On Saturday, my 14 yr old son and I went to Shell Point, Fl to sail the
MiniCup and it was great wind before an approaching front. Wind was
from the south so there was no problem getting back to shore. By 3:00
the rain was coming down in torrents so we went home.
Sunday, we went back and there was only about5 kts from the north. I
told him to be careful as it was blowing away from shore and not to go
out far. Next thing I know, he is almost 1/2 mile out and having
trouble getting back in. I watched him for awhile and he very slowly
got a little closer and then the wind died altogether. He tried
paddling but the tide ws still running out. He took the sail down and
paddled, still no progress. Then the rain started and I watched him
for another 20 minutes. FINALLY, unable to bear it any longer, I found
somebody with an inflatable dinghy who took us out to tow him in. When
we got near him we saw that he was shaking violently from the cold so I
threw him my raincoat and we towed him in where he changed to dry
clothes.
So, what to do about this problem? Clearly we need some safety
equipment other than just a lifejacket aboard.
Consider, the MiniCups are 12' long with almost no room for storage,
think of a slightly enlarged Sunfish (yes, I showed him that article
about the two boys in N. Carolina). What would you consider for safety
equipment?
A compass, a pint of water, a space blanket, a tiny flashlight, maybe
three pen flares, fishhooks and line. All of this must fit into a
small box velcroed to the cockpit wall. What else?
I am even thinking about a small anchor but what kind?

They keep saying Sunfish in the news, but from the photograph, that was NOT
a Sunfish.

Hypothermia is a tough thing to avoid. (been there) Space blankets might
help, but I tried to use one once and was very dissatisfied. I was trying
to sleep, and they are noisy.

Towels are good!!!

A gallon milk jug full of water is a good thing to have aboard. Tie it to
the boat.

After being thrown off by a squall line, I make sure the painter is tied to
my belt so the boat won't get too far away. I usually carry a five pound
mushroom anchor, but it's more for temporary mooring than emergency
equipment.

Every discussion of emergency equipment I've seen suggests that fish hooks
and line are very unlikely to be useful. I'd guess the compass is also
mostly decoration unless there's fog.

Some sort of communication equipment would also be good. Perhaps that old
cell phone? I think they will still call 911 even when deactivated. (if the
battery is charged) I remember seeing (buying?) a CB radio for relatively
few bucks that was supposed to live in the car trunk until there was an
emergency. Plastic bags give pretty good waterproofing if you go
redundant -- baggie around gadget, then that bag with some paper towels
inside an outer baggie.

Roger

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm

wrote in message
oups.com...
snip
When we got near him we saw that he was shaking violently from
the cold so I threw him my raincoat and we towed him in where
he changed to dry clothes.
So, what to do about this problem? Clearly we need some safety
equipment other than just a lifejacket aboard.
Consider, the MiniCups are 12' long with almost no room for storage,
think of a slightly enlarged Sunfish (yes, I showed him that article
about the two boys in N. Carolina). What would you consider for safety
equipment?
A compass, a pint of water, a space blanket, a tiny flashlight, maybe
three pen flares, fishhooks and line. All of this must fit into a
small box velcroed to the cockpit wall. What else?
I am even thinking about a small anchor but what kind?

I'd stick to shelterd bounded waters in a boat like that. The worst can
happen is you get blown across to the opposite shore or river bank.

If caught in a tide or current you can paddle or sail across or at an
angle to the flow and reach shore. Paddling against can be futile.

The boat building solution to that particular sailing location would be to
build a bigger sailboat and put an outboard motor on it. There are free
plans for bigger inexpensive boats available.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network
homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
warning: non-FreeNet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned

William:
What a great idea, build ANOTHER boat. I can even justify it in the
name of safety. Actually, this had crossed my mind but the MiniCups
are just so easy. I think I will exercise some judgement about when i
allow him to sail and use a little safety equipment. This location is
sorta sheltered waters with extremely shallow water out 1 mile where
you could walk most of the way back to shore and a deeper area close to
shore.

Thanks

David