Medical and Safety
Resources for planning for offshore
Prevention and preparedness are best ways to avoid injury and stay safe during any offshore experience. These resources are to help in that process. The more crewman trained via Safety at Sea, First Aid, and more is always the best way to prepare.
Medical Information
The Fleet Surgeon has created this document to assist with planning for offshore passages, and includes valuable information on:Reference books to have aboard, Medical equipment, and Medicines
Seasickness
“Perhaps no malady to which mankind is subject is productive of so much real suffering with so low a percentage of mortality, as the peculiar affliction known as seasickness.” (Scientific American, 1912).
In reviewing the 2012 Newport to Bermuda Race medical reports, there were 54 cases of self-reported seasickness on board vessels. I suspect, however, that the number of reported cases of seasickness significantly underestimates the actual incidence of this illness that may present in a full range of stages ranging from slight queasiness to severe nausea and vomiting. Anecdotally, I suspect that mild cases were not formally logged and some of the cases occurred without any thought toward preventative measures.
All crew should read more from Jeffrey S. Wisch, M.D.
Safety Articles
Bermuda Race Prep: A Safety Ethos First
Crew safety training is vital to preparing for an offshore race, and for the captain, it starts with building a safety ethos.
Safety Training Requirements Increase for 2020 Race
Newport Bermuda Race competitors will see upgraded and simplified safety requirements in 2020 and will have additional options to receive hands-on training. By Mark Lenci Major East Coast races are taking steps to increase safety-at-sea crew training, and the Newport Bermuda Race is no exception. With this article, Bermuda Race organizers are giving early notice […]
Jury-Rigged Rudder Steers Bailiwick for Last 100 Miles to Bermuda
A broken rudder left Bailiwick’s crew out of the race and with an even bigger challenge, to steer the 40-foot sloop to safety in Bermuda. Photos & video included. By Chris Museler No amount of inspections could have helped prevent what happened to the Blue Jacket 40 Bailiwick late Tuesday night during the 2018 Newport […]
Three Emergency Steering Solutions
A veteran offshore sailor offers a multilayered defense for avoiding rudder failure—and for coping with it when it does occur.
Preparing for the Thrash: Safety Training, Complacency Eradication
“Was I ready for all this?” asks Chris Museler in his account of a busy “gut check” of a day at a hands-on safety at sea seminar. This is the first of a series of articles on preparing for the race. Chris will sail his fourth Newport Bermuda Race in Simon Says, an Andrews 68 owned […]
A Guide to Steering without a Rudder
This guide is the result of multiple tests conducted in the fall of 2013 off Newport, RI in a Swan 44.
All Possible Assistance: A Classic Escorts a Competitor to Safety
By John Rousmaniere and Chris Museler Hamilton, Bermuda, June 25. With their big fleets, Newport Bermuda Races usually have a few retirements. This year is no exception, with 10 teams dropping out mostly due to relatively small but nagging gear failures, constraints on the crew’s schedule, or (to quote one competitor) “lack of forward […]
A permanently rigged preventer is always operational and does not require detachment and reattachment in order to jibe. It prevents an accidental jibe and allows control of the boom throughout a jibe.
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