RYA Sea Survival Course

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BlueSkyNick

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Just come back from a day's course at Warsash - excellent value in entertainment alone, let alone some serious learning points. It includes a 2 hour session in the Andark Poole. SWMBO was pretty nervous about it, but completed everything including righting the raft on her own, and staying in the air bubble underneath, chatting to the instructor.

Main points:
- Whenever wearing a life jacket, wear the crotch straps too. I was surprised how little support it gave without them.
- take the seasick tablets as soon as you get in the raft
- make sure the grab bag is complete before starting any passage more than just a day sail in the local area
- there is not a lot of air once the canopy has been fully closed down. I am glad we bought a 6man rather than a 4man for a 6-berth boat, even though we only sail with 4 on board.

Less seriously,
- Don't poo down the bailer tube, if your raft has one in the floor
- Don't get stuck in a raft with a bunch of strangers you only met that morning, 10 minutes was more than enough.

Definitely £70 each very well spent - thoroughly recommend it.
 
Yes, I learned a hell of a lot on the course I went on. It got quite exciting when they pulled the curtains in the swimming pool and turned a fire hose on us in the water, and in the dark. The instructor also declared someone to have a broken leg, and the others had to help him into the raft. Being taught how to right a capsized raft was also instructive.

Fergus
 
Ohh! When did you do your course? I was tasked with a broken leg when I did mine! Mind you, I'd been the first one in the bloody lifereaft all day and needed the rest! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Those who have not done the course should only realise the effort required to get into a lifraft first - and that's only in a swmmimg pool!! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
About a year ago. I totally agree with you about the difficulty of getting into a raft. With the rope ladder shifting underneath the raft, it was difficult to get a good push, and the weight of water in clothes and oilskins made it a very difficult job for most of us to pull ourselves in with our arms. As you do it and fail, you have less strength left for the next attempt. And that was in reasonably warm water in a swimming pool! If you added strength-sapping cold, probably along with some shock at the loss of the boat, most people would need help, which might not be there in a small family crew. Certainly practice helps, and I would hate to have to get into a raft for the first time in a real emergency situation at sea, especially at night. At least every skipper, and preferably every crew member as well, should go on these courses.

It's much better if you can climb straight into the raft from your boat, but this can't always be guaranteed.

The whole course made me think very carefully about the importance of physical fitness. Many of us spend our working lives sitting at a desk, hammering away at computer keys or shuffling papers and talking on the phone. We then expect to drive to the boat on a Friday and have a weekend sailing. Let's be honest, handling mooring lines and anchors, hauling on halyards and sheets, grinding away at winches etc. is all hard physical work, and many of us are not really fit. OK, many modern boats have a lot of electrical/mechanical aids, like winches and windlasses, roller furling foresails, and easier ways of reefing the main. That's fine, as long as everything works. It has also encouraged many of us, especially those for whom middle age has brought financial stability and reasonable leisure time, to buy much bigger boats than was the case 30 years ago. I remember an editorial by Denny Dessouter in an early PBO, saying that 27 feet was the most popular average boat size (he cited the Westerly Centaur [26'] and the Albin Vega [27'] as good examples) because that size of boat had sails and ground tackle that the average healthy adult could handle. Now people have much bigger boats, and the potential for real trouble is there if the systems pack up. A big roller genoa stuck quarter-furled in a rising gale is not something you would wish on anyone - except maybe a politician!

We really should make sure we get enough exercise. I have to admit I don't always myself. You don't have to join a gym, there are many programmes available, like the 10 minutes a day Canadian Airforce Exercises (for men and women). If you add a bit of walking or cycling, or walking up stairs instead of using lifts and escalators, this would be enough to make a real difference to most of us, and we would enjoy our sailing more if we felt we could cope better with emergencies, or even the physical demands of a normal day afloat.

Another useful bit of practice most people have not had is firing flares and fighting fires. When my wife was doing her Skippers ticket in Sweden, the sailing schools got together for one Saturday, and arranged permission from the Coastguard to fire flares. I went along, and a whole load of people lined up along the shore of one of the islands off Stockholm, and fired off all sorts of pyrotechnics - parachute flares, red and white hand-helds, orange smoke and so on. Again, I was glad my first attempts were not in a gale at night!. The fire service also came along, and they started different sorts of fires, including basins of petrol, and we all had a go with fire extinguishers. I think this is an excellent thing for clubs, or groups of clubs, to organise, and a good way of getting rid of slightly out-of-date flares.

I'm sorry I have gone on so long here, and I hope it doesn't sound preachy, but it is a fact that being out at sea in a boat, although great fun and relaxing, is also a serious business, and can get very physical, especially when things go wrong. Being prepared helps, and the RYA survival course (and their excellent diesel engine course) are really worth it.
 
useful thoughts,fergusM. I seem to remember a brief thread a few weeks ago about "keeping fit". We sail in Brittany and find our Brompton bikes great for exercise. We've also discovered the "PR" walking book series and have done some excellent local walks as a result. What do others do for exercise, especially when on extended cruises?
 
One thing that struck home when I did mine, was the need to get a big fit person into the raft first to satbilise it and help the others in. That is not something I had ever thought through and I suspect my instinct would have been to stay in the water and try to push 'women and children' in first.

I certainly agree with the fitness issue, I was quite shocked at some of the people on my course who looked relatively normal but were actually so unfit that they were immediately exhausted and switched from being part of the solution to part of the problem within minutes of being in the (warm!) water.
 
Fully concur with you how hard it is to get in. Apparently some rafts now have an inflatable doorstep type thing which makes it a bit easier.

We piled 6 of us quickly into the raft but very nearly drowned one of the first in by piling people on top of him while his head was jammed down in the bilge water!

Be bad luck that to survive a sinking then drown in 2 inches of water in the raft.I think the important point was to make every effort to board the raft WITHOUTswimming first. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
when I did this it was with some crew off a ferry anbd we had to right a 20 person life raft - very heavy and very hard. The "ladder" was just a few pieces of webbing - the whole design was rubbish and had an air of "make do and mend" about it. Still managed to get through and it did reinforce the need to keep fit - esp upper body strength.

I'm off to the gym right away.
 
Nick,

I just knew that you would post something here about your exciting day yesterday. Brilliant course - you just learn and learn and learn something new every 5 minutes!

And very exciting for me when we did ours as, in the pool, I had my legs wrapped round one of the rather delightful female members of MOA (no names to spare any blushes!)

Makes you wonder why lifejackets don't come with a crotchstrap as standard.
 
Not just crotchstraps, Steve. After experiencing the firehose treatment on my course, I bought hoods for all the lifejackets aboard. They are not that expensive, but are said to really cut down on people drowning.
 
Good point about the spray hoods Fergus. The instructor mentioned them several times, but it was slightly disappointing that they didn't actually have any for demonstration, either in the classroom or the pool.

Steve, based on percentages, you were lucky to find an attractive female to put your legs around - have to say I failed.

Another serious point, which I am sure we all know, is to avoid dehydration by taking and rationing fresh water. However, what I hadn't realised is that using the hook and line to catch fish and seagulls is fine, but it is dangerous to eat them without drinking water.

SOmebody made the point that the hook and line are not there to catch fish, especially as there is no effective bait. They are only included to keep you busy and make you believe you can catch something! Not sure how much of this to take seriously. However, the belief that you will survive and be rescued is number one priority to actually doing so.
 
Latest survival tactics, probably not taught at such events, is that rationing water is a waste of time (even though it goes against preconceptions).

Just drink it as needed, you'll last longer that way, as rationing causes accumlative problems later.
 
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