[JamuJoe]

Interesting opinions on life rafts here, including those of Beth Leonard, whose Voyager's Handbook I have read cover to cover. I don't buy the philosophy about not carrying a life raft 'because it would tempt you to use it rather than stay with the boat'. People may make poor decisions in a panic, but that is more a matter of skills, training and experience. I do have a life raft on JAMU (my Leopard 42) and plan to never use it unless my boat goes under. Although it has been inspected on schedule, the inability to actually use it for abandon ship drills leaves me without full confidence. I do keep my RIB, with outboard, well-secured in the davits yet ready to launch for man overboard or other emergencies. (I might alter that arrangement in very severe storm conditions). I would never secure an inflated life raft to the damaged boat with more than one line, and always keep a sharp knife handy for cutting loose. My ditch bag in the cabin would be ready to go with either the RIB or raft. A survival (immersion) suit is good idea, and pending that addition to our safety kit, we keep our scuba wet suits readily available.

I recently spent some time in Honduras with a sailor who lost his boat on a reef near Fiji. He and two shipmates spent three days in his life raft, connected by a long line to the sailboat, while awaiting rescue and watching his yacht break up. He was able to go back to the boat for additional supplies, but felt more secure staying in the raft. His EPRIB separated from the raft and was picked up miles away by the Australian Navy. His eventual rescue was facilitated by having a handheld VHF (with diminishing battery life) in the raft. That made me think about adding a solar charger for the VHF to my ditch bag.

Our safety kits may depend upon budget and philosophy. Whatever gear you decide to have, just make sure that you and the crew know how and when to use it.