Survival

Our first and most important step toward survival is preparation, planning and giving full consideration to the weather and conditions. That aside, there are always the unknown factors or circumstances. For this we have our survival equipment and plans. These we view much like insurance. It is something we need, but we really hope we never have the need to use it. Also like insurance this equipment provides a peace of mind having it available.

EPIRB – this device is registered with the FCC. If we activate it, it will send a which will report our position from an internal GPS and identify us as sending the signal. In all likelihood either our son Daniel or our daughter Pamela will be contacted as they registered as our contacts. Once they confirm we are in fact at sea, a search team will be deployed to our reported location. Given the swiftness of the potential recovery by activating the EPIRB we consider this a very important piece of equipment.

Life Raft – We have a Winslow 4 person model 40SLO which weights about 41 pounds.. We had it vacuum packed so it can go three years before inspection and repacking rather than the normal annual inspection. Some supplies packed inside the raft are dated and are then replaced during inspection.

Ditch Bag – this bag is stowed just under the companionway so that it can be easily grabbed from the cockpit, but is actually stored inside the cabin. The bag includes essentials for survival and recovery. It includes the EPIRB, distress signals, the first aid kit, additional food and water, and important papers amongst other items. A handheld GPS and VHF radio are nearby and would be put in the bag if possible.

There are a couple of ways to stow a life raft. Some are stowed in a canister which is mounted on deck or on the stern rail. We seriously considered a canister mounted on the cabin roof but in the end rejected this idea. The canister has the benefits of not consuming other valuable storage space, but it must be very securely attached to reduce the risk of being washed overboard, and it does subject the raft to more of the weather, such as the hot sun. We decided on the other available option which is stowing it in a protected space, which in our case is a cockpit locker. This has the advantage of protecting the raft from the elements and also having readily available from the cockpit. The major disadvantage is giving up prime storage space. As a compromise we constructed a shelve for the life raft which is hinged to fold up out of the way when working in the locker and also is on a slide so the life raft can be moved directly under the locker lid ready to be lifted and deployed.