Safety at Sea Now Online

"US Sailing has created an online version of their Coastal Safety at Sea course which allows sailors to take the course without attending an in-person seminar," writes Chuck Hawley, US Sailing’s committee chair for Safety at Sea. "The curriculum was developed based on Gulf of the Farallones racing and the Low Speed Chase incident."

The online course is equivalent to the half-day seminar developed for races in near-coastal waters, including the OYRA series, SSS Half Moon Bay, Drake’s Bay and Singlehanded Farallones, and Windjammers, but not the Spinnaker Cup, Coastal Cup, SoCal 300, or races to Hawaii. The cost is $35 for US Sailing members and $50 for non-members. A Hands-On Online Supplement is available for Coastal Safety at Sea graduates who plan to participate in long-distance races or other ocean passages.

Land-based Safety at Sea seminars this spring in California include the following:

• April 2 — Dana Point YC will host a half-day Coastal Safety at Sea Seminar. Click here for details.
   
• April 9 — Strictly Sail Pacific, at its new location in Richmond, will host a half-day seminar. The $75 registration fee includes admission to the boat show.
   
• April 30 — Santa Barbara YC will host a one-day Safety at Sea Course at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum at a cost of $125 for club members or $150 for non-members. Sign up here.
   
• May 14 — Encinal YC in Alameda will provide the venue for a one-day course with an optional second day on May 15 for hands-on practice and World Sailing (ISAF) certification, which will feature Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht speaking about hypothermia; Lifesling, flares and storm sails demos; rig cutting in emergency situations; a session in the pool with full gear and liferaft deployment; and fire-fighting training. Registration is through the Pacific Cup, but is open to everyone. Prices go up on May 1 and these seminars tend to fill up, so we recommend signing up early.

BAMA’s Doublehanded Farallones, which occurs on March 26 before any of the above, does not require attendance at a Safety at Sea seminar, but does require no-fee online readings for both skipper and crew. "BAMA also offers an archive of incidents (reportedly unique in the USA) and a skippers meeting to cover relevant topics," says Bob Naber, the DHF regatta chair. See www.sfbama.org.