Long Beach Yacht Club Hosting Annual International Safety at Sea Course

By Cameron MacLaren

Long Beach Yacht Club is preparing for their annual US Sailing sanctioned International Safety at Sea course February 17-18, 2024. Participants may choose acomplete in-person two-day course; or a hands-on (Sunday only) course AFTER they've completed the 15 module online course, or a refresher / update if they've completed a sanctioned International course within the last 10 years.

An impressive line up of seasoned and experienced presenters are scheduled to conduct the course and include familiar names to west coast sailors. John Jourdane, Dr.Christian Sloane, Dave Robertson, Mike Hakala of Avon Rafts will be joined by US Sailing Moderator candidates Capt Debbie Huntsman and Capt Ed Huntsman for the two-day intensive course.

Leading modules on heavy weather tactics, damage control and others will be multiple circumnavigator John Jourdane, one of the most experienced offshore sailors in the world today. John has sailed over 430,000 miles, crossing between the West Coast and Hawaii some 60 times. In addition to having crossed the Atlantic Ocean 12 times, john has sailed around the world three times, including two Whitbread Round the World Races. He is the author of "Icebergs, Port and Starboard", "Sailing with Scoundrels and Kings," and "Modern Weather for Sailors." John also previously instructed courses on Marine Meteorology at Orange Coast College in Newport Beach, California.

Dr.Christian Sloane, FACEP attended UC Berkeley for his undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology and medical school at UCSD. His transitional internship was at Scripps Mercy Hospital followed by residency in Emergency Medicine at UCSD where he was Chief Resident. After working for a year at Kaiser San Diego, Tri-City Medical Center, Jackson Hole, WY and UCSD, he took a full time faculty position at UCSD where he has worked since. He received the Golden Apple Teaching Award in 2005. Dr. Sloane is also a member of DMAT CA-4 and deployed with the team to the New Orleans Airport in support of the medical evacuation after Hurricane Katrina, and Hurricane Harvey, as well as immediately following the Haitian earthquake with International Relief Teams. He is a medical team manager for San Diego's Urban Search and Rescue Team, TF-8. Additionally, he is the medical director for Mercy Air Services in San Diego and Imperial counties, and was just appointed medical director of the North County Dispatch Joint Powers Authority, serving the plurality of Northern San Diego County EMS agencies.

Five-decade sailboat rigger/outfitter Dave Robertson, based in Marina Del Rey, has extensive experience in offshore racing and deliveries, cruising preparation and boat setup. His 25+ years involvement in ocean safety programs comes from a wish to give back to his sport and industry. Avalon Raft's Mike Hakala will be at pool's edge to give students an immersion experience for safely deploying and techniques for more easily entering a life raft.Mike has worked as a manufacturer, is a SOLAS and USCG approved lifesaving appliance technician and AMSEA Marine Safety Instructor. Mike has assisted and presented at Safety-At-Sea courses/training for more than 20 years.Rounding out the team will be US Sailing co-moderator candidates Capt Debbie Huntsman and Capt Ed Huntsman. Debbie is a long-time instructor of boating safety across the country. She focuses on helping sailors understand how to avoid on-the-water emergencies by identifying small problems early, mitigating them and taking appropriate action if an emergency happens. Capt Ed retired as the boating safety program manager for the Eighth Coast Guard District in New Orleans and continues to help sailors and power-boaters alike stay safe on the water.

There are three US Sailing Sanctioned International Offshore Safety at Sea course options with hands-on training.

1) The two-day in person course for cruisers and cruising couples, power-boaters and sailboat racers.The course complies with World Sailing Offshore Personal Survival course guidelines. It is required certification for 30% of the crew for many off-shore sailing races, e.g.the Pacific Cup Yacht Club'soff year Race to Hawaii – San Francisco to Kaneohe, SoCal 300 Racers, Cal Offshore Race Week participants, Islands Race racers and Newport to Bermuda Race as well as other races where the crew must have a valid International Safety at Sea course completion certificate.This course certification is valid for five years. An option is available to complete the first day of the course online. The complete course is $400. To register, check the Events by Category tab under Racing and click on the Seminars and Training tab at https://www.lbyc.org,or go to the US Sailing Safety at Sea course offerings athttps://www.ussailing.org/education/adult/find-a-course-near-you/

2) The US Sailing Sanctioned Safety at Sea Hands-on Training Only course is also available as a one-day in-person hands-on course from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb 18. For this option participants must have completed a US Sailing Sanctioned Offshore Safety at Sea course within the last 12 months and have completed Online Offshore Safety at Sea Part-Two (Units 11-15) or have completed the online Offshore Safety at Sea Part-One (Units 1-10) and Part-Two (11-15) before attending. Students seeking a US Sailing International Offshore Safety at Sea Hands-on training certificate that meets World Sailing guidelines for Offshore Personal Survival (either through a One-day Hands-on Only course or a Refresher course) must complete the online Offshore Safety at Sea - Part Two (Units 11-15) prior to attending. The cost of the online Part Two (Units 11-15) is included in the registration fee for this course. This certification is good for five years from the date of the course and is $400.

3) The US Sailing Sanctioned International Offshore Safety at Sea Refresher course will be a one-day event that will start at 8 a.m. on Sunday,Feb 18. This course is a one-day International Offshore Safety at Sea Hands-on Training ONLY course and requires participants to have previously completed a US Sailing Sanctioned International Offshore Safety at Sea Course with Hands-on Training two-day [ISAF Offshore Personal Survival Course] within the last 10 years. This is a $350 course.

To register for the two day, one day hands-on or one-day refresher courses, contact Long Beach Yacht Club's Cameron MacLaren at phone (562) 294-5161, email at cmaclaren@lbyc.org or register on the US Sailing Safety at Sea course page at https://www.ussailing.org/education/adult/find-a-course-near-you/.