Yesterday at the LongPac skippers' meeting we talked about safety, even though there is no formal safety at sea seminar for this event. Thought I'd write a little bit about that.
Making sure that the boat remains seaworthy and can be controlled is important. To this effect, there is a bunch of gear that's required:
Keeping water out to keep the boat afloat
- bailing devices: bilge pumps (Elise has two, that can be operated from above deck as well as below deck and a manual pumps) and two buckets. The bilge is the 'inside' draining system
- Drains: Elise's cockpit is self-draining, eg. it has two drain holes that are not connected to the bilge (so it doesn't compete for precious tube space). Also, if huge waves were to break onto the cockpit, we place washboard so that even if the level of water in the cockpit was high and it took a while for it to drain, there should be no water going inside and into the bilge
- Throughhull plugs: Elise's instruments (speed and depth) require transducers that are inserted through the hull. This is the reverse problem...we don't actually want these to drain. There are plugs that are right next to them should they fail and need to be replaced. There are also additional throughhull plugs that may be used for offshore if the initial ones were to fail
- Even with loads of water inside the boat, she would be a good liferaft ever - so Elise now has inflatable opti buoyancy inside its cabin. In addition, she is very beamy and hollow and a lot of air would be trapped on the boat if everything were closed, hopefully, helping her deck to stay afloat, until she could be towed to safety (or sadly abandoned...)
- Washboards, ways to secure them (from inside and outside the cockpit) and a companionway hashboard are required to limit the amount of water that could get inside the boat (even in non-stormy conditions, with a choppy 25 to 30 knots, Elise's deck is super super wet as she has very little freeboard). A dodger helps keep the cabin dry and comfortable.
Keeping control
- Steering: there is no requirement for a spare rudder for LongPac, perhaps because it is not really far at sea and there would be ways to get towed back in by another competitor or the Coast Guard if things were really really bad. There is some minimal steerage that can be done via the sails alone if you do not have to keep that up for weeks on end, and if you were to give up on racing, you could rig a spinnaker pole, the oar and some wooden boards from the boat to do a makeshift rudder that could power the boat at 2 knots max through the water...and sail under storm jib in a 10 knot breeze...
- In a storm, you can use a sea anchor or a drogue to keep the boat pointing the right way
- Under engine, your engine can actually steer your boat
- There is a requirement for a spare tiller (a piece of wood that we can screw on or latch on to replace the existing tiller) - it is very sturdy and slots right in. Elise could still race if this emergency tiller was used (unlike a lot of wheel-based boat that see their performance suffer badly when they have to take out their emergency tiller!)
- Storm sails: if the weather gets really bad, it is important to trade speed for control, and in some cases, you actually improve VMG by improving control. Overpowered, Elise (or other boats) would have a lot of leeway and move more sideways that toward their destination. So even if boat speed is reduced, speed toward destination is improved. Elise's offshore mainsails have two (and I think that our cruising main has three) reefing points which allows considerable reduction of sail area. It will also carry a trysail (you need to remove the mainsail from the mast slot to hoist it, but you could still roll the main around the boom since the trysail does not require the use of that spar) which is a storm mainsail. It is more difficult to trim effectively and point but it offer a way to stabilize the boat and can actually allow racing in pretty high winds. In terms of headsails, Elise has a #4 (which qualifies as a storm jib) and has an actual storm jib (for a 22-24 footer) on order to provide even less sail area, for short-handed upwind capabilities). It has a blast reacher for very windy reachy conditions (a reach is a point of sail) and downwind, there is a shy kite that it's hoping to win on eBay ;-)) it's a tiny little kite but that would fly much higher than any other headsail and allow her to run very close to downwind, compared to a traditional headsail. It also carries a 1.5oz spinnaker with a narrow shoulder. It is narrow where there is more breeze (up high) and of a heavier cloth so it can take in more wind. The shy kite is of light material.
- If Elise has to run barepole (or under storm sail but tucked in and only for stability purposes) before a storm or decides to ride it out heaving-to, it is useful to make sure that the boat faces the wave. Offering its beam to a high breaking wave increases the risk of being rolled over. Elise will carry a couple of extra drogues to achieve this purpose (laying stern-to) and could even improve on that drogue by tying up empty spinnaker sailbags and throwing them over the side to increase the drag. Elise has a sea anchor which can be used to have the boat lay bow-to. The bow is more designed to cut through the wave and is stronger. It would also typically slow down the boat (and nearly park it) as there woudl be a lot more drag with a sea anchor than with a drogue (the weeny little drogue use to pull out the man overboard pole is not suited to slow down Elise in any kind of way ;)) - and because the boat would most likely face upwind, it would be in a 'stopped' position and not run before a storm/waves. It is a lot more jerky and hard on the boat, so this could be for extreme storm situations which we do not expect to encounter. It is not a required item, and it is heavy. I may decide not to take it on the LongPac and just make a makeshift sea anchor with an actual anchor and a couple of these additional drogues I was mentioning. (note: there is so much force applied to these things that you need to deploy them with very sturdy lines, ideally that can stretch a little bit so they can absorb some of the effort and with a plan to recover the lines on the winch (basically make sure that there is at least one turn on a winch somewhere along the line), otherwise, you'll probably lose whatever you have thrown overboard)
Elise is a boat that is particularly suited for me (an Elf, according to Nathan) in that, it really doesn't require a lot of muscle to steer her, even in pretty heavy wind, so adjusting sail area will do wonder on that boat, and she is much more stable than a lot of other light displacement boats on any point of sail (quite impressively so, she is sailed like a dinghy but is so well built that she can withstand pretty nasty offshore conditions in a safe way, even though it won't be fast), she really is quite something of a boat - and for such an affordable pricepoint (have I said that I am a big fan of Express27s before? These boats do not exist in Europe and I wish they were there. They would do wonders on the Atlantic and absolutely revel in these conditions)
Be seen:
- Radar reflector during the day (AIS transponder if you have one)
- Keep a lookout (or electronic lookout) and call ships around so they know about you
- fog horn in the fog (although I doubt it can be heard from the bridge of a big ship)
- navigation lights at night (and even flash light straight into your white mainsail if you are worried about poor visibility)
- Monitor the AIS system: you can see the names of the ship - if they get too close, say 3 to 5 miles or so, call them on the VHF and let them know you are around - you technically have right of way as a sailing vessel but you can be really hard to find as a tiny speck out in the ocean...
- You can also call Vessel Traffic Control (channel 12 outside SF Bay, 14 inside which is actually really helpful in the event of heavy fog, which is not unusual during the summer) and let them know about you, they will let ships know about you.
Ways to remove harmful or useful material out of harm's way or into a useful deployment capacity
- this could be a saw, or a set of pliers to remove the rigging if it menaces to puncture the hull, or it could be the cockpit knife to free up a line that has jammed against a cleat, or a personal knife to cut loose a halyard of a spinnaker gone wild and threatening to take the mast with it.
- it could be quick release knots for anything that might have to be moved out quickly (like a liferaft)
- Make sure you know where things are and that the way is clear to these items (Elise has one fire extinguisher near the companionway hatch and one near the stove at the other end of the boat for example. The boat hook is easy to access. The engine will be mounted on the stern so it can easily be deployed (mainly if there is no wind and Elise needs to get out of the way of a ship) and the anchor will take its place so it is very easy to get to and throw overboard in a pinch if the boat was getting too close to a lee shore)
This is actually why I keep asking people to put things back exactly where they found them. It is not that I am maniac (although I could be), it is just that if this particular something becomes needed in a hurry, we dont' want to spend 30 minutes looking for it. This is also true of the corkscrew.
People Safety
- lifejackets et al is important but single-handed I would say that keeping your tether clipped on at all times would be the most important piece of personal safety. I will also wear the remote control for the autopilot (if I can get that to work) as it might be helpful to get the boat to steer back toward me...but I don't expect my boat to know about its crew if it leaves her and her sails are well trimmed)
- Keep a knife so you can cut through any jammed line would be helpful
- medical kit (my floating hospital) and a manual. Most importantly I will take phone numbers to physicians I know so I can give them a call for assistance if I need to (or the race committee that can put you through to someone knowledgeable)
- EPIRB or communication devices (keep spares in your grab bag so they stay with you, not the boat...) ideally with positioning capabilities since if someone is out to find you, it's helpful if you tell them where you are) - I will have a GPS-enabled waterproof hand-held VHF on me while I am on deck. If I were to fall overboard, at least, I'll have a shot at calling someone immediately. This is an organized event and there *might* be a boat passing near by that could retrieve you before the cold sets in too hard
- Stay warm, bank on sleep whenever you can (you never know if you'll hit a storm that will require you to be up for 48 hrs) even if you are racing, eat well and stay hydrated. In any emergency situation, if you are fit and well fueled up, your chances of survival are much much greater
- Dress well: foulies when you need them, shorts if it gets too hot, etc...go below on a regular basis if you get too cold outside, or try to get some shade, or cold water on if you get too hot. Either extreme is bad :)
It is also good to know your limit: learn when you are tired, when you are hungry, thirsty and listen to your body whenever possible
Learn about what you can handle: I know I can sail in 45 knots of wind pretty safely AND race. I know I can leave a spinnaker up in 40+ knots of wind because I have done it before, in pretty unfriendly swells (Coastal Cup). Above that, I know I will move into storm tactic and worry more about staying safe than sailing fast - downwind, I might still be able to race quite effectively, but I probably wouldn't want to have a spinnaker up. I will probably rig the spinnaker sock when I hoist the heavy weather spinnaker too, just so that I can easily decide to swap to a white headsail to gain more control without exhausting myself gathering a spinnaker. I can then deal with it at my convenience.
Know your boat: Elise right now is the safest boat for me to do these races in. I know that she can bury her bow into a wave and come right back up, I know how stable she is downwind, I know how much she can take upwind, I can read some signs that would tell me: reduce your sail area, get off the breeze, etc...I know she can heave-to, etc...all these are not only reassuring, but they are very helpful in that it helps you be a step ahead of a 'critical' situation, or not precipitate yourself into a self-created one...I also know how to fix up a few things...and loads on Elise are very manageable for someone like me. I can carry sails around without exhausting myself in the process. I can steer her without actually requiring a lot of muscle power - which means that I can be more comfortable for much longer - hence safer.
I have also found that it is best not to upset marine mammals. They can get a little itchy...
