Auckland, NZL (March 9, 2015) – An independent report into the grounding of Team Vestas Wind on Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race was released today. It included a set of recommendations aimed at improving safety at sea for the entire offshore racing community. Click here for full report. In particular, it has suggested…
USCG Alert-14 Regarding Offshore Sailing 9 Jan 2014
This is an excellent blog post which we encourage you to read regarding Spinlock deckvests.
Reprint from Latitude 38 July 31, 2013 – Pacific Coast of North America Offshore sailors make note: Effective Wednesday, August 1, the US Coast Guard will no longer monitor voice frequency 2182 kHz for International distress and safety. They will also drop 2670 kHz for marine information and weather broadcasts, and they will discontinue…
The next ISAF Sea Survival courses at San Francisco Yacht Club have been announced. They will take place November 2nd – 3rd and November 9th and 10th. Please sign up by going to SFYC website.
At this time of year a lot of people in the northern hemisphere are flying to race starts with their inflatables. Here are some useful documents to download and put in your bag with your lifejacket. Have fun and be safe where ever you are sailing. 2229-2229-DV on Aircraft_994[1] – From Spinlock if you have one…
I want to let you in on the most useful safety device on the market today, it is simple and free. When going down your checklist for getting underway, this safety device should be the first and last item checked on your list. It is called a Float Plan (http://www.floatplancentral.org/). A completed Float Plan that…
The first fully crewed Farallones race since the accident. TNT was loaded with friends of LSC two of us had sailed with Alan on the Farr 40 a lot and two had sailed with Marc on Cal 20. It was a flat, 15-17 knots day cold and gray and we were well aware of the wave…
Should you have the unfortunate experience of needing a tow or hopefully you are the person doing the towing there are a few things you need to know… I have been questioned by numerous people about how an 82 foot sailing vessel weighing 67T (in light mode) gets towed down the coast. It is slightly…
As I am towed down the coast we are checking in with our tug every 30 minutes on 18A. My nav station 25W VHF (with masthead antenna) screen looks like this. Notice the 1W on the left hand side. When I press the Hi/Lo button that changes to 25W. So why am I on low…