help at sea Archives - Safe Skipper Boating & Safety Afloat Apps for phones & tablets

Preparing for sailboat cruising

by Simon Jollands | Boat Handling, Boat Maintenance, Communications, Crewing skills, Emergencies, Navigation, Preparation, Yacht ownership

Preparing for a sailing trip entails a lot of planning. In this blog, we take a look at some of the many safety aspects that a skipper needs to consider before heading off on a cruise. The degree of preparation, knowledge and equipment needed for cruising will vary...

Five dangers a vessel may encounter at sea

by Simon Jollands | Boat Handling, Boat Maintenance, Communications, Crewing skills, Emergencies, Navigation, Preparation, Yacht ownership

What are the main dangers a vessel may face at sea and what should skippers do to reduce the risk of these happening? Collisions with other vessels The Collision Regulations apply to “all vessels upon the high seas and in all waters connected therewith navigable...

Avoiding personal dangers at sea

by Simon Jollands | Boat Handling, Communications, Crewing skills, Emergencies, Navigation, Preparation, Yacht ownership

In order to stay safe at sea, we need to know the risks we are facing and to be aware of any personal dangers we could possibly encounter. Here are six of the most common potential dangers individual crew members should be aware of. 1. Fatigue, seasickness and...

Safety at sea principles

by Simon Jollands | Boat Handling, Communications, Crewing skills, Emergencies, Navigation, Preparation, Yacht ownership

Safety at sea is not as simple as just spending money adding shiny new emergency equipment such as liferafts, danbuoys, distress flares, EPIRBs and so on. While these items are important, it’s better to view them as an insurance that offers a potential lifeline when...

Boating emergency – how to broadcast a MAYDAY emergency call

by Stuart Batley | Communications, Emergencies

How to broadcast a MAYDAY emergency call How to broadcast a MAYDAY emergency call if a vessel or person is in grave and imminent danger and immediate assistance is required: • Check that your VHF radio is on and high power setting is selected Select Channel 16...