Building cruising confidence seminar handout

These are the notes and reminders from the “Building Your Cruising Confidence” seminar.

GOLDEN RULES:
Never Force it
Favor the windward side of the channel
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Anchor for where the wind will be tonight, not right now
With heavy rain coming, be prepared to lose visibility.

Plan for “What ifs” when considering the weather forecast. 
In challenging or new areas, look at both paper and plotter.
Yellow symbols are on ICW channel markers.
When in a channel, look behind you to see if you are being set.
Bridges are on VHF channel 9, or 13, DEFENSE! Check current, wind, is the anchor ready to go?
Use two dinghy painters & tow lines.
Knot to know for sure: the rolling hitch !!
Don’t crank you engine for more than 30-60 seconds, drain muffler, or close the seacock
Cruisers Net website & Waterway Guides  for bridge details & a lot more
USCG Notice to Mariners website for bridge, lock, and buoy info.
Power winch breaker location?
Two wraps on winch not four to start out for halyards, reef lines..
Turn off windlass when leaving the boat.
Do not back down on the windlass.
See Gadget website www.thebookofsail.com
Two lines to mooring ball, one from each side of bow.
Stopper on jib furling line, watch for chafe, 6 extra wraps.
Books:        Bill Seifert; “Offshore Sailing”,      Nigel Calder; “Boat Owner’s Mech and Elect Manual”,      “The Voyagers Handbook” by Beth Leonard
Dock line length:  Pythagorean Theorem; See The Book of Sail website “Dockside math”

PRACTICE THESE FOR STARTERS

Man overboard (w/ davits)
Docking 12+ times
Docking with wind blowing you off dock (spring line)
Heaving to
Anchoring with hand signals
Picking up mooring ball (hand signals)
Reefing (10x’s + blind folded)
Bridges + Passes

Bill Cullen; www.thebookofsail.com thebookofsail@gmail.com