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Sailing Safety Tips from SailboatsToGo LLC
Every sailor of every boat has to evaluate conditions before setting off. Take into account weather, tides, currents, waves, visibility, forecasts, and boat traffic in evaluating whether conditions are appropriate for your boat, skill level and risk tolerance.
Bring life jackets, oars/paddles, a bailing bucket & a cellphone in a waterproof bag. Do not sail farther from shore than you could row or paddle. Monitor changing weather conditions and head for shore if the trend is unfavorable. Learn and follow the rules of safe boating from an authoritative source like the Coast Guard.
Don't forget it takes MUCH longer to get to an upwind destination than a downwind destination. Also, strong currents could take you backwards even in a good wind. If possible sail upwind first, so that getting home is done downwind or across the wind.
On cold water especially, make sure there are other boaters around and you have a way to attract their attention for your immediate rescue if needed, because being in cold water kills rather fast. Learn anti-hypothermia survival techniques and safer ways to warm a hypothermia victim so you don't kill them (link) .
Our inflatable sailboats, canoes with outriggers, and kayaks with outriggers are very stable provided you have good front-to-back weight distribution and have fully extended the float arms, but no boat is capsize proof.
Having some weight at the end of the boat where the stabilizers are located is important. If the stabilizers are at the bow, you need weight at the bow. If you don't have a passenger for ballast, consider adding jugs of water or other heavy things up front. Even just 40 lbs (5 gallons of water) will greatly improve stability if otherwise the bow would be very lightweight. The leeward stabilizer float will resist going down, because of its bouyancy, but if the hull does not resist going up and over it, you will still capsize if enough tipping force is applied to the sail by the wind.
If you're having trouble righting a capsized boat, tie a line to the far side, throw it over the upturned bottom amidships, brace elbows on the near side of the boat, and pull on the line. Resting your elbows on the upturned bottom will give you a good "up angle" on the line to lift that far side, and at the same time you can control the boat with your elbows and body so it doesn't turn away from you when you pull. If you need more oomph to pull the boat upright, climb up on it, hold that rope going to the other side, and fall backwards. If you can arrange to be on the upwind side of the boat when it comes back upright, that will be a big advantage for keeping it upright while climbing back in, because that will put the sail on the side opposite you, counterbalancing your weight. Capsize recovery video demonstration.
Practice recovering from a capsize under safe conditions.
A bailing bucket is essential once you have righted a capsized canoe or if your boat or canoe gets swamped. Keep one in the boat, secured with a line to the boat, so it doesn't get lost in an emergency. A lost bailing bucket can turn what would have been a simple dunking into a serious emergency, so remember to tie it to something. (See item 5109 below) Stabilizers won't necessarily keep you from taking water over the gunwale (edge of the canoe) in challenging conditions!
Always be ready to slacken the main sheet (rope that controls the sail) instantly in case a big gust comes along. Keep an eye out in the upwind direction so you can see big gusts and big waves before they hit (gusts show up as dark spots on the water).
When sailing a catamaran, know that as soon as you start lifting one pontoon off the water, you are entering a zone of much greater risk of capsize. People who want to minimize risk of capsizing a catamaran should keep both pontoons on the water, and you can do this by slacking off on the sheet to spill wind.
Check all equipment on or near shore for damage, proper setup, loose attachments. If you are going to sail a canoe or kayak, check: (1) leeboards set no more than 24 inches behind mast; (2) all gunwale clamps, nuts & bolts tight; (3) outrigger arms extended to maximum length, floats set up tight to arms; (4) canoe has sufficient flotation even when swamped (add sponsons, flotation bags, as needed).
Four safety websites:
Google relevant topics like "boating safety" (without quotes) Here are a few we found:
http://homepages.rya-online.net/ocsguk/ocsg_safety.htm
http://www.hypothermia.org/inwater.htm
http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/ - Surprising information on recognizing drowning.
A very important safety product:
Waterproof, floating, cell phone case.
SailboatsToGo, LLC