SUBSAFE TO SAILSAFE™
A New Maritime Safety Initiative of American Saudade, Inc.
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Throughout history, the sea has rewarded preparation and punished complacency. From the Portuguese navigators who first ventured into the unknown waters of the Atlantic to modern offshore sailors crossing oceans today, success at sea has always depended upon discipline, training, seamanship, and respect for the power of the ocean.
It is in this spirit that American Saudade, Inc. is proud to introduce the SubSafe to SailSafe™ Program.
The concept was developed by American Saudade founder Vincent C. DaSilva, a former U.S. Navy submariner, U.S. Navy diver, retired merchant mariner engineer, and commercial diver with more than three decades of professional maritime experience. Having spent much of his life operating, maintaining, inspecting, and repairing vessels and critical marine systems, Vincent recognized that many of the lessons learned within the military and commercial maritime communities could be adapted to improve safety, reliability, and preparedness within the offshore sailing community.
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The inspiration for SailSafe originates from the U.S. Navy's SUBSAFE Program, one of the most successful safety and quality assurance programs ever developed. Following the tragic loss of the USS Thresher (SSN-593) in 1963, the Navy implemented SUBSAFE to ensure the integrity of critical systems aboard its submarines. The program established rigorous standards for inspection, maintenance, quality control, documentation, testing, accountability, and operational readiness.
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For more than sixty years, SUBSAFE has served as a model of engineering discipline and risk management.
While offshore sailing vessels operate in a vastly different environment than naval submarines, they face many of the same realities: isolation, severe weather, equipment failures, limited outside assistance, and the constant challenge of operating safely in an unforgiving maritime environment.
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The SailSafe Program seeks to apply these proven principles to the world of offshore sailing and maritime exploration.
SailSafe is built upon several core principles:
• Prevention over reaction.
• Inspection over assumption.
• Training over improvisation.
• Documentation over memory.
• Redundancy over single-point failure.
• Preparation over luck.
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The program encourages vessel owners, crews, students, and maritime organizations to adopt a systematic approach to vessel maintenance, refits, inspections, passage planning, emergency preparedness, and crew training.
As American Saudade prepares S/V American Saudade, a Pacific Seacraft Crealock 37, for its future Great Circle Heritage Voyage linking Newport, Rhode Island, with the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, and beyond, the SailSafe Program will serve as the guiding philosophy behind every stage of the vessel's preparation.
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Every system aboard the vessel—from hull integrity and rigging to electrical systems, communications, steering, emergency equipment, and crew readiness—will be evaluated through the SailSafe lens.
Beyond the vessel itself, SailSafe represents an educational mission.
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American Saudade intends to share the lessons learned throughout this process through articles, videos, social media content, public presentations, youth programs, maritime heritage events, and eventually a comprehensive publication exploring how military-grade risk management and maritime best practices can be adapted for offshore sailors, cruising vessels, educational programs, and nonprofit maritime organizations.
In many ways, SailSafe reflects the same values that guided the great navigators of Portugal and Cape Verde centuries ago: preparation, courage, knowledge, discipline, and respect for the sea.
The ocean remains one of humanity's greatest classrooms.
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Through the SubSafe to SailSafe™ Program, American Saudade hopes to help preserve maritime knowledge, improve offshore safety, and inspire future generations of sailors, mariners, and explorers to pursue their own voyages with confidence, competence, and purpose.
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Fair winds, following seas, and a commitment to safety.
— Vincent C. DaSilva
Founder & President
American Saudade, Inc.
Creator of the SubSafe to SailSafe™ Initiative