MAKING IT PERSONAL — D
a skinned knuckle. And there's no way you'll ever convince us that going 6, 7, or even 15 knots in a sailboat on the wideopen expanses of the Bay or Pacific is anywhere near as dangerous as hurtling down a freeway at 80 miles an hour, where mere inches separate you from a teen driver who is texting, a soccer mom who's painting her fingernails, or a truck driver who's checking baseball stats on his smartphone.
Even though there is nothing inherently dangerous about the sport of sailing, bad things can happen out on the water. Nevertheless, the message of this article is that if you're a conscientious sailor, you'll insure that both your personal gear and the boats you sail on are as safe as possible. In this article we'll highlight gear and techniques that help make all forms of sailing — including ocean crossings such as the Singlehanded TransPac and the Pacific Cup — substantially safer than they once were.
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any Bay Area sailors spend decades recreating within the waters of San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay
ALL PHOTOS MARTHA BLANCHFIELD EXCEPT AS NOTED
POCKET-SIZED SAFETY INNOVATIONS
In the past few years there's been a dramatic increase in the number of new and affordable tracking devices intended for personal use. As we perused the Strictly Sail Pacific boat show in April, we kept an eye out for products worth considering, such as water-activated personal strobe lights, personal location beacons (PLBs) and more. Here are several items that made a strong impression on us. (Editorial note: These product highlights are not meant to be endorsements, but are simply offered to educate readers and inspire them to do further research on their own.) See-Me Select Water-Activated LED Rescue Light & Strobe In the strobe-only category, the See-Me Select is a water- or manually activated rescue light with a microprocessor. When the wearer hits the water, the light automatically goes into a strobing mode to attract rescue. As rescue gets closer, the switch Page 90 •
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can be manually adjusted to alter the light from a strobe to a steady light. After rescue, a press of the button will switch off the device; the light will automatically reset back to water-activation mode. Each unit has two LED lights that burn at up to 28 candelas — more than 35 times brighter than required by the Coast Guard. On one set of batteries, the lights burn for 27 hours In strobing mode or 24 hours in steady-light mode. The device is USCG-approved, SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) compliant, and waterproof to 200 feet. ($50-$80) Firefly PRO Waterbug Emergency Distress Strobe Light The Firefly PRO Waterbug also has automatic water activation triggering, but offers four modes: armed for automatic water activation, ultra-bright strobe light display, SOS strobe display and steadyon. The LEDs produce a 360-degree beam of light that is more than 41
and the Delta and never venture beyond the Golden Gate. But as every local knows, the strong winds and currents of the Bay — especially during the summer months — make our inshore waters as challenging as sailing offshore almost anywhere else. With that in mind, we've included two sidebars: The box below spotlights some of the many new personal safety devices now on the market that offer remarkable functionality at affordable prices. The sidebar on page 92 lists safety gear that every boater should scrutinize. It is taken from a larger document created by the specially formed NorCal Offshore Racing Council in the aftermath of the Low Speed Chase incident. We think you'll find that its tenets are hard to argue with. For an expert's per spective on the subject of personal safety, we asked Chuck Hawley, chairman of the US Sailing Safety at Sea Committee, to give us his thoughts on the most important safety devices for both offshore and Bay Area sailors. candelas bright for visibility up to 3.5 miles away. Firefly PRO can operate continuously for more than 56 hours. It is USCG-approved and factory tested to be waterproof up to 33 feet. ($45-$100) A step-up in the realm of PLB devices are those with an emergency button that, when activated, send a distress signal with GPS coordinates. This feature is a huge aid for getting help when you’re in or on the water, but out of communications range. AquaLink PLB & AquaLink View PLB Both AquaLink devices are buoyant GPSenabled rescue beacons with three levels of integrated signal technology: GPS positioning, a powerful 406-MHz signal and 121.5-MHz homing capability. Each can quickly and accurately relay your position to a worldwide network of Search and Rescue satellites, broadcasting a unique registered distress signal that tells rescuers not only where you are, but who you are. At 9.2 ounces and less than 6 inches in length, the AquaLink can be carried in a pocket or clipped to a harness. A step up is the AquaLink View with digital display that shows ACR
uring the two years since five Low Speed Chase crew members perished tragically in a Farallon Islands race, West Coast sailors have taken great strides to make offshore sailing — as well as cruising and daysailing — as safe as possible. Nevertheless we're hit with constant reminders that even though there is nothing inherently dangerous about the sport of sailing, bad things can happen out on the water: In late February a crewman fell overboard during the Berkeley YC Midwinters and only one of the several boats that responded had the proper safety gear to retrieve him. In late March a crewman in the Clipper Round the World Race fell overboard in the midPacific while en route to San Francisco, and it took an hour and 40 minutes for his boatmates to locate and retrieve him. In early April, a combination of boat problems and the frightening illness of a one-year-old child aboard Rebel Heart triggered a dramatic rescue 900 miles offshore that quickly became international news. Two weeks later, during a Sequoia YC race, a crewman was killed when the boat's rigging snagged a day marker, causing the mast to topple into the cockpit. A week after that a female crew fell overboard in San Pablo Bay during the Great Vallejo Race, but she was quickly retrieved. Of course, while all these incidents were taking place, thousands of sailors were happily racing and pleasure sailing both inshore and offshore without getting so much as a bruised thigh or
