Cruising Checklist

[mikeyroberts]

In Australia 2 out of 3 people will develop skin cancer by the time they are 70. You can get sunburn within about 15 min. Sailors are especially at risk because of the time they spend out in the sun. Out of all the gear that I listed I would rate sun protection as the most important. For me that is a broad brimmed hat, spf50+ sunscreen, lip balm, zinc block out, long sleeved sun shirt, gloves, long pants, footwear and wrap around sun glasses.

[lustyslogger]

In Australia 2 out of 3 people will develop skin cancer by the time they are 70. You can get sunburn within about 15 min. Sailors are especially at risk because of the time they spend out in the sun. Out of all the gear that I listed I would rate sun protection as the most important. For me that is a broad brimmed hat, spf50+ sunscreen, lip balm, zinc block out, long sleeved sun shirt, gloves, long pants, footwear and wrap around sun glasses.

I wear a Tilly hat and the wrap around glasses. I also wear long pants (if you ever saw my legs you would know why!) and shoes since I have a very bad habit of whacking my toes on anything that is more than 1 tenth inch above the deck. I just never wear sun blocker. When I was younger (I will be 70 in three weeks) I burned very easily but not so much any more but still my dermatologist gave me fits. Since my wife was in cahoots with him I guess I will follow his advise. Unfortunately I have a rather large nose and even with the Tilly it sticks out like a bow sprit!! Right now however its going to be a high of 25 degrees Fahrenheit today so being in the sun is not high on the list!!

[Charlie P. (NY)]

One of the reasons I chose the small sailboat we have now is that, for it's size, it supports a good bimini and dodger. THE ADMIRAL and I both have had lesions removed and it gets to be more of a concern as friends you have sailed with start to develop malignant carcinomas.

The handbearing compass is actually a darned useful tool even on lakes. I use it frequently to triangulate good fishing spots, determine if I am going to be able to round a point of land or other obstacle on the current tack, to determine if we're on a collision course with another boat (not a huge concern as we're little enough to easily avoid issues and yield early), or the distance off an object by taking two readings (the distance you sail between a 45° and a 90° reading equals the distance away from the target). Or, if you know the distance it will tell you your speed. (Hey, I get bored some days).

In a race it can help with tactical decisions and decide when to come about to new headings quickly: you know your course, you know the bearing to the next mark, when it gets to be 90° from the current course (or whatever you can point), compensate for drift or current and come about . . . now!

I have one of the Plastimo Iris hockey-pucks and there's a compass in my Nikon Oceanis binocs.

Though we found when we gave up racing and started appreciating where we were rather than the order over the finish line we found more enjoyment and less squabbling.

Only once did we find ourselves in enough fog that we couldn't see the shore on Cayuga Lake and actually sailed a heading to get home on a small boat. That used to occur frequently on Lake Ontario but we had a much larger and better equipped sailboat (nothing spoils you more than a chart plotter).

At night the lights can all look alike and it's much more important to keep track of where you are.

[lustyslogger]

Yep