Glenn McCarthy

There is nothing saying you can't carry both, the one you prefer to wear and the one that meets the requirement. Let me take it one step further. Why are there three (primary) types of USCG PFDs? Type 3 is intended for situations like dinghy racing where rescue boats will have you out of the water quickly, it is inly intended to support the weight of your head keeping the mouth just barely above water level. Swing to Type 1 which is for long term survival. It holds the head high out of the water and tries to get the armpits out as well. Why? The four high heat loss areas of the body is where hair grows - head, armpits, crotch. By moving 3 out of the water, it helps keep the body warmer longer. And Type 1 has always been required for offshore racing, it isn't anything new.

Ericson 35 Mk II 2 Afterguys 2 Spin sheets 1 Light spinnaker sheet 2 Jib sheets 1 Foreguy 2 Genoa halyards 1 Spin halyard 1 Pole lift 1 Main halyard 1 Main sheet 1 Vang 1 Outhaul 1 Cunningham 2 Traveler 2 Reef lines 4 Bunt lines 7 Dock lines 1 Barber 1 Lubber line 1 Waterline Makes 32 in total.

WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT INFLATABLE PFDS by Glenn McCarthy I spent over a decade on the US Sailing Safety at Sea Committee. I marveled at the width and depth of knowledge of the members of this committee. I was not directly involved in getting inflatable Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) accepted by the U.S. Coast Guard. I was in the room when others who were directly involved reported on their progress. Other countries had already approved inflatables. The U.S. was behind. At first the U.S. Coast Guard would hear nothing of it. A foam lifejacket was 100% guaranteed to work every time. Inflatables do have a known failure rate of inflation. And even then, user maintenance increases the failure rate. That was completely unacceptable to the U.S. Coast Guard. The argument was made, "The foam PFDs sit in the bilge, in the lockers, many times still in their original wrapper, going unused and has a 0% chance of success of saving lives. They are hot on summer days to wear, where boating is a summer activity. Women don't like them, as they are not making them attractive. And they are bulky, in the way, and uncomfortable. Whereas a fanny pack or horseshoe inflatable is something people will wear (data from approved countries) regularly and greatly improves usage and chance of success." When an Australian boat came to the U.S. they had to buy U.S. Coast Guard approved foam PFDs to be in compliance with U.S. laws. The all women's Aussie sailboat came to Hawaii to race, bought U.S. Coast Guard approved foam PFDs, where they always wore their inflatables back home. They put the U.S. Coast Guard approved foam PFDs down below on the floor keeping that weight low, and left their inflatables ashore to save weight. They had a problem, ran into an island, sank the boat, and at least one of them drowned. Proof people wear inflatables, not foam PFDs, which resulted in death. The U.S. Coast Guard finally caved in and then established construction standards and approval process for inflatable PFDs. An automatic inflatable has three ways to inflate: 1. Auto; 2. Pull tab; and 3. Blow tube. What this really means is inflatables should only go on people who are confident in the water. No non-swimmer should ever don any inflatable PFD in my opinion. And I think inflatables ought to have this warning label on them. If your auto inflate didn't, would you pull the manual tab? If that didn't work do you have the confidence in the water to find the inflation tube and blow up your inflatable PFD manually? If the answer to this is, "No," do not ever wear an inflatable PFD and don a foam PFD instead. Next, the US Sailing Safety at Sea Committee added to the Special Regulations (for the very few races in the U.S. that actually use them) that competitors had to wear a PFD at the start and finish and at all other times in between unless the skipper said they can be removed. That created a public fit storm (U.S Navy Captain, Retired, John Bonds, the Safety at Sea Committee Chair at that time, told me he got threatening letters). I knew that Roy Disney was against what we had done, and when he got in my car I explained how we (the Safety at Sea Committee) failed to explain the reason why. Every PFD ties, zips, snaps differently from the next. By putting them on before the start, everyone has theirs fitted, if they can take them off, they know exactly where they are belowdeck, as they need them at the finish. If it is blowing hard at the start of the race, most skippers won't let the crew take them off. But if it is hot and light out, the skippers would let them take them off. It really is the Boy Scout adage - "Be prepared." Roy gave a small smile and a nod. I don't know if I converted him though. Look around today, racers and non-racers are wearing inflatables regularly, in numbers that foam PFDs never saw. The death rate for sailboats is so low compared to all other types of watercraft, that the U.S. Coast Guard has been coming to US Sailing asking questions to learn how sailing, in general, is doing things right. Since the finish of the 2018 Chicago to Mackinac race, I talked to one race inspector in the U.S. He performed his own special inspection. He looked at the auto-inflator mechanism on PFDs which have a green (good) and red (bad) indicator. He found 4 inflatable PFDs with red on the limited number of boats he inspected. This indicates some people are not maintaining their units, nor checking them. None of this makes me feel any better about the loss of Mr. Santarelli. However, it does explain the evolution in all of sailing where PFD wearing inflatables has become accepted, in some places pushed and pushed hard. We are on the right path, and we carry on in an imperfect world. From the Lake Michigan Sail Racing November 2018 Newsletter: https://files.constantcontact.com/d77aa772101/49c5f137-dc01-4946-b34f-10c21fb50b19.pdf To get these newsletters free, sign up here: https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001TYH5ba1NOYXlBKc31Ek7Rg%3D%3D

Had a buddy up on the bow on his stomach spending lots of time assuring every bubble is squeezed out. When he's done he stands up and another pal walks by and says, "They're upside down!" Yup, they looked right side up when he was upside down.

I do, here it is - http://www.chicagonow.com/sail-lake-michigan/2016/04/are-yacht-clubs-members-only-or-an-irs-ubi-facility/

I hope you all caught that Redhouse Yacht Club is in South Africa. I'm sure their laws are quite different than U.S. of A. laws.

What's it rate?

Olympic Sailing jumped the shark long ago.

I've done a fair amount of judging. One question I ask before we start is, "Do you own a rule book?" About 20% of respondents say, "Yes." So you can expose the rules all day long, you can be the expert and cite rules by number. You can describe how to use the rules as a shield or a sword. The reality is, there is no requirements for reading the rules, there are no requirements for understanding the rules, and most don't have a clue and are out there to have fun.......until a close call or contact is made.

I was thinking about the racing rules the other day from the 20,000 foot view. When you golf, do people stand around discussing the golfing rules all of the time? Does anyone even bring any rule up on the golf course? How many have actually ever read the rules of golf? The same questions go for baseball, softball, football, soccer, volleyball, hell even croquet. My point is, we have designed and built this sport on creating rules for every stupid little situation that anyone can come up with. Weight rules, safety rules, rules of conduct, right of way, pro vs. amateur, and when those rules aren't enough we add on the Appeals, Case Book, etc. Are we crushing this thing with too many rules?

Well, if you like this standing wave, try the Pororoca - The Pororoca is a tidal bore, with waves up to 4 metres high that travel as much as 800 km inland upstream on the Amazon River and adjacent rivers. Its name comes from the indigenous Tupi language, where it could translate into "great roar". It occurs at the mouth of the river where its waters meet the Atlantic Ocean. area, meaning greater tides During new and full moons, when the ocean tide is highest, water flows in from the Atlantic, rather than the other way around. The Amazon’s flow reverses, the distance of which depends largely on the rainwater-generated outflow of the Amazon, and a water bulge speeds upstream often with great force, forming a tidal bore with an audible noise. The tidal phenomenon is best observed on biannual equinoxes in September and March during a spring tide). On an equinoctial spring tide, the Moon and Sun fall into direct alignment with the Earth, and their gravitational pull is combined, bringing the Pororoca and others around the world to their peak.[2] Surfing The wave has become popular with surfers. Since 1999, an annual championship has been held in São Domingos do Capim (on the adjacent Guamá River). However, surfing the Pororoca is especially dangerous, as the water contains a significant amount of debris from the shores of the river (often entire trees), in addition to dangerous fauna. In 2003 the Brazilian Picuruta Salazar won the event with a record ride of 12.5 km lasting 37 minutes.

You need to start at the top, "What is the purpose of your organization?" One club stated this well, their bylaws provide that the only people who have voting rights, are those who own a boat. That way the focus of the organization, the expenditures of money are always there to support the nautical arts. Of course there are the "social members" or "fork and knife" crowd, and the board does know they have to deliver good food, atmosphere and service so these payers stay around. Without the purpose defined clearly, what happens is the "social members" and "fork and knife" crowd will get on the board and see that boating is a financial loss, and slowly get rid of paying for the committee boat and other equipment that loses money.

All I know is, putting a tattoo on pretty woman is the equivalent of putting a bumper sticker on a Ferrari.

You missed the point on this one, it says it is a liveabroad - Live A BROAD!

History repeats - The Gaff Rig is Back Baby!