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Read more: AAC Reverting To Google SearchWe have long offered Google searching of AAC, but then a couple of years ago Google started returning a bunch of links to information other than ours, which confused the hell out of people (justifiably), so we added a different program to search the site. It kinda worked, but nowhere near as well as Google, […]
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Read more: The Swiss Cheese Model of Risk ManagementI’m always interested in ways of thinking about risk that we can apply to offshore sailing. Here’s a particularly good one.
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Read more: TeamO Backtow Lifejacket/Harness ReviewTeamO are selling the BackTow lifejacket and harness as the answer to the risk of drowning while being dragged after falling overboard attached to a tether. Is that true? Let’s take a look. We also compare the TeamO against the Spinlock Deckvest.
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Read more: Singlehanding TipsSinglehanding is controversial. Some thoughts on that, as well as some tips to make it safer.
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Read more: Quote Of The DayEven though this is from the investing industry, it’s relevant to us offshore sailors.
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Read more: Making Content Free, Or NotWe often get emails from members asking us to make a particularly popular article, usually with a safety theme, free, because they feel that many sailors would benefit from it. And, hey, that’s gratifying, thank you. And, almost invariably, the writer suggests that doing so would increase our membership. Makes perfect sense that showing a […]
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Read more: 20 Practical Tips For Better WatchkeepingHard won practical tips from 50 years of standing watches at sea.
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Read more: Reefing TipsRelevant reefing tips, which we will add to over time.
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Read more: Sometimes Doing The Right Thing Is HardI just took the cover off the salt water pump on our engine to find a blade missing off the impeller, despite the pump only having about 100 hours on it. Annoying, but here’s where things really went down hill: Login to continue reading (scroll down) Learn About Membership Get to know us for FREE […]
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Read more: 6 Tips For Mindful WatchkeepingIt’s all too easy to regard watchkeeping as a hated chore, but these tips will both help to avoid that and make offshore sailors safer and offshore boats less likely to break.
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Read more: The Loss Of Yacht “Solution”John’s thoughts on the probable cause of the loss.
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Read more: Group Meeting With JohnGet together over Zoom with John and a like minded group of cruisers.
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Read more: How Many Reefs and How Deep?How many reefs are optimal? Two, three or four? If we think about this the right way, for most of us the answer is simple. We also tackle the relationship between reefs and whether or not we have a storm trysail, also much misunderstood.
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Read more: The Risks Of Sidedeck Jacklines QuantifiedDespite the well-documented risks of being dragged after falling overboard, many (probably most) offshore sailboats are still using sidedeck jacklines, raising the key question: Is that solution worse than nothing? At last we have numbers to help each of us make that critical decision.
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Read more: Quick Carpentry HacksFor those who put done ahead of perfect.
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Read more: 11 Tips For A Good Watch SystemIt’s vital that before we head offshore we really think about the watch system we will use. A poor system can be the start of big problems.
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Read more: The Intrinsic Fragility of Furling SystemsAfter 40 years of using furlers John has a palm-slap to the forehead moment.
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Read more: The Last Marine Journalist?I have long been concerned about the state of marine journalism, particularly in North America. In my view, most all marine magazines have for decades been little more than extensions of the marketing departments of boat builders and marine gear manufacturers. Heck, it’s been about 20 years since one of my favourite editors, and marine […]
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Read more: Dockside Water Filter Trade OffsFiltering the water while filling our tanks can be a great idea, particularly for aluminium boats, but there are things to know.
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Read more: New Email SystemDuplicate email mess up apology.
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Read more: The Two Hidden Problems With The Junk RigThe junk rigged dory-schooner Easy Go that was sadly abandoned in the Atlantic some years ago. The modern junk rig has been used for yachts since Blondie Hasler rigged a Folkboat that way for the first Observer Singlehanded Trans-Atlantic race way back in 19601. Since then the popularity of the rig has waxed and waned, […]
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Read more: Building a Robust and Practical Hard DodgerAdding a hard dodger to an offshore cruising boat. While this dodger was built in aluminum, the techniques and details will be useful for a similar project in any material.
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Read more: Well Done Charlie DalinSome thoughts on Charlie’s win, and design changes that may have benefits for cruising one day.
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Read more: Safe Water Without a WatermakerWatermakers are great…but they are also expensive, use a ton of electricity, take up a lot of space, and are a royal pain in the neck to maintain. Just another damned thing to spend time and money on when we could be sailing our boat or out enjoying the places we sailed to1. Given that, […]
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Read more: Tether Tension On A Dragging Crew OverboardWhat really happens when a crew member falls overboard while tethered to the boat? We know this often results in a fatality but there were no in-depth studies to help us reduce the risk. Here’s the first step in fixing that.
