US Sailing Safety at Sea
US Sailing Sanctioned International Offshore Safety at Sea with Hands on Training
Master critical blue-water survival skills with the US Sailing Sanctioned International Offshore Safety at Sea Course. This two-day, in-person program delivers essential, hands-on training to prepare you for demanding offshore emergencies. Earn a recognized credential: US Sailing is the U.S. National Governing Body for sailing and is sanctioned by World Sailing to issue Safety at Sea certificates. Certificates are good for power and sail vessels.
November 7 & 8, 2026
Del Rey Yacht Club
13900 Palawan Way
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292
Questions? Contact the Co-Chair: CaptainKathy@Gmail.com
COURSE INFORMATION
Del Rey Yacht Club is proud to host this US Sailing Sanctioned event. Redesigned around immersive, hands-on drills, this high-impact training helps you learn faster, build muscle memory, and retain vital survival skills. Whether you are a racer, cruiser, day sailor, or powerboater—sailing crewed, double-handed, or solo on a monohull or multihull—this course is engineered for you. No matter if this is your first Safety at Sea course or your tenth, you will gain cutting-edge skills, master modern techniques, and leave exceptionally prepared for any ocean emergency.
Saturday & Sunday November 7 & 8, 2026 – $475
PRICES INCLUDES: 2 continental breakfast, and 2 lunches, and a PDF US Sailing certificate upon successful completion.
Go through the FAQs below for more information on the topics to be covered, learn more about our moderator and our super speakers.
The Class of 2024 bonded from the friendships built over the two day intensive learning experience. All received their Certificates from US Sailing.
Topics/Content Highlights
To optimize your training, our expert team has engineered a deliberate, highly structured agenda around the core topics below. This curriculum is meticulously designed to cover all required US Sailing content while placing immersive, hands-on drills and practical application at the absolute center of your learning experience.
- Water Survival & Liferafts: Dive into the Deep End
o Submerge fully geared up and test your PFD and accessories
o Experience swimming in full gear to understand buoyancy and drag
o Practice tactical group-swimming survival formats
o Master the mechanics of righting and boarding an offshore liferaft - Marine Firefighting: Prevent the Enemy
o Attack controlled, live blazes using industry-standard fire extinguishers
o Smother simulated engine room and galley chemical fires
o Understand benefits and challenges of li-ion
o Learn ventilation control and common electrical mishaps - Distress Communications: Command the Airwaves
o Construct and broadcast clear, high-priority Mayday calls
o Demystify global satellite EPIRBs, PLBS, DSC and other AIS/GPS devices
o Configure equipment and setup your nav station
o Understand your roles in giving and receiving assistance - Damage Control & Dismasting: Save the Platform
o Plug simulated hull breaches under pressure
o Learn to cut away a compromised rig safely using emergency tools
o Secure a compromised mast with spars, sails and tools
o Learn rig inspection protocol
o Identify upgrades for your Damage Control Kit - Signaling & Pyrotechnics: Ignite Your Rescue
o Handle and activate live high-intensity flares
o Deploy handheld smoke signals safely
o Test signaling devices including VDSDs - Heavy Weather: Deploy an Arsenal of Techniques
o Understand apps, equipment, weather routing
o Bend on trysails and storm jibs
o Assess heavy weather depowering techniques for cats and monohulls
o Properly reef, rig preventers, boom brakes, jacklines - Man Overboard Recovery: Bring Everyone Home
o Master throw bag response to a MOB
o Deploy Lifesling and hoist crew members aboard
o Test hoisting tackles, elevators, and slings
o Prepare and run a realistic MOB drill
o Establish clear, repeatable crew roles to ensure a smooth rescue - Leadership & Training: Upgrade Your Entire Team
o Turn book knowledge into practical execution
o Practice risk assessments on realistic scenarios
o Learn how you can become a better leader
FAQs
In our FAQs, you will find out what to bring, contact info, location, report time, refund schedule, and local hotels in the FAQs. PLEASE READ THESE FOR FULL COURSE INFORMATION.
Del Rey Yacht Club
13900 Palawan Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
see the map below
On Saturday and Sunday arrive before 8 AM. There will be information on the parking situation as we approach the event.
REPORT TO THE PATIO BY THE POOL. See the map. Registration for all events will begin before 8 AM. continental breakfast. Training begins 8:10 AM each morning.
The plan is to have mid-day for lunch with panel discussions and to complete each day by 6 PM.
There will be a no host bar available both days after the event.
What You Should Bring
Please review this list carefully. You will need your safety gear on both days
Personal Items
- Photo ID & Credit Card
- Refillable water bottle
- Sun protection: Sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat
- Weather layers: Dress for the weather, as we will be outside for training on and off boats
Gear & Foul Weather Clothing
- Sailing Clothing: Dress for a typical rainy, cold day on the water to make your experience the most realistic
- Full foul weather gear: Waterproof jacket, bibs/pants, sea boots, hat, sailing gloves
- Inflatable PFD with Tether and properly fitted Leg Straps (REQUIRED BOTH DAYS)
- You will wear your PFD, tether, leg straps and use your gloves on both Saturday and Sunday
- Inherently buoyant/kayaking/dingy PFDs are NOT acceptable
- On Day 2, you will be in the pool and trigger your cartridge to inflate your PFD
- We will not rearm the wet PFDs during the course. Bring a rearming kit with you if you want guided assistance on how to rearm and repack
- A very limited number of rental PFDs may be available on-site. Rental prices vary by style and are to cover the cost of the rearming kit. Please contact Kathy St Amant to reserve.
- Closed-toed shoes for Damage Control when you use power tools
- Leather gloves (Optional, for the flare demonstration)
- 🚫 Prohibited for In Water Drills: No swimsuits, shorts, t-shirts allowed for the in-water training. You will gear up in the clothing you would wear on a bad weather day for all drills in the pool
🚿 After-Drill & Inclement Weather Essentials
- Extra gear & extra change of clothes: Bring backup layers in case of inclement weather so you can stay warm and dry between sessions
- Towel & shower gear
- Heavy-duty bag to transport your wet gear home
Whether you are preparing for the Transpac, PacCup, N2E, Newport Bermuda Race, the Chicago-Mackinac, or even an extended blue-water cruise to Mexico, this certification ensures you meet strict safety standards for international offshore passages.
Upon successful completion of this two-day course, you will earn the official World Sailing Approved Offshore Personal Survival Course Certificate, issued directly by US Sailing. As the National Governing Body for the sport in the United States, US Sailing is the only domestic organization sanctioned to award this globally recognized credential.
This certificate complies fully with World Sailing Offshore Special Regulations (OSR) Category 0, 1, and 2 requirements and is valid for 5 years. It is officially accepted and required by major race organizing authorities, yacht clubs, and maritime federations worldwide, including:
- World Sailing (International Governing Body)
- National Federations (Sail Canada, UK’s Royal Yachting Association (RYA), Australian Sailing)
- Major Offshore Race Organizers (Transpacific Yacht Club, Cruising Club of America, Chicago Yacht Club, and the Storm Trysail Club)
Event begins November 7th
- September 15th: 100% refund
- September 30th: 50% refund
- October 7th: 25%
- October 12th: NO REFUND unless seat is sold
CaptainKathy@Gmail.com
Marina del Rey (and nearby Venice and LAX) offers a variety of quality hotels in the area ranging in nightly prices from approximately $150 to $500. The closest hotels to DRYC and within 10 minutes walking are the Hilton Garden Inn and Jamaica Bay Inn. Vacation rentals are also options through online platforms.
Your certificate will be emailed to you approximately 2 weeks after the class. Please ensure your US Sailing # is entered in the registration form.
If you do not receive it by then please contact CaptainKathy@gmail.com
OUR US SAILING MODERATOR AND SPEAKERS
A master-level mariner with over 40,000 blue-water miles, Leslie Washburn pairs exceptional ocean literacy with extensive experience crossing the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, alongside numerous vessel deliveries across global waters. Licensed in 2018 with a USCG 50 Gross Ton Master credential and a commercial sailing endorsement, she specializes in logistics, emergency preparedness, and offshore heavy-weather handling. Her technical proficiency spans four decades of high-performance racing, with numerous podium-winning finishes in J/Boats and 10-Meter classes. Recognized by peers as an “Old Goat” with 29 completions of the grueling Chicago-Mackinac race, Leslie’s adherence to the highest standards of seamanship and offshore safety is validated by membership in the invitation-only Storm Trysail Club.
Captain James Lee is a former member of the engineering faculty and offshore sailing instructor at the US Naval Academy. He is an ABYC Master Technician and holds a USCG Master license with sailing endorsement. Lee’s servant leadership is evidenced by his extensive involvement in the sailing community, including his current role as Commodore of King Harbor Yacht Club in Redondo Beach, CA. He actively sails his Excess 11, LA MER, and Wauquiez 40S, MARE’ZIA, serves as charter and delivery Captain and is a certified sailing and powerboat instructor. He also writes and speaks nationally about sailing in North America and Europe.
Brendan Huffman is a third generation sailor with extensive offshore cruising and racing experience, including eleven races to Hawaii, two of which were singlehanded. He is the co-owner of UK Sailmakers’s loft near Marina del Rey and loves helping his customers and friends prepare their boats for offshore adventures. Brendan was a safety inspector for the last Transpac and Pacific Cup races. He has also worked as a sailing instructor at UCLA Marina Aquatic Center and Del Rey YC, where he volunteers to manage the club’s racing program and introduce his favorite past time to new sailors.
Captain Kathy St. Amant has over 65,000 coastal & offshore miles and 54 years of racing/sailing experience. She is a delivery skipper, racer, coach, speaker, and skipper trainer for many programs in Southern California. Kathy’s extensive racing and cruising experience includes a Hawaii crossing, multiple coastal Baja deliveries, over 50 Newport to Ensenada races, 30+ Santa Barbara to King Harbor races, 40+ Marina del Rey to San Diego races, and more. She continues to be active campaigning on her 38 ft. sailboat, among others, throughout Southern California.
St. Amant is very active in the boating community, she is the Staff Commodore of Southern California Yachting Association, Staff Commodore of Association of Santa Monica Bay Yacht Clubs, member of Del Rey Yacht Club, South Coast Corinthian Yacht Club & Women’s Sailing Association of Santa Monica Bay, US Sailing Judge in Training, and serves on various Protest Committees. Kathy has chaired 4 Women’s Boating Events for SCYA, and managed 4 US Sailing Sanctioned International Safety at Sea Courses, coached college sailing teams, etc.
Kathy has won multiple boating related awards for her service to the community, including the 2025 Association of Santa Monica Bay Yacht Club’s Yachtsman of the Year award.