More about safety at sea
You have to be very thoughtful and considerate to all of the people on board.
It is considered an unwritten law that the captain says what must be done, and his word is not disputable. But there are people and people, so every captain should carefully treat the participants of the crew and passengers.
Beware of boats that are anchored or moored close to the shore when you're launching. Always aim to pass downwind (or down tide) to them.
Beware of power-crafts (all vessels with engine). Power gives way to sail, but some powerboat owners are not aware of this, go too fast, or have very little knowledge of steering a powerboat. Jet skis are very dangerous, both to their drivers and to the other participants of in the water traffic. However, they are not the only lethal vessels - large power-crafts can be also really treacherous.
Take suitable clothing for all of the people in the crew. Dress up, not down (which means that you should put more clothes than you expect you would need, because if you take less, you may end up in hypothermia).
It means thermal underwear and obligatorily protecting your head from heat loss.
Exposure to water temperatures before 20oC must be treated with seriousness. Very cold water may be experienced when sailing on freshwater lakes and reservoirs, where the temperature can fall really dramatically. You should not be lulled into false sense of security by the sunny weather.
You should always take a paddle in case the wind drops to a flat calm, and a spare rope in case you need the boat to be towed.
Prolonged exposure to cold water causes hypothermia (acute heat loss) and can be dangerous for your health.
You need to dress up to prevent the wind chill and heat loss.
Even if you are in doubt about hypothermia, you should immediately head for the shore.
Beware the sun as well, it can be very harmful.
You should cover all the body parts which are directly exposed to the sun with a sun cream of no less than factor 15, and re-apply it per 2 hours. A secondary effect of the direct sun is dehydration. It is easy to ignore or even not notice the effects of drying, until symptoms become too obvious - they can vary and include perched mouth and a muzzy, tired headache.
The best cure in this case is prevention, to make sure that you drink enough liquid (preferably fresh water).
One of the scariest things is to get lost in a fog. It is not only frightening because you don't know where the shore is, the more terrible thing is that you don't know what vessels move around you and at what distance they are.
Fog should be avoided at any costs:
- there is no or almost no wind (so you may stay for a long time in this still)
- it will most probably be clammy, cold and unpleasant
- they say chances of collision are very high
- fog has the persistent habit of going back further in the sea, so when you are able to see clearly, just go to the coast and wait until it clears out completely.
Thunder and lightning
It is important that you take into account that there is a slight chance of your yacht being hit by a lightning, but this happens rarely, and the risks of being hit on land, or die under the wheels of a car are equal if not less.
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