Safety on small water


One of the things that we should all take very seriously while sailing is safety. As small lake sailors, we need to make sure that sailing on a small bodies of water does not lull us into complacency. Safety has several aspects. Here are some of my thoughts.

Some of this is easy, because it is mandated by the US Coast guard, or by the MN DNR. This list should be look upon as minimums.
  • Life jackets. One approved type 1,2,3,5 for every person on-board. Per MN law, anyone under 10 years of age must wear one while on deck.
  • Throw-able. One approved throw ring or seat cushion
  • A horn or whistle.
  • 1 fire extinguisher

That is just a list of stuff that you need to have on board to be legal. But that does not make you safe. Being a safe and prudent skipper is more about your processes and mindset. Here are some things to think about.

When taking guests out, find out if they can swim. This is so important. If they cannot, insist that they wear a PFD. I'd suggest having one or more lightweight inflatable PFDs on board. Stylish and light, people will not feel awkward wearing them. You can put one on too if you think it might make the person feel better. If you go this route, make sure it is an automatic inflatable, which inflates on contact with the water. A non-swimmer will not have the presence of mind to pull an inflation cord if they end up in the drink. Also note, in many cases these inflatables DO NOT count as part of your on-board PFD total unless they are worn at the time of inspection.

Always get a good local weather forecast. Keep your eye on the advance of bad weather, and listen to the weather radio. Get off if big winds, storms, or tornadoes are warned of. You can see THIS post for more information on weather radios.

Have a cell phone on board, and transport/store it in a waterproof bag. If you have a water emergency, call 911. There is NO ONE monitoring VHF channel 16 for maydays. The 911 operator will likely dispatch the Minneapolis or Hennepin County water patrol.

Make sure you have an anchor on board that can hold your boat in strong winds. The little trolling motors we have to use on lakes Harriet and Calhoun do not have enough power to push into a strong wind. Getting caught on the wrong side of the lake in a storm can be a disaster unless you have a way to hold yourself off the shore.


MOB. Make sure you crew knows what to do in a Man Over Board situation, and most importantly, what to do if it is you, the skipper, that has fallen out. The throw ring is nice, but can't bring a person back to the boat. If you typically sail with your partner, make sure that you both can solo the boat back to a MOB person, or at LEAST quickly stall the boat into irons to let the person get back, or get to the thrown item.  I suggest having a throw-bag on board. This unit, which can be hung from the stern rail, cost $15 dollars and can be thrown 50 feet. A good idea on any lake. You can see them HERE

Soloing. If you are out by yourself, be sure to wear your PFD, and carry your cell phone in a waterproof sea-bag. If you fall out, typically someone will see you, but do you want to take that chance?






Think ahead, be prepared. This is the best advice of all. Make if part your sailing. If plays into one of the best sailing definitions I have ever heard:

The true definition of 'excellent seamanship' is the combination of good planning and judgment that saves a skipper from having to exhibit excellent seamanship.

Truer word never spoken.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DNR map of Lake Harriet

Image
The Minnesota DNR publishes a bottom contour map of Lake Harriet. Although not really intended for ship navigation, it shows good anchorage locations and is handy to have on-board. It also shows that unlike Lake Calhoun, Lake Harriet is uniformly deep, and that means that is is mostly free of the nasty Milfoil that plagues its sister lake. The full-size map in PDF format is HERE . FYI, a map of Lake Calhoun is  HERE .  If you own a Garmin handheld GPS and are interested in a FREE depth chart of the lakes, be sure to see this post HERE .
Read more

Motors - Electric only!

Image
One of the biggest challenges faced by cruisers on Lake Harriet is the prohibition of Outboards. Because gas motors are NOT allowed by the city, you have to use an electric trolling motor. In almost any sense this is a compromise, as a typical 50-lb thrust motor generates the equivalent of about 0.75HP. For anyone used to having their boat pushed around with a 8HP motor, this can be daunting. In practice, however, it is rare when it becomes a problem on Lake Harriet, as we all go back to mooring buoys, which we can sail to. The size of the lake allows getting to the lee side in a strong blow. The biggest challenge is power management. The motor will be the biggest draw on your boat's 12V system, and a dead battery means either no way to get home, or no lights for the evening sail. You have for factor in how you plan to keep it charged. See this related article on power management HERE. . Regarding size, choose a 50-LB thrust as a minimum, and look at 24v as opposed to less effici...
Read more

Keeping an eye on swimmers

Image
Maybe it's just me, but it seems there are a LOT more people free-swimming across the lakes. I'm sure it is people training for the triathlons, and I didn't give it much thought until last night, when we almost ran over one. We were reaching at about 5 knots, sitting on the low side to induce some heel when we quickly slipped by a swimmer. We didn't see him, and he didn't hear us. I don't know who was more surprised, but I DO know who was in more danger. There was over 20 boats on the lake last evening. Under these conditions, swimming in the open water is just dangerous. I knew the MPRB was thinking about setting up open swim areas, but was pretty sure they had not done so. I called them, and they confirmed that open swimming was illegal, and pointed me to THIS page on their site. In addition, that told me I should call 911 to report swimmers. I'm not sure that I'll do that, but I would really hate to hit one, or even come close. I don't know ...
Read more