Tuesday, February 25, 2014

General Safety Checklist


  • 2 buckets with lanyard
  • horse shoe with whistle (clearly for the situation where you encounter someone in the middle of the ocean that has just fallen overboard)
  • strobe (the mast also has a strobe) - because the 'I have fallen overboard and I will reach out to the boat to throw myself a strobe so I can see better' is an unlikely scenario
  • oil absorber for bilge (we had once a major spill on a Drakes Bay race and it took us the longest time to 'sponge' out the oil and then you have to carry this smelly mess with you until you touch land and even if you just hang it outside on deck, it does stink!)
  • manual portable bilge pump
  • Tested cockpit bilge pump
  • Tested cabin bilge pump
  • MOB pole and a tether so it doesn't go overboard (would be quite ironical). Technically this is not a requirement for SHTP if I remember correctly - or for most single handed races. It isn't like you would throw this at yourself once you are in the water. The rule single handed is to NOT leave the boat. Ever. Tether. Tether. Tether.
  • mirror
  • boat hook
  • 2 fire extinguishers
  • liferaft
  • Drysuit in grab bag
  • Survival blankets
  • 2 foghorn (or one and spare canister)
  • Boat whistle
  • cockpit knife and Mast knife
  • jacklines
  • Add a jackline across cockpit to provide fast access to pole if emergency gybe required
  • spare emergency navlights (battery powered) in grab bag
  • Distress flag
  • Radar reflector (rigged)
  • EPIRB
  • Parachute flares x4
  • Red hand flares x4
  • smoke flares x4
  • MOB drogue
  • Tow line
  • Lifesling
  • Plexiglas hatches w/ lanyard attached to boat
  • 1 spot light
  • 3 waterproof flashlights on boat
  • 1 waterproof flashlight in grab bag
  • Bolt cutter
  • Metal saw
  • Emergency Rudder + associated line and 2 turning blocks (under construction right now, I want to try it during my qualifier)
  • Emergency Tiller

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