Smarter, Safer Sailing

for Everyone

Whether you’re a weekend sailor or a full-time cruiser, there’s always something you can do to feel more prepared and more confident at sea.

We are here to help you to become confident and as safe as possible at sea. All without overwhelm, overpriced gear, or fear.

For as long as I can remember, the ocean has been as much as part of me as the blood that flows through my veins. Growing up on the California coast, I spent as much time in, on and under the water as I did on land.

Since taking up sailing in the spring of 2014, I slowly expanded my horizons and skillset from coastal sailing in Hobie Cats and Lasers to skippering large monohulls and catamarans on extended blue water crossings.

In 2017 I took the plunge and purchased beautiful 1981 S2 11.0cc named Sierra Wind. Shortly after this I obtained my captains license and opened my own charter business

Seeing and working on different boats and crew, it has always seemed to me that safety was not as high a priority as it should be. So when I left the US in 2020 to go cruising and took on a novice crew, I decided I was going to do things differently. From safety drills and quizzes on vital systems, to checklists, lessons on CRM and human factors in emergencies, I made it my goal to give my crew all the tools they could possibly need in any situation.

Growing up in Germany the ocean always seemed a little too far away but I got a good taste of it during our family vacations in Italy, Spain and France. During my travels later on, I did my dive master and started free diving.

But I haven’t stepped onto a sailboat until I studied in Norway and my landlord took me out on a couple of bay sailing tours and taught me the basics of everything. Since then I always dreamt of sailing and how it would be to just anchor in front of empty beaches and actually know how to get from A to B with only some sails. That’s when I joined Eitan on Sierra Wind in Fiji

Needless to say, some worlds clashed then and there. My (Fabienne) idea of safety on a boat consisted of life vests and mayyybe knowing how to use the radio to call for help - just in case. Thinking “we’ll just deal with it when something happens”, I frankly also didn’t see the necessity for more preparation.

But it wasn’t long until I heard enough stories, saw videos and a experienced a few scary situations that changed my mind about the topic and I started asking more questions. Eitan explained everything so clearly that it made sense and really stuck with me.

Not only safety issue but also how to prepare for passages, plan ocean crossings, and set a boat up for cruising and how to make her ready for a longer time in storage. We realized how useful all of this could be for others in the sailing community.

And that’s the long story of how Safety 4 Cruisers was (re)born. To package all the knowledge from being a captain but also firefighter and paramedic and help other to be safer on the water.

To make the story a little longer, and explain why we say reborn: Eitan started started Safety 4 Cruisers as a Youtube channel in 2018 to give back to the cruising community (and maritime world as a whole) and provide a resource that can be useful to everyone from a beginner day sailor to veteran cruisers looking to up their safety game. Just now we are ready to take it to the next level and rech even more people.