Section Update: FIRST AID Section Expanded - FIRST AID KIT Added

To complete the section on FIRST AID, it makes sense to add some suggestions for a good medical kit for sailors cruising the Great Lakes.

Obviously, it is important to strike a balance between a kit that would allow you do do full-on surgery and one that could fit in the corner of your car's glove box. The Great Lakes are ringed with coast guard stations backed up by substantial air resources. So, its not as if we were sailing days or weeks from land. 

However, we also need to consider the types of emergencies that can arise and the need to be able to prudently manage them for possibly quite a number of hours. A first aid kit should be sufficiently well-stocked to allow you to do that.

The suggestions for this kit are just that - suggestions. But, they are a good starting place for a discussion on what should be on your boat, your skills in dealing with a medical emergency (a not-so-subtle suggestion to take a good first aid course this winter) and the development of your own kit personalized for your needs.

If you belong to a yacht club, you may want to suggest to the Commodore or Training Officer that a first aid course might make for a good mid-winter training event.

A new page entitled EMERGENCY FIRST AID KIT can be found at http://www.great-lakes-sailing.com/emergency_first_aid_kit.html . 

I would also note that two of the best emergency medical books for non-medical people are “Where There Is No Doctor” and “Where There Is No Dentist”. Both of these are available at the NAUTICAL MIND bookstore and I put a link at   http://www.great-lakes-sailing.com/first_aid_tips.html .

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Fair Winds

Michael