http://www.landfallnav.com/abandoncheck.html
That's a good list for offshore navigation... you may not need that much
stuff, but it's a good checklist.

--


Keith
__
The hardness of the butter is inversely proportional to the softness of the
bread.
"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
Since we're all excited about the new boat right now, I'm thinking of
buying some safety gear for the wife and kids for Christmas. Knowing I'm
thinking about keeping them attached the boat should make her feel warm
and fuzzy.

I've been looking at the safety harnesses that have a built in CO2
lifejacket. Pricey, but they look comfortable to wear and you don't have
to worry about digging up a harness if things get hairy. I'd appreciate
some experience / or comments on these.

We're in Maine and most of our cruising will probably be to even colder
regions. The Mustang coats look great but are probably too warm for
summer. Growing kids (12 and 14) will go through them fast.

Safety perception is a funny thing. My wife is petrified to have me take
the kids up in my well maintained airplane in clear calm conditions but
sees no danger in boating at all. Now that I'm coming back to sailing
after learning to fly and think very proactively about safety and what can
go wrong, I can see about 100 more ways to hurt or lose a kid on the water
than in the air.

When I started to learn how to fly, everyone who had ever sailed with me
said that there was no way in hell that they would ever get in an airplane
with me. I turned out to be a very cautious and conservative pilot; even
became a contributor to "Aviation Safety" magazine. I think I'm going to
be a very different kind of sailor when we get the boat launched.

--
Roger Long