Health and Safety at Sea

Sailing Safety Gear
http://www.sailsafety.com/index.htm

This website is sponsored by a group that makes helmets and other wearable safely gear used for sailing. There is a link to their products, but there is also a wide variety of other materials to read about safety while at sea. The site looks professional and the graphics add to the interesting look and feel of the site as a whole. Following the links leads to long lists of articles and advisories. Many of the links do tie back into the helmets and goggles sold by the company.

This site is well-constructed and easy to navigate. It is maintained by the Internet Public Library. It's basically a list of several respected and useful websites to help any sailor stay in touch with time and weather reference materials via the web.

An interesting site set up to focus on one of the toughest boat races on the planet: the vendee globe race. The race is considered to be so tough not because of the distance (in terms of miles, it's actually one of the shortest ways to circumvent the globe in a boat), but because of the weather sailors and boats must endure in order to make it to the end. Because the weather in the race is so tumultuous, the site focuses a great deal on reading the weather, storm watches, predicting the weather, learning from mistakes sailors of the past made and did not live to regret, and legends of meteorology. This site is equal parts information and entertainment.

Unlike most first aid manuals, this one takes the sailor's special problems into account. This one is worth purchasing and taking with you on your trip to use as an on the spot reference tool in an emergency. This indispensable handbook addresses virtually every accident or sickness that might occur at sea. The instructions are written in clear layman's terms. This updated edition includes methods of treatment and appropriate drugs and doses. Also includes illustrations (some in color) and an index.

A bit dated, but a good source when looked at in comparison to other similar titles. Includes illustrations, bibliographical references, and indexes to help facilitate further study.

This guide to emergency first aid is organized by symptoms. This is probably the top book to carry for serious backcountry (or in this case, deep sea) injuries. Written by a team of climber/physicians and considered the authoritative reference on backcountry medicine. There are other titles that cover basic first aid, but not with this book's depth and specificity. It included illustrations, bibliographical references and an index.

The official text on the rules of the waterways in and around the US. This paperback includes illustrations (some in color).

This book easily fills the gap between owner's manuals that don't even tell you how to change a spark plug and professional shop manuals that detail how to do a complete rebuild. It covers basic principles and techniques for a wide variety of outboards engines- four-stroke as well as two-stroke - with the emphasis on maintenance and advanced troubleshooting. The author's clear explanations and diagrams take you step by step through the basics and beyond, helping you track down even the most elusive problems a modern outboard can throw in your way. His methodical approach can save you a world of frustration and peril as well as expensive mechanics' charges. An excellent manual to practice with BEFORE your out in the middle of the ocean with a stalled engine.

A very thorough survey that includes many projects that boat owners can do themselves. This book is a good place to start for when you decide to jump in and get your hands dirty with fixing and tweaking your boat yourself. Good preparation for when your boat breaks down and you're alone adrift the swell and salt of the sea. Well illustrated