Tips and techniques to be a happier, safer, and more knowledgeable sailor

[Anonymous]

Tips and techniques to be a happier, safer, and more knowledgeable sailor
saynomore, Thu Sep 03 2009, 05:17PM

Pierre Burton once said “A Canadian is someone who knwos how to make love in a canoe.”
As MacSailors we already have that skill sorted out, but here are a few ideas to hone and round out your nautical expertise on your way to become a better sailor(PY sep 08 diane selkirk)

* 5 knots sailor should know: Bowline, Sheet bend, Figure 8, Round turn & 2 1/2 hitches,and reef knot.

* heat related illness: a person suffering from heat exhaustion may be pale, dizzy, nauseated and sweaty but still cool to the touch. In more severe cases they may vomit. Resting in a cool shaded place and drinking water can relieve heat exhaustion. Left untreated may turn into a heat stroke/sun strike. It is a severe illness where the body tempature control mechanism fails. Because heat stroke impairs the body’s ability to sweat. The person will have flushed warm, dry skin and an elevated body tempature. Can cause disorentation, aggressiveness. Needs immediate Medical care. While waiting for help coll the body down by fanning or misting, offer sips of cool, slightly salted water.

* Binoculars: a good start is 7 x 50, water resistant, could be submersable as a bonus. Some offer Stabilization technology and a built in compass.

* Hypothermia: Sets in when the body’s core drops below 35C, usually caused by exposure to air and/or water. Loss of body heat results in lioss of dexterity, loss of consciousness and can lead to loss of life. Because our bodies can cool down 25 times faster in water than in air, all sailors should have cold water survival skills.
– Wear a PFD and hudddle by tucking your chin into your chest, crossing your arms, and pulling your knees up to your chest.
– Conserve heat by avoiding movement. Swimming causes you to loose heat faster. Only swim if you know you can reach the shoreline or boat.
– If your boat has overturned get as much of your body out of the water by getting on top.

* Start amassing a great library:
-non-fiction:
the water in between by keving patterson
following seas, sailing the globe, sounding a life, by beth a. leonard
taking on the world by ellen macarthur
a voyage for madmen, by peter nichols
goodforsaken sea, by derek lundy

-reference:
Boatowners mechanical and electrical manual by nigel calder
Storm tactics handbook by lin and larry pardey
The voyager;s handbook by beth a leonard
the annapolis book of seamanship by john rousmaniere and mark smith

* Greener boat:
– Leave only wake
– Fill fuel tanks slowly, use rags to catch drips
– Use green cleaners for hull and decks
– Never discharge sewage at the dock, in an anchorage, or sensitive area
– Recycle while underway, dont toss your garbage overboard.
– Watch your wake, do not damage the shorline
– Read Green boating guides

*Cruisin Tunes:
– Summer breeze, seals and croft
– Southern cross, crosby still nash & young
– soak up the sun, sheryl crow
– sailing, rod stewart
– sailing, christopher cross
– sail away with me, david grey
– carolina on my mind, james taylor
– I used to be a sailor, tracy chapman
– Sittin on the dock of the bay, Otis redding
– come sail away, styx
– cruel summer, bananarama
– summer of 69, bryan adams
– sail on sailor, beach boys
– I love sailing, eileen quinn
– Seagulls, great big sea
– bring Harry belafonte along with Ska cubano, ok Don ho and Elvis blue hawaii

* Sailing DVD
– Captain ron
– dead calm
– violets are blue (1986)
– master and commander
– jaws
– pirates of the carabbean (-3)
– Hunt red october
– the perfect storm
– The gardian
– wind
– deep water
– failure to launch
– madison 2001
– message ina bottle
– the african queen
– the life aquatic with steve zissou
– waterworkd

* how to steer through wakes and waves
aim to go through the chop at 45 degrees, try throttling back or slowing down to see what speed is most comfortable.

* emergency hose repair
warap with saran wrap, then electrical tape, then duct tape.

* how windy is os one Knot
a knot is the measure of the wind speed in miles per hour over water. One nautical mile is equal in distance to 1852 Km or 1.15 strue miles. so 30 knots of wind is equal to about 55 kph or 34.5 mph

* how to shoot a flare
each year check your flare to see if they are still current (4 years)
areal flares:
Shoot into the wind at a big angle, not straight up
in strong wind lower the angle to about 45degrees
handheld flares:
held on the downwind side of your boatand body, don’t look directly into the flare

* essential first aid kit
– Aspirin for your wife if you plan to get lucky (ok old joke)
– Viagra if she plans to get lucky ( ok new joke)
– 10 gauze pads, assorted sizes
– 4 exam glove (bend over sailor)
– 6 wound wipes
– 30 assorted bandages
– butterfly closure strips
– 2 gauze rolls
– 1 roll tape
– scissors
– tweezers
– ibuprofen
– moleskin
– 1 elastic bandage
– 1 instant cold pack
– motion sickness tables
– antibiotic ointment
– anbtihistamine for allergies
– treatement for stings and bites form insects
– sunscreen, aloe for the spots you missed

* interpreting the marine forecast
– light winds, less than 15 knots
– moderate winds, 16 to 19 knots
– strong winds, 20 -33knots
– Small craft warning are issued when winds of 20 to 33 knots are expected
– gale force wind 34-47 knots
– storm force winds, 48 to 63 knots.
– Passing wind… no warning, just hide down below till it passes.

* How to make drinks
Classic margarita
1 1/2 oz good tequilla
100 percent agave on the bottle, see yah later hoseh!
1/2 oz cointreau, or tripple sec
juice from one lime (1OZ)
SALT THE RIM
LIME WEDGES FOR GARNISH

Painkiller
1 1/2 oz dark rum
4 oz pinneaple juice
1 oz coconut milk or cream
1 oz orange juice
ground nutmet as garnish

Dark and stormy
1 1/2 oz dark rum
ginger beer to taste
lime wedge

mojito
1/1/2 oz white rum
club soda to taste
1tsp sugar (1 sugar cube)
juice of one lime (1oz)
4 mint leaves and stir

* cook with seaweed
we have like 700 varieties of seaweed, from delicate green sa lettuce, which can be added to salads or stir fries, to bull kelp which is tasty in stews, even better when pickled.
they are all edible.

* how to shuck an Oyster
scrub the exterior of the Oyster clean.
hold flat side up
locate the seam near the hinge, insert the tip of the oyster knife and twist, work along the seam till pops open
slide the knife along the roof of the oyster to release it from the shell then under the oyster to free it from the bottom

bonus: add a dash of vodka, splash of tobasco and lemon juice… and slurp it down.

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