If you’re like me, you want to have your best sailing safety gear – before you even get onboard your sailing sailboat or sailboat. If you’re going to learn to sail like a pro, follow these easy tips for sailing from Vaikobi.
1. A sailing knife with a Marlinspike
No tool has as many uses as an excellent 3-inch sailing knife with the integrated or separate marlinspike. Use it to saw through the rope, cut a frozen knot, scrape the electrical insulation, or cut yourself from a line or belt harness. In an emergency, use the marlinspike to raise a strand for binding or help open the corroded shackle.
2. Needle-nose pliers or “robo.”
It would be best if you carried a small pair of pincers over your person at all times. Made by “craftsman” Robo pliers, have a flat shape and painted handles. They are lightweight, compact, and fit a deep pocket in your sailing shorts.
They have spring-loaded jaws that will place a grip on a stud or pin shackle like barnacles on the bottom of a boat. You often need pliers to open a frozen hook pin or access a concealed bolt head on diesel or toilet-powered sailboat.
3. The little things
Any solid and thin strings will do the trick when it comes to adding an extra drawstring, holding a screw-in sail in place, or securing a restraining pin to the shackle body in a pinch. Keep a few dozen feet in your pocket. It takes up the same amount of space as a refined napkin and has dozens of uses on any dhow.
4. Bad weather equipment
Carry wrong weather gear – tops and bottoms. Wet objects can appear in the sea at a speed that makes your head spin. And sailing when you’re wet can be miserable. Wet people lose body heat, and this can be dangerous in inclement weather. It gets worse as the sun sets and the air temperature cools. A well-ventilated set of lousy weather gear becomes worth its weight in pirate gold when the weather sets in.
5. Caps and caps for protection
I carry two types of hats – a flipped or brimmed hat and a watch hat. Use a beanie or brimmed hat to protect your eyes, face, and neck from excessive sunlight.
Use a watch cover to protect your head – you lose 90% of your body heat – when the temperatures cool. Even in midsummer, ocean temperatures can drop enough at night to guarantee an hour’s cover.
6. Change the entire underwear
When sailing, you sweat. In hot and humid weather, every piece of wet underwear will be placed next to the skin and transfer that cold moisture to your bare skin. This makes you feel colder. Even new microfibers can fail to keep you dry enough.
Learn how to sail like a pro as you use these sailing tips to find out which sailing gear you need for safety. You’ll be well prepared for whatever comes your way – wherever you choose to sail the world.
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