Safety equipment doesn’t always come pre-packed and labelled with an MCA sticker. More accidents happen in the galley of the average cruising yacht than ever occur from crew tumbling over the side ─ …
Bleeding obvious
You don’t have to be a mechanical genius to know that if you run out of diesel or the engine stops because of a clogged filter, you are probably going to have to bleed it to get it going again. Most …
Tom’s blogcast ~ 28 September 2012
TC Blog 28 09 12 To access this post, you must purchase The Sea Chest membership (Annual Payment) or 1 Year Gift Membership. …
Creative courtesy flags
It’s well-known that all yachts must fly the ensign of a nation they are visiting from their starboard cross-trees (spreaders to us). However, if you’re cruising an area with a strong ethnic presence, …
All hands to the plotter
Running a plotter isn’t all that hard. Even if some of your crew aren’t officially navigators, teach them at least to use the plotter as a common-sense visual tool. Show them how to pan and zoom and …
Log book – keep it simple
No need to spend a fortune on a cruising log. An A4 exercise book ruled off with a few sensible columns is all you need. The columns speak for themselves. The remarks keep the navigation record but …