San louis capsize

[Charlie Gonzales]

See blantons board. A very sad event, but a reminder to all of us to boat safe. Very scary, very sad. Spring and early summer are very dangerous due to wind conditions there. Be safe guys.

[jbird]

Charlie

I have been following that story. How terribly sad. water of any kind can be dangerous and is to be respected.

My heart goes out to his family and friends.

jay

[Tracy Chimenti]

I posted some of my "safety must-haves" on Blanton's board. Here's the abridged version.

1) If you don't have one now, have a splash well installed on your boat. This will redirect water out scuppers, rather than down into your bilge where it will weigh the stern down and invite more waves to come over. If the bilge pump goes ****house, at least additional water will be diverted for the most part.

2) Extra foam floatation. If you ever have to pull your floor up for repairs, add in extra foam to insure the damn thing won't sink. I prefer large-cel styro-foam. I've found that some of the expanding/polimerizing spray-in foams seem to absorb water after a while. Not sure why, but sometimes it happens.

3) One thing I didn't mention was something my father, an old sailor from the Marina district, taught me. Always have a good anchor attached to at least 3X the max depth of near shore water, so if you experience motor failure, you can secure the yourself and keep your craft from cracking up on the rocks (while you hang on, or swim to shore). I've seen it save a boat at least twice in my life.

4) Dad also taught me to locate anything in our sail boat that would float us-- cushions, wood cabinets, tackle boxes, etc. and remember them in the case we would need them.

Just my 2-cents.

Tracy