Csail
N/A
Has anyone had to use one? What kit would have been handy if you have?
Liferaft
- Thread starter Csail
- Start date
Mad Pad
Member
Yes I have.
Apart from the standard kit,ie water flares etc,
Sat Phone
Epirb or similar
Mirror for signaling(I used the bottom of a can of water..that saved 2 lives)
Fishing tackle
Credit/Debit card.(If you are picked up in the middle of an ocean by a ship you will most likely be dropped at the next port of call and will be wanting to get home)
Plenty of moral fibre.
Hope this helps.
Apart from the standard kit,ie water flares etc,
Sat Phone
Epirb or similar
Mirror for signaling(I used the bottom of a can of water..that saved 2 lives)
Fishing tackle
Credit/Debit card.(If you are picked up in the middle of an ocean by a ship you will most likely be dropped at the next port of call and will be wanting to get home)
Plenty of moral fibre.
Hope this helps.
Last edited:
KellysEye
Active member
We haven't used one except on the RYA sea survival course. The liferaft has small flares and water sachets. Our grab bag held a satphone, full size flares, mirror, handheld GPS, space blankets, knife, fishing gear and lures, high energy food (can't remember what it was called), torch including strobe, AA batteries, hand watermaker, bottled water, tin opener. We would have grabbed tins and more bottled water if we had time. We also tied a serrated dive knife near the liferaft lanyard. Our passports, debit cards and cash were stored in a waterproof bag which would have been the first thing to grab.
Mad Pad
Member
Grab bags are fine in principle,but best keep it in the raft.
If you capsize at night or are run down,or your keel suddenly falls off you won't be wanting to try and find it.Trust me being inside an upside down hull in the water in the dark is not a pleasant experiance,all you want to do is get out of there.
No time for.... Darling do you know where you last saw the grab bag
Tied to the companionway..UNLESS YOU MOVED IT
No I didn't,anyway it was your idea to check the Batteries in the sat phone...
Oh dear yes ,but it was so nice and calm and that nice whale was not showing his nav lights so I never expected to hit him and our keel fall off.
So what do you propose now,were about 1,000 west of the Canarys,in the doldrums,off the shipping lanes soon to be in a bloody life raft with one paddle so we can go in circles
And another thing I told you to have the Sat phone etc packed in the liferaft didn't I !!!
JOKING APART I HOPE THIS LESSON WILL SAVE A FEW LIVES.
If you capsize at night or are run down,or your keel suddenly falls off you won't be wanting to try and find it.Trust me being inside an upside down hull in the water in the dark is not a pleasant experiance,all you want to do is get out of there.
No time for.... Darling do you know where you last saw the grab bag
Tied to the companionway..UNLESS YOU MOVED IT
No I didn't,anyway it was your idea to check the Batteries in the sat phone...
Oh dear yes ,but it was so nice and calm and that nice whale was not showing his nav lights so I never expected to hit him and our keel fall off.
So what do you propose now,were about 1,000 west of the Canarys,in the doldrums,off the shipping lanes soon to be in a bloody life raft with one paddle so we can go in circles
And another thing I told you to have the Sat phone etc packed in the liferaft didn't I !!!
JOKING APART I HOPE THIS LESSON WILL SAVE A FEW LIVES.
Last edited:
Andy and Lyn
New member
RAF Sea Survival Course - WATER/PROTECTION /LOCATION/FOOD
bottled water is a must
decent liferaft with protection (canopy)
location by EPIRB/PLB/VHF radio/mirror/Proper Flares
Food lower priority but good for morale
I've done many rescues in days of old and without doubt if the first 2/3 are of a decent standard then ones chances of survival are much greater
Also, seasickness tablets - any more than an hour or so in a liferaft in a seaway is awful!!
bottled water is a must
decent liferaft with protection (canopy)
location by EPIRB/PLB/VHF radio/mirror/Proper Flares
Food lower priority but good for morale
I've done many rescues in days of old and without doubt if the first 2/3 are of a decent standard then ones chances of survival are much greater
Also, seasickness tablets - any more than an hour or so in a liferaft in a seaway is awful!!
shaxi
N/A
i have never use when on the trip , but get some useful tips here !thank you !
lille_bee
New member
life raft contents
Grab the chance to visit the place that services your life raft, we did, it's an eye opener. Time it right and they will even let you pull the cord... they inflate slower than you think. Leave a bag of items you want included when they re-pack the beast; very high factor/water proof suncream/total sun block, spare glasses/sunglasses, cream for rubbing on sore back sides (sitting for days, even weeks in salt water is no fun), your favourite moral boosting , mouth watering sweets. (as you may have guessed, we don't do cold water any more) MORE WATER. Prepare your brain for being in the life raft for a lot longer than you expect. The mind gives up long before the body (photos of people back home who matter to you).
Step up off the top of your mast into the life raft.
Grab the chance to visit the place that services your life raft, we did, it's an eye opener. Time it right and they will even let you pull the cord... they inflate slower than you think. Leave a bag of items you want included when they re-pack the beast; very high factor/water proof suncream/total sun block, spare glasses/sunglasses, cream for rubbing on sore back sides (sitting for days, even weeks in salt water is no fun), your favourite moral boosting , mouth watering sweets. (as you may have guessed, we don't do cold water any more) MORE WATER. Prepare your brain for being in the life raft for a lot longer than you expect. The mind gives up long before the body (photos of people back home who matter to you).
Step up off the top of your mast into the life raft.