Safety at Sea 2016
Safety at Sea allows juniors to learn and practice safety-at-sea techniques on shore and on the water, while gaining insight into what offshore sailing has to offer. Larchmont Yacht Club will host the Storm Trysail Foundation’s Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminar on July 22.
The morning began with a presentation from the crew of High Noon, who are juniors themselves. A theme throughout the day was that “safety is more important than speed”. Without safety speed can never follow, putting yourself at risk of a mast breaking or someone falling overboard will only slow the boat down in the long run. A breakout session focused on navigation and tools to rely on in different situations on a big boat. With speakers who described his experience navigating the gulf stream and sailing in heavy current. Another session tackled the extremely important topic of conquering rough weather. At the end of the morning session the sailors got a little bit of hands-on experience, learning to reef a sail and use jacklines as well.
The afternoon came with a great 10-12 kts of breeze. All of the sailors left Larchmont after a nice lunch on shore and began their afternoon drills out on the water. The boats practiced man overboard drills as well as using the navigating skills learned on shore. The only downside to this year was that the sailors were looking forward to seeing the fire safety drill that has been putting out a fire in a wheel barrow. In past years the demonstration has been paired with the lecture. This year the lecture was longer rather than having a demonstration.
Overall, the great breeze paired with amazing and prepared speakers made for a successful Safety at Sea Seminar.
