Safety at Sea Seminar Offered to Local Sailors

An officially-sanctioned Safety at Sea Seminar will be held at California Maritime Academy in Vallejo Saturday, April 11.

Published: April, 2009 

An officially-sanctioned Safety at Sea Seminar will be held at California Maritime Academy in Vallejo Saturday, April 11.  The seminar will cover vital topics including first aid, rescue, emergency communications, firefighting, and weather.

Any sailor planning an offshore voyage should attend one of these, said Michael Moradzadeh, Pacific Cup Yacht Club (PCYC) Commodore.  Whether racing or cruising, safety has to be your first consideration.  Offshore racing rules require that a certain percentage of the crew of a boat have completed such a course to be eligible to enter. 

The live flare demonstration and the Coast Guard helicopter rescue demonstration are highlights of the event, giving vital information and underscoring their importance.  West Marine’s Chuck Hawley, veteran of countless ocean races and voyages, and widely known for his engaging presentation style, will moderate the seminar and instruct on certain topics.

Organized in coordination with PCYC and Encinal Yacht Club, sponsors of the two largest long-distance ocean races out of Northern California, the seminar is open to any interested person, and is particularly intended for individuals planning to race in Encinal Yacht Club’s Coastal Cup from San Francisco to Catalina, the 2010 Pacific Cup or SSS TransPac, from San Francisco to Hawaii, or the 2009 Trans Pac, departing from Los Angeles.

Encinal Yacht Club organizes the annual Costal Cup race to Southern California in June of each year.  This year, the race will start June 17 and end at Catalina Island.  For more information visit http://encinal.org/pageResource/coastalcup/2009/coastalCup.html.

The price of the seminar is $80, with a $5 discount for US Sailing members. Lunch and a certificate of completion are included.  For more information, including signup, sailors may visit http://pacificcup.org/sas2008. The California Maritime Academy (www.csum.edu) is a specialized campus of the CSU system and is the only degree-granting maritime academy on the West Coast.  www.csum.edu