Safety gear for sailing at sea

[ni...@albion-manufacturing.com]

Dear All,

My partner and I are planning on windsurfing at sea (UK) for the first
time in a couple of weeks.

What safety gear would you recommend as a minimum?

I don't plan to go far off shore and know not to go in an offshore
wind.

We'll be wearing wetsuits (obviously for UK!) and bouyancy aids. I'm
thinking a whistle would be useful and considering an emergency strobe
as recommended by a scuba diver friend. Would hand held flares be an
overkill?

Am I being overly cautious?

Any advice gratefully received!

Thanks,

Nick

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per ni...@albion-manufacturing.com:

>My partner and I are planning on windsurfing at sea (UK) for the first
>time in a couple of weeks.
>
>What safety gear would you recommend as a minimum?
>
>I don't plan to go far off shore and know not to go in an offshore
>wind.
>
>We'll be wearing wetsuits (obviously for UK!) and bouyancy aids. I'm
>thinking a whistle would be useful and considering an emergency strobe
>as recommended by a scuba diver friend. Would hand held flares be an
>overkill?
>
>Am I being overly cautious?

Until a few weeks ago when I almost managed to do myself in on
70-degree water wearing neoprene shorts/shirt I would have said
"Yes".

Now I'd say "Strobe for sure", "VHF radio with DNS if possible",
and "Cell phone in a bag if no VHF".

The recalibration comes where you are out there and the wind
dies... and then shifts to dead offshore..... or you wind up
falling off your board backwards clutching the rig as the board
and the other half of the universal joint go flying downwind.
--
PeteCresswell

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per (PeteCresswell):

>"VHF radio with DNS if possible",

"DNS" shb "DCS".
--
PeteCresswell

[ni...@albion-manufacturing.com]

Thanks very much.

I hadn't thought of putting a mobile phone in a waterproof bag, good
idea!

Glad you're OK now!

[sm...@seattletimes.com]

I would go with whatever makes you feel safe. The best thing you're
doing is planning to sail with someone else. Otherwise, the best piece
of safety equipment you can have is your brain. You have to know your
spot and know your abilities. Sometimes it's just too windy. Sometimes
it's not windy enough. Check the tides, which can affect currents.
Know the spots where riptides occur and what to do if you get caught
in one. Talk to other sailors out there, and maybe rig a bit bigger
than they do to make sure you have enough power, but don't go
overboard (sorry for the pun). If you think you're going to need
something like an 8.0, then don't go. A sail like that might be too
big to manage in ocean conditions.
All that gear might become a hindrance if you're not accustomed to
sailing with it. If your phone gets wet and there's no one to see your
flares or strobe or hear your whistle, what good is it all? That stuff
is a last resort. You need confidence more than anything, and if the
conditions don't feel right, just say no. Don't be afraid to not go.
Just yesterday, I was out sailing out here in Hawaii. My usual spot,
I've been sailing it all summer. Wind was OK, then started to die. I
rode a wave in, turned around for another. I could feel the wind
dying, but usually you get one last gust to help you jibe. I kept
going out further, never got it. Blew my pivot jibe and couldn't
waterstart and it was too choppy to uphaul. Just drifted and drifted.
Swam and butt-drifted towards a very shallow reef known as Razors, and
for good reason. Got one brief gust and waterstarted, and rode a wave
to within a few yards of the reef. Navigated carefully through, hit my
fin twice but stayed standing and made it in. All in all, I wound up
only about 30 yards downwind from my usual launch, but it was an
ordeal. And through it all, what was Plan B? Dump the rig and paddle
into shore. But I had a mile or two to drift before having to make
that choice, and I knew that.

[GBR300]

Hi Nick,
I sail offshore quite a bit. I cross the Solent to IoW often and do
other things to. I join the cruising group os Seavets. You could look
at Seavets to see what is recommended.
Get an Aquapac for your phone.
Telephone the coastguard before you leave the beach and when you
return.
Buddy up
Wear a life jacket
Probably use your winter wetsuit.

Lastly there are some really cheap marker balloons that you would blow
up in the highly unlikely event that you need to be rescued. They are
bright orange and can be seen much easier that your black suit. They
float on the water not in the air.

I have never had to be rescued - ever but I always call the
Coastguard.

You will be fine too,

Enjoy,
Nigel Tailyour

[Ben Kaufman]

In addition to what others have said, make sure you have some reflective
material on your helmet and PFD so a night search would have a better chance of
spotting you. A few years ago a kiteboarder went missing in the Long Island
Sound (CT, USA) very late in the day and the fact that he was dressed in all
black probably contributed to him not being found in the overnight search.

Ben

[ni...@albion-manufacturing.com]

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

It's all great advice and you're all obviously very experienced!

Yes I was thinking it's probably about time to switch to the 5mm
suit.

My scuba diver friend commented on the fashion for stealth clothing,
he says that having bright colours is very important for visibility
whilst diving. I think some reflective strips would be a good idea and
less embarrassing than the full 1980s fluorescent look!

I'll have a look for the inflatable markers.

It must be a great blast going over to the IOW however my ambitions
will be more inshore for the time being!

Presumably you call the local coastguard? Do they not mind keeping
track of the whereabouts of perhaps 50 odd windsurfers?

Best wishes,

Nick

[ctuna]

VHF radio with built in GPS