New Ideas on Personal Safety Gear
Chuck Hawley, San Francisco Station
When Stan Honey and I sailed on Playstation in 2001 in an attempt to set the East to West TransAtlantic record under sail, each of the crew was given a small waist pack custom-made by a local sailmaker that contained the gear we would need if we were to go overboard, as well as for routine duties on board. The contents were as follows:
A small Class B EPIRB, designed for MOB use. (Playstation had an Automatic Direction Finder which, in principle but not in practice, would allow the navigator to home in on the signal.)
A dive knife worn on our belts, with serrated and straight edges, ostensibly to allow us to cut through the trampoline if we found ourselves on the wrong side if/when the boat capsized. Practice had shown that to be difficult even in daylight when you knew when to get your breath.
A headlamp
A personal strobe light
A whistle
A penlight
Regardless of the conditions we found ourselves in (generally cold, windy, and miserable), we would wear the waist pack where it was accessible, over our bibs and smocks, and below our life jackets and harnesses.
Fast forward 20 or so years, and Stan is again sailing on state-of-the-art multihulls, but now on Gitana 17, a foiling trimaran, whose crew intends to set the around the world record: the Jules Verne Trophy. While the personal gear that the crew wears is similar to what we had on Playstation, there are some subtle differences. 
The crew members carry two emergency beacons, neither of which was available in 2000: a PLB, which transmits an emergency signal worldwide to Marine Rescue Coordination Centers as well as a 121.5MHz “homing” signal, and an AIS MOB beacon which transmits the sailor’s lat-long to vessels in a 1-2 mile radius.
They also carry a waterproof headlamp, which provides light for nighttime activities below decks and on deck, and also serves as an effective MOB light which can be aimed by looking in the direction of the rescuing vessel. They also carry a knife, lightstick and whistle.
A key distinction is that the crew members are encouraged to carry these items wherever they are preferred by the individual. There’s no waist pack or other prescribed container: the crew members distribute the items as they prefer, and move the items from foul weather gear to fleece to shorts to whatever they are wearing at the moment. What is consistent, however, is that the crew of Gitana always puts the AIS MOB beacon on the outer layer of whatever they are wearing where it will be instantly accessible if they need it.
One other difference between Playstation and Gitana 17 is the relative protection that having a central hull provides. To get from one hull to the other on Playstation, we had to traverse about 45’ of trampoline netting, which put us at risk of having a wave come from below and toss us over the rear crossbeam. To prevent this, two kevlar jacklines ran between the hulls, and it was mandatory to clip in for the trip between hulls. The trimaran, by comparison, has an enclosed “casquette” (streamlined hard dodger/cockpit enclosure) which allows the crew to remain largely protected from the weather, and the helmsman will slow the boat down during those times when crew members have to venture on deck for sail changes.
The Cruising Club of America is a collection of accomplished ocean sailors having extensive boat handling, seamanship, and command experience honed over many years. “Safety Moments” are written by the Club’s Safety Officers from CCA Stations across North America and Bermuda, as well as CCA members at large. They are published by the CCA Safety and Seamanship Committee and are intended to advance seamanship and safety by highlighting new technologies, suggestions for safe operation and reports of maritime disasters around the world.
