iPhone Archives - Safe Skipper Boating & Safety Afloat Apps for phones & tablets

Essential yacht tender safety for skippers and crew

by Simon Jollands | Boat Handling, Crewing skills, Preparation

Essential yacht tender safety – the dangers inherent in using a dinghy to get ashore from a moored or anchored yacht are all too easily underestimated. A recent experience caused me to have a serious think about essential yacht tender safety. Recently I faced...

A simple guide to understanding tides when passage planning

by Stuart Batley | Boat Maintenance, Navigation, Preparation

Understanding tides when passage planning When planning a trip in tidal waters, check the tides before going afloat. Use almanacs, charts, tide tables and tidal stream atlases to gather all the data you need. It is advisable to have a written note of tidal data for...

Sailing & Motoring in Fog

by Safe Skipper | Boat Handling, Navigation, Preparation

Sailing & Motoring in Fog You can only measure the visibility accurately if sailing & motoring in fog when you have another object in sight so assume that it is less than you think. It can take time to ‘see’ another vessel as you may not be looking directly at...

Pleasure craft safety equipment recommendations

by Simon Jollands | Boat Handling, Boat Maintenance, Emergencies, Preparation, Yacht ownership

Safety equipment is an important part of boat preparation and it is advisable for all pleasure craft skippers to check their vessel is properly equipped. Below are some useful pleasure craft safety equipment recommendations from the UK’s Royal Yachting Association...

An explanation of the IALA maritime buoyage systems – IALA A and IALA B

by Simon Jollands | Crewing skills, Navigation, Preparation

What are the differences between the two IALA buoyage systems, IALA Region A and IALA Region B, and where are they used? As recently as the 1970s there were more than 30 buoyage systems in use around the world. This caused confusion and accidents and it was after...