With the sailing season upon us, it's time again to review the single most important sailing safety tool you can have on your person. It requires no batteries, nor a month to month plan to keep it working. Don't set sail without it--on your person!

Attach a lanyard to the knife and loop in onto your belt. Straight blade knives are faster to use and free up one hand.

One of the latest forum posts brought up a vital sailing safety point important enough for a short sailing article. Here's an excerpt from that post:

"In an emergency on deck, a knock-down, or heaven forbid, a roll over, isn't it possible to be so entangled and ensnared (in a lee cloth) that just trying to get out of the berth as quickly as possible would almost be--- impossible?"

Only Serious Sailors Need Apply

When you're on board, carry a sharp knife and know how to use it blindfolded and hanging upside down... Practical Sailor magazine

Talk to cruising or offshore sailors and it's a good bet they know of a sailor that got wrapped in a line or tether, or trapped in a lee cloth (a long strip of canvas lashed to hooks above a berth to keep you secure when heeled over).

I have talked with sailors that have seen or experienced near-death incidents like these. 99% of the time, a simple rigging knife would have done the trick.

But that doesn't mean in a pocket, or down below in a bag, or in a sheath lashed to the binnacle stand. You need your knife--at all times--attached to your belt. A knife with a razor sharp blade will cut you free of a lee cloth, a line wrapped abound your foot, or a sailing safety harness that's entangled in an emergency.

Attach your knife to your belt with a lanyard. Make the lanyard long enough to allow you to stretch out your arm.

How to Rig Your Knife the Right Way

But a knife in a sheath on your belt isn't good enough for complete personal sailing safety.

Wet hands can lose their grip on a slippery knife handle.

Always, always attach a lanyard from the knife back to a belt loop.

Make a simple lanyard out of a long shoe string or piece of small stuff.

Make the lanyard long enough so that when you remove the knife you can extend your arm full length.

The top photo shows the gear I now use offshore. Before reading incident after incident of serious accidents, only the folding blade was carried (bottom photo). But that's a two-handed knife. In an emergency, you may need to grip with one hand and cut with the other.

In the opening sample scenario from the post, either of these knives would have cut through that canvas lee cloth and the lashings like a hot knife through butter (make sure you read the sailing tip box below).

Purchase a high quality, carbon-steel straight-blade knife in a separate sheath that's made for offshore work (in top photo, sheath not shown). Keep your knives razor sharp so they cut though thick canvas or rope, and well oiled to stay rust and corrosion free.

Captain John's Sailing Tip Wear your knife at all times aboard. This includes sitting, resting, napping, or sleeping. This becomes more critical when sailing along the coast or offshore. Lash a second sheath knife below and on deck. But in no way does this substitute for the one you wear on your person!

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Sailing safety starts with wearing the right gear to get the job done. The sailor's knife has done it's duty a thousand times to save countless lives that might otherwise have been lost. Make sure you make this vital tool part of your personal sailing gear--wherever in the world you choose to cruise!

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