyway, eyelets in the sail). It just stretches on either the left or right side, depending on how the sail folds. It also prevents the sail from dropping off the boom, if you have a boom.
Michel Capel, Freedom 44 #4 1981 'Alabama Queen', NED8188, cat ketch with wishbones, home port Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, 52*42.238'N 005*18.154'E.

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