" wrote in
Need some advice on safety equipment for sailing a little offshore.
Our plan is to charter a boat and sail out of New York for about 200
miles than come back. The idea is to gain some offshore experience
but without taking too much risk.

Rosalie B. wrote:
Why are you doing this?
What do you expect the beginners to get out of it?
What do you three experienced coastal sailors hope to get from it
other than a chance to charter a boat?
What are the sexes of the beginners?
And what relationship do they have to you?

"Bob La Londe" wrote in
I agree. Why go offshore 200 miles unless you are planning for and
Atlantic or Pacific crossing.


Thank you all for the pieces of advice. It is much appreciated. I think it
will be seven of us now and we shall rent a liferaft and an EPIRB as all of
you suggest. It is not that expensive and we'll all feel much safer this
way. I have shared the unabridged thread with my crew so that they
understand all the issues involved.

Let me give some answers to the folks who wanted to know:

Why do it? I think Lee Huddleston summarized it nicely... 200 miles is
magical... If the weather turns bad we'll just go 25 miles off the coast
then go up and down... we'll set clear expectation on what to do when and
be flexible and considerate ... The liability we understand and are
willing to accept... the beginners have sailed before, they just do not
have enough experience, say, to keep a night watch. They want the
adventure, we (the experienced) are just tired of coastal crusing...
eventually we want to cross an ocean...(anyone want to rent a boat for a
month, delivery may be?) we are all good friends and have wanted to do it
for some time. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Thank you all and good luck sailing.

Sail