ISAF Personal Sea Survival Course - report

[Zanshin]

Two weeks ago I redid my ISAF Sea Survival Course as the old certification had expired. Rather than take one of the standard courses on offer, as I had done last time, I was fortunate to get at the front of the waiting list for the "original" class in Germany and was contacted the day before the class to see if could fill an empty slot.
This specific class is only held a couple of times a year, since the training itself is held at Germany's Navy training base/academy for damage control - and they only allow civilians inside on rare occasions.
While we had to overnight in 5-person rooms in the barracks we did get to dine and drink at the O-Club
I can heartily recommend this course, even for those not planning on crossing any oceans!
More pictures are at ISAF Course 2014 but here are some highlights:

[Paul L]

It sounds really interesting. How applicable to a cruiser do you think it is, vs a larger ship? The firefighting pics look like they are ship oriented.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Paul L

It sounds really interesting. How applicable to a cruiser do you think it is, vs a larger ship? The firefighting pics look like they are ship oriented.

Don't let the photos fool you. They're showing how to use a standard fire extinguisher to put out a fire. Given that fire is among the leading causes of boat fatalities (right up there with peeing over the side, of course), it's an exceptionally good idea to be familiar with the most effective means of dealing with it.

You learn a tremendous amount at these sorts of events. Here in the US the Safety at Sea seminars are very good. Part of their value is presentations from the Coast Guard in which you learn about their limitations, their procedures, and what you can do to make their job easier or even possible to maximize your chances of a good outcome.

[Zanshin]

While a lot of the exercises were based on big ships, the basic rationale remains the same for small boats and the important exercises in the wave pool are very applicable to a sailing boat. What the pictures don't show are all the hours of classroom instruction, all of which was tailored to yachties.

[Zanshin]

I just put together a slideshow with some of the pictures plus some video clips that I took during the course, they can be viewed at ISAF Seminar 2014 on YouTube.