WATERLINES
Signs that the 2009 boating
season was in full swing were all
around me.
Driving to work across the Spa
Creek Bridge, I spotted the first
Canadian multihull making her
way north after wintering in
warmer climes. At the foot of the
bridge, on the Eastport side, all
the shrink-wrap covers that had
protected the fleet of new boats at
Chesapeake Whaler Town were
gone, and the sparkling Boston
Whalers looked oh so alluring.
From my office window, I watched
an intermittent parade of cruising
boats venturing out for a few
hours, returning after owners had
aired out a winter’s worth of stale
air and refined their “to do” lists.
And, over the last weekend in
March, I attended the 30th annual
Safety at Sea Seminar, held at the
United States Naval Academy.
Along with more than 300 other
avid boaters, I wanted to renew
my focus on preparation, planning,
and prevention, and to learn how
to avoid emergencies or—in the
event that they are unavoidable
—
find out how best to deal with
them and keep them from
becoming crises.
Our technical editor, Steve
D’Antonio, was one of the
presenters. Steve discussed the
realities of flooding, how to gauge
whether your boat is equipped to
deal with an inflow of water
from a hull strike or a cooling
water leak or a stuffing box
failure, and why your immediate
focus must be plugging the leak
first and pumping dry after.
Get ready, get set...
Later, looking around in the
bilge of a friend’s boat, I realized
that one of the tapered wooden
plugs he usually ties near the
seacocks had come adrift and was
nowhere in sight. I searched until
I found it, and then I tied it to a
solid fitting within easy reach. Part
of preparation includes looking for
little things that could fail. That is
the essence of seamanship.
Capt. Kip Louttit spoke about
the U.S. Coast Guard’s search-and-rescue mission, about what
kind of help you can expect when
your safety at sea is in serious
jeopardy, and how you can best
prepare to be found in the vast
expanses of water that we all
crave to navigate. Later, the
USNA Sailing Squadron gave a
demonstration of several man-overboard recovery techniques,
narrated by Chuck Hawley from
West Marine. Standing along the
Naval Academy seawall, it was
apparent to the couples who
cruise alone that they would
face a daunting task getting one
person back into the boat with
no help. The value of wearing life
jackets whenever you’re aboard
and of having additional flotation
devices at hand to throw, or
purchasing a simple rope ladder
or a Lifesling Hoisting Tackle
system, came more clearly into
focus. The Squadron members
also demonstrated recreational
and SOLAS (Safety of Life at
Sea) flares and smoke devices,
and I made a note to check
the label on my own 12-gauge
meteor flare kit to make sure
it hadn’t expired.
Dr. Dan Carlin spoke frankly
about self-sufficiency and handling
medical emergencies at sea,
reminding me that my Red Cross
first aid and CPR skills were
out of date. He pointed out how
quickly hypothermia and motion
sickness can jeopardize even
an experienced crew when the
weather turns. Note to self: keep
Transderm Scop prescription up
to date and in the ditty bag.
I also remembered a scene
from the 2008 Solomons Trawler
Fest in which I witnessed
PassageMaker University
presenter Dr. Michael Jacobs
detailing symptoms to a student
who was preparing to profess
“illness” to several other class
members. This role-playing was
crucial to Dr. Jacobs’ instruction
as he taught his students how to
manage medical emergencies in
the marine environment. Slipping
quietly into his classroom, I
was dumbfounded to find how
few cruisers were attending the
seminar. In a medical emergency,
until professional medical attention
is available, Dr. Jacobs’ training
could make the difference
between bearable discomfort
and extreme pain.
There were plenty of other
speakers at the Safety at Sea
Seminar, and even though the
focus was more on sailboats, the
lessons for powerboat cruisers
were invaluable. Take control of
your own situation, and have a
beautiful season.
John Wooldridge
Editor-In-Chief
