Capt. Henry Marx Memorial Safety at Sea Seminar

Get a great overview of the essentials of safety at sea during the day-long Capt. Henry Marx Memorial Safety at Sea Seminar in Hampton Roads, VA on February 29th. The seminar, aimed at mariners of all levels, will cover navigation, heavy weather sailing, and man-overboard recovery. The event is being in honor of Capt. Henry Marx, a respected safety-at-sea expert and frequent contributor to Practical Sailor.  The Capt. Henry Marx Memorial Safety at Sea Seminar is being hosted by the Mariners Museum at Hampton Rodes. The cost is $140 ($160 after Feb. 1).

Capt. Henry Marx was respected for his expertise in matters of navigation and safety at sea. He was a frequent advisor to many of Practical Sailor’s tests, especially those involving safety equipment. He is best known in the sailing community as the owner of the Stamford, CT chandlery Landfall Navigation, which continues to be a popular source of safety and navigation equipment for cruising sailors.

This day-long course, designed and conducted by sailors and experts in their fields, is open to all cruising and racing skippers, crews and their families, recreational boaters, and commercial mariners, providing vital information and practical skills needed for sailing offshore. It also provides time with other boaters and course leaders to discuss best practices for safety at sea.

Topics include emergency communications, crew overboard and recovery procedures, personal safety   equipment, life raft inflation, signal flares, dealing with large ships, and marine weather. The course will be moderated by Mark Lenci, one of only seven certified U.S. Sailing Safety at Sea moderators. A retired US Navy captain, his naval career was primarily in attack submarines; he was commander of USS Houston (SSN 713). Lenci holds the USCG 10T Masters License; he sails primarily in New England and the Canadian Maritimes from his home base of Natick, MA.

After a successful corporate career, Marx acquired Landfall Navigation in 1982. A life-long mariner, he saw service in the U.S. as a submariner and abroad with the Norwegian merchant marine. He had a 20-plus year career delivering and cruising yachts along the East and West Coasts, and literally wrote the book on using Loran C, the pre-GPS electronic navigation system. He was a well-respected navigation and marine safety instructor, served on the Marine Board Nautical Chart Committee, was a member of the Storm Trysail Club and was an advisor to the U.S. Sailing Safety-at-Sea Committee. In 2017, he was presented the Commodore’s Award by the Cruising Club of America for his contributions both as a long-time member as well as his work as a safety educator and advocate.

Capt. Marx’s dedication to fellow mariners, hard-earned sea sense, commitment to community service, and insight into safety procedures and equipment will be sorely missed. Space is limited for this special event. You can register at the Mariners’ Museum website.