Sailing De Novo

In the second part of our reassuring-our-parents-we-won't-die series, we look at safety onboard De Novo. Quick disclaimer. We do what we think is best for our little boat and our situation, but we're not experts. We still have so much to learn. Please feel free to give suggestions. On the other hand, if anything here can help you, great, take it!  Our Safety at Sea training suggested labeling safety gear and making boat-wide safety diagrams. So we did, and we added them below. These drawings help by reminding us of important locations and procedures and familiarizing crew and guests with our boat. By going through the process of making these diagrams, we took the time to make sure all safety items were placed in practical, accessible areas, something we only tangentially thought about beforehand. We don't cover heavy weather sailing in this area (when we reduce sail, heave-to, etc.) because it's pretty individual to the boat and personal comfort. If you'd like to ch...

After a long pandemic break, The Sailing Foundation  held their popular Safety at Sea course again this year, and Dave and I were lucky enough to attend. As a hybrid training with US Sailing , students take a 15-part online course in sea safety essentials before attending a 10-hour hands-on training. Because these certificates are required to skipper specific offshore races (e.g. PNW Offshore, Vic-Maui, and Pac Cap), we've found limited spots are open to offshore cruisers. It's best to get on the waitlist ahead of time. Online Course: The online course includes chapters on the following topics: giving assistance to vessels in danger personal safety gear vessel safety gear crew overboard first aid at sea communication with rescue agencies during an emergency cold exposure search and rescue weather resources offshore signals fire safety heavy weather sailing storm sails damage control for vessel emergencies (demasting, rudder loss, water ingression, etc.) abandoning ship Each cha...