Abandon Ship Bag for Coast Sailing

[thinwater]

In the US this would be called a ditch bag. What you grab if you need to get of the boat and into a raft or dinghy in a sinking or fire. And not what you need to cross and ocean. What you would take if you expect help within hours or overnight. You won't be worried about catching fish, but dehydration, cold water, and injuries can kill pretty quickly, depending on the location.

Let's also assume the boat is small and that a large bag won't do.

In my case, it would probably be two bags. I can grab both in a few seconds. Technically they are not sealed, but I don't unpack them.
* A slender day pack that contains spare glasses, meds, VHF, probably a windbreaker, knife, and the other bits and pieces I take day sailing. Most of the little things folks talk about for emergency bags. A few bottles of water and a few powerbars (in addition to lunch). Would float for a few minutes (there are several foam layers, since it is a lap top bag).
* A pantry bag I take if going overnight or longer. Water and food mostly. Zippered with enough foam insulation to float (though it is not a cooler). Generally enough room to stuff flares and some clothes in.
* If the water is cold I would probably jump into my drysuit. Otherwise, grab some clothes and a blanket, according to the weather. In principle you are wearing a PFD and have a tether.

 

[William_H]

I think the trick is to set up a bag easily grabbed but which is in use most of the time for normally used stuff. I have in mind a bag attached by velcro to be reachable just inside the main hatch left gaping open to hold your HH VHF EPIRB water bottle extra clothing or whatever which can be quickly sealed by velcro on the mouth and quickly removed from boat. If it is water proof it should float fairly easily.
However consider that you may not have much time before you find yourself in the water with just life jacket so much needs to be in the l J itself. A grab bag might only be really useful if you have a life raft.
The last tragedy a few weeks back here occurred when the ballast bulb fell of a deep keel. The crew were thrown into the water. It was just fortunate that one crew had a PLB on his person. The helmsman drowned because had had an auto L J and a tether. olewill

 

[zoidberg]

Certainly, mine contains a few commercial TPAs. These are packed very small and are mummy-shaped. Don't consider the 'space blanket' type aluminised sheet - have you tried wrapping one around a casualty in a breeze? Several little things, such as a headtorch with spare, viable batteries and a handful of packs of different sweets. Take the EPIRB. A couple of beanie hats helps morale, too. A waterproof notebook and pencil ( Tyvek? ) A couple of dried, compressed towels.

A Platinum Mastercard.

 

[thinwater]

I think the trick is to set up a bag easily grabbed but which is in use most of the time for normally used stuff. I have in mind a bag attached by velcro to be reachable just inside the main hatch left gaping open to hold your HH VHF EPIRB water bottle extra clothing or whatever which can be quickly sealed by velcro on the mouth and quickly removed from boat. If it is water proof it should float fairly easily.
However consider that you may not have much time before you find yourself in the water with just life jacket so much needs to be in the l J itself. A grab bag might only be really useful if you have a life raft.
The last tragedy a few weeks back here occurred when the ballast bulb fell of a deep keel. The crew were thrown into the water. It was just fortunate that one crew had a PLB on his person. The helmsman drowned because had had an auto L J and a tether. olewill

Do you have a report on the accident? I would be interested in the link. Did the tether have a release at the harness end?

In my case. The boat is a multihull. The concerns are fire and capsize. In the event of capsize, you can go fetch the bag later. In the event of fire you probably have a little time, but only to grab what is near the companionway.

I'm guessing a TPA is not a third party administrator.

 

[Seajet]

A a dinghy or raft I can inflate PDQ

B, a Plan B dinghy or raft I can inflate PDQ https://www.force4.co.uk/rule-12v-high-speed-dinghy-inflator.html

C, A big bottle of mineral water

D, sleeping bags and/ or space blankets


E, girlfriend - as long as didn't moan all yesterday- see / I

F, a powerful torch

G, Waterproof handheld VHF

H, charged up Mobile phone

I, a good pornographic book

 

[laika]

As well as some of the things already mentioned by others, my flares live in the grab bag. Bobbing about in a little life raft I'd consider the white collision ones to be as important as the red distress ones

In the US this would be called a ditch bag.

Phew. If you'd have called it a "Bug Out Bag" as referenced on "prepper" threads on US boating forums we'd have had to add geiger counter, axe and sawn off shotgun...

 

[ShinyShoe]

In the US this would be called a ditch bag. What you grab if you need to get of the boat and into a raft or dinghy in a sinking or fire. And not what you need to cross and ocean. What you would take if you expect help within hours or overnight. You won't be worried about catching fish, but dehydration, cold water, and injuries can kill pretty quickly, depending on the location.

What is your realistic time to rescue? In UK waters, provided you get the distress message out even with a 5 mile search zone (GPS on the EPIRB fails) I'd expect 90mins to start getting people properly looking for you and then can't take more than 3-4 hours to get found. So you need enough to survive 6 hours. The key word is survive. If you ditched you don't need to be comfortable.

spare glasses, I'm pretty much blind without my glasses. My spares are in the car. Someone will get me to them or them to me once I'm ashore
meds, I don't take critical meds. I'd only bother if they are things that get messy if you don't take them. So blood pressure meds, statins, etc not a priority. Insulin a different story. Inhalers a different story.*
VHF, Absolutely
probably a windbreaker, Something that can generically break wind - like a big plastic bag. You don't need it to fit, it needs to fit whomever its needed for
knife, Should be in your pocket IMHO
A few bottles of water and a few powerbars (in addition to lunch). I'm not planning on a meal while awaiting rescue!
Would float for a few minutes (there are several foam layers, since it is a lap top bag). Have you tested that? - I very much doubt it. Laptop bags are usually made of open cell foam, so a bit like dropping a sponge in the bath... ...but this is a sponge with ?2kg weight attached - Water = 1kg per litre, VHF = 2-300g,

*either this means you are in and out the grab bag constantly if all your meds live there or you duplicate them. Then they expire! IMHO you don't want to be in and out all the time. If you are in the US your meds will be mostly in loose bottles rather than blisters... will leak when in water,..


* A pantry bag I take if going overnight or longer. Water and food mostly. Zippered with enough foam insulation to float (though it is not a cooler). Again I'd want to know that was the case - could be open cell. Food & Water are heavy. Unless you have diabetes, the food is an unnecessary extra for coastal rescue. Water I can understand.

Generally enough room to stuff flares and some clothes in.Flares - if you want them - should be in the grab bag - not added in an emergency. If the bag isn't waterproof do flares mind? (I don't carry Pyros so never been a concern. Perhaps because my ditch plan is a dinghy and not a raft I'm not imagining getting changed... so not sure of the value of clothes and even less convinced they'll be dry

* If the water is cold I would probably jump into my drysuit. That will take me too long!
Otherwise, grab some clothes and a blanket, according to the weather. Sounds like a planned departure not a ditching

Knife in pocket.
Auto LJ on. (if things go very wrong and I get trapped - knife will release the LJ)
PLB on strap of LJ

If there is a risk you end up in another country - passport / documents (E111 etc for Europe) makes sense. I'd have them sealed inside a small ziplock inside the grab bag. Grab bag is a dry bag that stays sealed 99% of the time. Checked it floats when loaded.

If you have a raft - you can put the "nice to have" stuff in their already...

 

[thinwater]

What is your realistic time to rescue? In UK waters, provided you get the distress message out even with a 5 mile search zone (GPS on the EPIRB fails) I'd expect 90mins to start getting people properly looking for you and then can't take more than 3-4 hours to get found. So you need enough to survive 6 hours. The key word is survive. If you ditched you don't need to be comfortable.

spare glasses, I'm pretty much blind without my glasses. My spares are in the car. Someone will get me to them or them to me once I'm ashore
meds, I don't take critical meds. I'd only bother if they are things that get messy if you don't take them. So blood pressure meds, statins, etc not a priority. Insulin a different story. Inhalers a different story.*
VHF, Absolutely
probably a windbreaker, Something that can generically break wind - like a big plastic bag. You don't need it to fit, it needs to fit whomever its needed for
knife, Should be in your pocket IMHO
A few bottles of water and a few powerbars (in addition to lunch). I'm not planning on a meal while awaiting rescue!
Would float for a few minutes (there are several foam layers, since it is a lap top bag). Have you tested that? - I very much doubt it. Laptop bags are usually made of open cell foam, so a bit like dropping a sponge in the bath... ...but this is a sponge with ?2kg weight attached - Water = 1kg per litre, VHF = 2-300g,

*either this means you are in and out the grab bag constantly if all your meds live there or you duplicate them. Then they expire! IMHO you don't want to be in and out all the time. If you are in the US your meds will be mostly in loose bottles rather than blisters... will leak when in water,..


* A pantry bag I take if going overnight or longer. Water and food mostly. Zippered with enough foam insulation to float (though it is not a cooler). Again I'd want to know that was the case - could be open cell. Food & Water are heavy. Unless you have diabetes, the food is an unnecessary extra for coastal rescue. Water I can understand.

Generally enough room to stuff flares and some clothes in.Flares - if you want them - should be in the grab bag - not added in an emergency. If the bag isn't waterproof do flares mind? (I don't carry Pyros so never been a concern. Perhaps because my ditch plan is a dinghy and not a raft I'm not imagining getting changed... so not sure of the value of clothes and even less convinced they'll be dry

* If the water is cold I would probably jump into my drysuit. That will take me too long!
Otherwise, grab some clothes and a blanket, according to the weather. Sounds like a planned departure not a ditching

Knife in pocket.
Auto LJ on. (if things go very wrong and I get trapped - knife will release the LJ)
PLB on strap of LJ

If there is a risk you end up in another country - passport / documents (E111 etc for Europe) makes sense. I'd have them sealed inside a small ziplock inside the grab bag. Grab bag is a dry bag that stays sealed 99% of the time. Checked it floats when loaded.

If you have a raft - you can put the "nice to have" stuff in their already...

The USCG is quick here too, but I think you should assume overnight. May have happened late and weather could be crappy.

Without glasses pretty much everything is a pain. They are in the bag for practical reasons anyway.

My wife is diabetic--that is the sort of critical meds I was referring to. This also relates to food. And as I said, some of this is resident in the bag for that reason. This need colors my thinking and planning. Even if I am picked up by the USCG in 10 minutes, I need these things.

Some of the things I listed, like powerbars and a few extra clothes, are resident in the daybag I would grab. Nothing extra. Same with the critical meds; they would be the 1-2 day supply we always carry and are fresh that way. Insulin, for example, would not survive in a sealed just-in-case grab bag.

I'll need to check a few lap top bags. Closed cell foam would have better shock properties and would make more sense if there was rain. I bet it goes both ways. It also depends on how it is sealed in; if it floats for a few minutes, that is enough; longer than that and you've lost the bag anyway. You could always glue a few sheets of yoga mat inside.

Drysuit. I often sail in one instead of foulies, if the water is cold and the weather is crappy. Mine is quite comfortable. Less than a minute to don. If you are ditching in 0-10F water without a substantial raft, it is the one thing that will keep you alive.

If I end up in another country, something went very badly wrong (US, mid-Atlantic).

----

There seems to be an assumption that ditching is something that happens in 10 seconds. I seriously doubt that is the case very often. Leaks take some time, and if you think your boat could sink in seconds, I question why you have not added some bulkheads. Fires either take some time or are explosions. Lost keels are flukes, impossible for most boats. If you really believe your boat could sink in seconds or explode, either wear full survival gear all the time or stay home and watch soccer.

 

[laika]

Flares - if you want them - should be in the grab bag - not added in an emergency. If the bag isn't waterproof do flares mind?

Flares are often sold in waterproof containers if you buy a "pack". The big yellow ones will take up a lot of the grab bag but the smaller ones associated with a "coastal pack" are an OK size.

Something that can generically break wind

For some people this may be taken care of by seajet's item "E" (substituting "boy" for "girl" as necessary according to partner's gender...)

 

[Ric]

For coastal sailing - car keys, wallet, house keys....

 

[ShinyShoe]

The USCG is quick here too, but I think you should assume overnight. May have happened late and weather could be crappy.

UK Coastguard has helo cover with redundancy over pretty much anywhere I'm likely to sail. If the weather is bad enough that the helo can't operate there is ZERO chance of me being out in it!



The S92 has a cruising speed of 151kn, so helo can be in the search zone in just over 90 minutes in a worst case scenario. So even allowing for PLB activation and delays while check for false activation etc should realistically expect the bird over head after 3 hours.

My wife is diabetic--that is the sort of critical meds I was referring to. This also relates to food. And as I said, some of this is resident in the bag for that reason. This need colors my thinking and planning. Even if I am picked up by the USCG in 10 minutes, I need these things.

OK so I'm not so much seeing this as a grab bag - but a - things I carry as spares where I go bag. Seems sensible. In the UK you'd be pretty much guaranteed to be flown to a UK Hospital. They'll sort my meds for me. But great if you can avoid the issue in the first place.

Drysuit. I often sail in one instead of foulies, if the water is cold and the weather is crappy. Mine is quite comfortable. Less than a minute to don. If you are ditching in 0-10F water without a substantial raft, it is the one thing that will keep you alive.

Mine is very comfortable. But assuming I wasn't wearing it I'm taking off layers to put it on.
If it is 0-10F I'm screwed! Thats -17 to -12C - the sea will freeze!

There seems to be an assumption that ditching is something that happens in 10 seconds. I seriously doubt that is the case very often. Leaks take some time, and if you think your boat could sink in seconds, I question why you have not added some bulkheads. Fires either take some time or are explosions. Lost keels are flukes, impossible for most boats. If you really believe your boat could sink in seconds or explode, either wear full survival gear all the time or stay home and watch soccer.

Collision?

Trawler capsizes seem to be a bit of an issue here. They seem to happen suddenly - and mostly not from what I read due to snagged nets...

For some people this may be taken care of by seajet's item "E" (substituting "boy" for "girl" as necessary according to partner's gender...)

:-D

 

[alant]

In the US this would be called a ditch bag. What you grab if you need to get of the boat and into a raft or dinghy in a sinking or fire. And not what you need to cross and ocean. What you would take if you expect help within hours or overnight. You won't be worried about catching fish, but dehydration, cold water, and injuries can kill pretty quickly, depending on the location.

Let's also assume the boat is small and that a large bag won't do.

In my case, it would probably be two bags. I can grab both in a few seconds. Technically they are not sealed, but I don't unpack them.
* A slender day pack that contains spare glasses, meds, VHF, probably a windbreaker, knife, and the other bits and pieces I take day sailing. Most of the little things folks talk about for emergency bags. A few bottles of water and a few powerbars (in addition to lunch). Would float for a few minutes (there are several foam layers, since it is a lap top bag).
* A pantry bag I take if going overnight or longer. Water and food mostly. Zippered with enough foam insulation to float (though it is not a cooler). Generally enough room to stuff flares and some clothes in.
* If the water is cold I would probably jump into my drysuit. Otherwise, grab some clothes and a blanket, according to the weather. In principle you are wearing a PFD and have a tether.

Don't forget your mobile phone & credit card.

 

[thinwater]

Don't forget your mobile phone & credit card.

Yes, I meant 0-10C water.

Keys, cell phone, and wallet would, of course, be in the day pack. I zip them in as soon as I get out of the car.

Search and rescue is similarly efficient on the US coast, and still, complete reliance on that seems unwise. You could become separated from your EPIRB or not have one (many do not). There are areas of heavy fog. Summer thunderstorms make flying near the ground unsafe, with down bursts over 60 knots pretty common around here, and over 100 knots every summer. And I don't expect them to find me at night in the waves. And if it's really nasty, you may not be their only call; I've listened to them responding to multiple calls after nasty thunderstorms several times. Pretty common, in fact. And these happen at dusk.

From my personal, self-centered perspective, the risks are capsize and fire. In a collision it was either nearly fatal or the bits are still floating (trimaran). In a capsize I can swim down and get what I need, so long as it is collected in a few bags or the items are large enough to find easily.

 

[William_H]

Do you have a report on the accident? I would be interested in the link. Did the tether have a release at the harness end?

In my case. The boat is a multihull. The concerns are fire and capsize. In the event of capsize, you can go fetch the bag later. In the event of fire you probably have a little time, but only to grab what is near the companionway.

I'm guessing a TPA is not a third party administrator.

No no official report. It was only 2 weeks ago. Reports I have are from the club. First death in about 40 years in ocean racing here. olewill

 

[zoidberg]

A 'TPA' is a Thermal Protective Aid - here's an example:

https://www.lrse.com/products/thermal-protective-aids-tpas

The TPA is made of aluminized polyethylene with heat sealed seams that protects for a temperature range of -30C to +20C. Both convective and evaporative heat loss are reduced.

That example is priced at $40 'Murricain. Those I have cost less than a quarter of that, and I carry four. SOLAS Regs 76/94 refer..... Mandatory for commercial vessels, so recommended for my purposes.

 

[thinwater]

A 'TPA' is a Thermal Protective Aid - here's an example:

https://www.lrse.com/products/thermal-protective-aids-tpas



That example is priced at $40 'Murricain. Those I have cost less than a quarter of that, and I carry four. SOLAS Regs 76/94 refer..... Mandatory for commercial vessels, so recommended for my purposes.

Interesting and sensible. Somewhere between an immersion suit and foul weather gear. Not popular with yachtsman in the US, even though that is a US product (Coleman/Sterns).

 

[Uricanejack]

It depends what you will be abandoning to.

I carry a 6 man life raft. Offshore. so AFAIK it has flares, water, first aid kit and basic emergency pack.
In the unlikely event. If I ever need to use it. If it inflates. I expect it will suffice for quite a few rather unpleasant hours.
I don't have a grab bag.
Wallet, car keys live in chart table. I figure we will grab what we need. Probably not the best plan. Maybe I should rethink. A small kayak or canoe kit bag?

those TPA look like a good piece of kit.

 

[thinwater]

It depends what you will be abandoning to.

I carry a 6 man life raft. Offshore. so AFAIK it has flares, water, first aid kit and basic emergency pack.
In the unlikely event. If I ever need to use it. If it inflates. I expect it will suffice for quite a few rather unpleasant hours.
I don't have a grab bag.
Wallet, car keys live in chart table. I figure we will grab what we need. Probably not the best plan. Maybe I should rethink. A small kayak or canoe kit bag?

those TPA look like a good piece of kit.

1. The thread started with a coastal sailing focus, so the big raft is sort of outside the scope, but not entirely.
2. The "AFAIK" description of the raft supplies is a little troubling. With emergency gear, you want to know for certain. I guess you'll be checking on that.

And this is why I was thinking that with a little thought and preparation, a typical day-bag be pretty useful, filling the gap between the minimal bit of nothing that is typically in a raft and a full-on mid-ocean grab bag. Very, very few of us cross oceans, and if we do, we can could the crossings on a few fingers.

 

[Daydream believer]

I think that the notion that one can swim down & collect items is a bit risky. if one were to be wearing a life jacket i would rather not take it off & going under an upturned hulk that is bouncing in the sea can be dangerous I would have thought. One could easily get spiked in the stanchions of the guard rails not to mention getting snagged in ropes from broken mast etc.etc.
The life raft would drift away from the stricken yacht very quickly & if one did not cut the connecting line then the jerking on it could rip a lump out of the raft as it rolled in the sea.

Survival times in cold seas such as one encounters round the UK would mean survival is down to only a few hours, so the target would be to keep warm, prevent, or reduce, sea sickness,A good supply of water to reduce hydration, keep energy up with some energy bars.
It has to be remembered that someone is bound to be injured so a roll of bandage & piece of lint. Perhaps a roll of duct tape to hold some lint in place or to strap a broken arm to a body would be important. I do not know if that would have the medics on the forum gasping for breath, but it would be all I could think of. A roll of duct tape can be very handy it might also help with a leak in the raft or something simple like holding the flap shut, fixing a tear in ones oilies etc these sort of things can really exaggerate the downside of moral & a simple bodge repair can help a lot
Then some form of signalling distress & a means of sending location. .
The life raft should already have knife , flares, water mirror etc but I carry a knife in my pocket as well as a cutter & personal flares on my LJ
Carry some money, small denomination UK & Euros, plus means of personal identification so they can identify the body for the wife to get the death cert quicker (have to "keep wearing the LJ so you float longer" :encouragement

The standard McMurdo grab bag is useless as one can get zero in it & is a waste of money. I use one of my old flare canisters. It has a strong loop rope handle, is watertight so it floats & will take good hard knocks I have painted "GRAB" on it & it is held in the front of the saloon with shock cord where all can see

I have never done a sea survival course so a forumite, who has, will come & tell us all that I am wrong but one lives in hope that one never needs it

My beanie hat is one I bought from the RNLI so it has "lifeboats" on it so the logo will go to the front so they know that i donate & they should pull me out first :encouragement:

 

[laika]

Taarg from Planet Aqqq. Pertwee era Dr. Who.