Tips and Tools for Navigating in Low Visibility
By Dennis Dorratcague With our cruising season cut short due to the coronavirus, my wife, Pat, and I finally left on a two-week cruise on …
Safety tips for older boaters
With the average age of Americans advancing and the cost of boats increasing, most new engine-powered boats are bought by older boaters. Regardless of age, …
Advice for navigating boating and COVID-19
As a member of the US Sailing Sports Medical committee, I have been working on plans to reopen sailing centers for sail training and Olympic …
Couple battles boat trouble and COVID-19
By Shelli Swaim My husband, Jeff, drove to Las Vegas on March 15 to attend a three-day golf tournament put on by a group of …
Stay safe from ticks and tick-borne illnesses
Unique among arachnids, ticks suck blood to survive. Some are as small as a sesame seed. Like tiny vampires, they latch onto mammals, birds, reptiles, …
Mitigate the effects of sun exposure on board
Although it’s winter, I’d rather talk about the sunny boating season to come. At the turn of the 20th century, people endeavored never to be …
Alcohol and safety risks on board
According to the U.S. Coast Guard’s 2017 Recreational Boating Statistics, 658 people died from recreational boating accidents. Alcohol use was the leading known contributing factor …
Emergency room afloat — The day sailor’s first-aid kit
In the last issue, we discussed “time to professional medical help” as the single most important variable in determining the extent of medical supplies and …
Must-have devices that could save your life
I have just returned home after spending a few weeks at my “homemade tropical paradise” in Flamingo Bay, Florida, where I can boat, fish, swim …
Emergency room afloat — The medical kit and the conscientious boater
The realization When I started this column, I wanted to write about putting together a complete medical kit. The more I thought about the idea, …
Preparing for cold and flu season
Winter is here, and with it comes cold and flu season. In the United States, more days of work (and probably play) are lost to …
Crew overboard recovery: Prepare and execute
For the last 10 years, most authorities have agreed on the main principles in preparing for, and implementing, a crew overboard recovery. The five phases …
