What's in your ditch bag?

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

FoodSaver. It's good for sealing food stocks and pre-prepared meals for passages, spare parts, and supplies. For the items in our bail out bag, I do not remove all of the air before sealing the pouches. Leaving some entrapped air adds a measure of flotation when the bag hits the water (tried in our pool at home) and somewhat pads the contents.

Great idea...thanks. I wasn't sure a food sealer would work well with all that other stuff.

Cheers

[macrae]

What about an Umbrella? Doesn't take up much space, and can be used to keep the sun off you, catch rain water, and used as a sail.

[Kita]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

Ken--Our wind jackets are wind/water proof and intended to minimize evaporative cooling. We have used others of them previously, many times, after we have gotten out of the water while out snorkeling from the dinghy and they do seem to help one stay warm and protect from excessive sun exposure. Our sailing is largely in more tropical waters and generally not further than 100 miles off-shore where SAR assets are relatively and reliably close at hand tho' hopefully never needed. Despite the foregoing, however, I do not dispute the merit of survival suits. I merely enunciated what we do for our locale.

While I tend to agree ,there is a very surprising thing that happened in Hudson close to tarpon springs FL on an eighty degree day a couple teens were playing with a jet ski & ran over a crab trap line & didn't have the right stuff to get the rope off, it was in the 70's that night & both were found the next day, died of hypothermia hard to believe but it happened a couple years back. I guess they didn't have the right equipment you could either to wear or to untangle the Rope. . Very hard to accept because it really wasn't that cold of a night... that was a very valuable lesson that I learned that will stay with me for a long time

[Shrew]

Water Temp(F) | Exhaustion or Unconsciousness | Expected Survival Time

20 to 32....................|Under 7 minutes......................|Under 7-22 minutes
32.5.........................| Under 15 minutes....................|Under 15-45 minutes
32.5 to 40.................|15 to 30 minutes......................|30 to 90 minutes
40 to 50....................|30 to 60 minutes......................|1 to 3 hours
50 to 60....................|1 to 2 hours............................|1 to 6 hours
60 to 70....................|2 to 7 hours............................|2 to 40 hours
70 to 80....................|3 to 12 hours...........................|3 hours to indefinite

These are submersion rates.

[frankv1205]

I have a green laser pen in mine for signaling

[Sea Dreaming]

Fat. Not just food, but fat. High protein diets like you get subsisting on fish are starvation diets. The Baileys lost 42 lbs each even though they were eating quite bit of fish. A long storing fat source, such as coconut oil, will supply necessary lipids for vitamin absorbtion and calories. At about 100 calories per tablespoon the fat is also a compact food source.

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

I don't really understand why people feel the need to bring a Garmin GPS, our iphones have the navigation apps and GPS on them, but what good would they do anyway if we just find ourselves drifting. It's not like we can navigate, maybe just to be able to offer up our coordinates if we can reach someone on the VHF.

I have used my etrex in driving rain, salt spray and every sort of terrible condition which I'm pretty sure most cell phones would not survive.

Etrex batteries (a pair of AA) will run the unit 24 hours straight. If used conservatively, could last for months. And where exactly would you plug in the charger for the cell phone in a liferaft? I use flashlights with AA batteries as well (and an AA pack for the handheld vhf, as backup), so all the devices back each other up for batteries. And finally, an old etrex is worth maybe $30 and stays in the ditch bag...I doubt any decent cell phone would.

Our sat phone resided in the ditch bag whenever not in use. Can you imagine calling for help, but not knowing your position? Good fodder for a movie perhaps.

And finally, self rescue is the best rescue. Getting to shore, an island, or shipping lanes might save your life.

The lesson intended by the PO is a good one. Its not just about having the stuff on the boat, it has to be setup right (so the vhf doesn't fall out of the bag, and the flashlight has good batteries) and everyone needs to know how to use it. My kids enjoyed learning how to make a mayday call when they were little and I was the only adult aboard. It was fun, but it also gave me some confidence that they would know what to do if I got seriously hurt, or worse. I talk about all the things that could go wrong, and we discuss what we would do. That way, when trouble happens, you already have a well thought out plan, not just starting to think about it.

When I crossed the atlantic, I wanted to discuss backup plans and contingencies with the skipper. He called me a pessimist and dismissed me as having a negative attitude. I had brought Jessica Watson's book with me, and I found solace in her words, as she planned for every possible situation and survived an amazing ordeal.

[Fearless Friend]

Having faithfully serviced our liferaft, and paid handsomely for it, I replaced the raft at the end of its life and inflated it as a paddling pool for the grandchildren.

Imagine the language when I found that the sealed bag containing flares, torch, sealant, inflator etc etc wasn't attached to the tether. Had the liferaft been deployed and it had inflated upside down, all the necessary bits would have gone to Davy Jones Locker.

Not a good idea for a life raft.

So everything that is in my liferaft's 'serviced' inventory is now in the grab/ditch bag.

Anything else is ancillary.

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by Fearless Friend

Having faithfully serviced our liferaft, and paid handsomely for it, I replaced the raft at the end of its life and inflated it as a paddling pool for the grandchildren.

Good idea!

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by hamburking

I have used my etrex in driving rain, salt spray and every sort of terrible condition which I'm pretty sure most cell phones would not survive.

Etrex batteries (a pair of AA) will run the unit 24 hours straight. If used conservatively, could last for months. And where exactly would you plug in the charger for the cell phone in a liferaft? I use flashlights with AA batteries as well (and an AA pack for the handheld vhf, as backup), so all the devices back each other up for batteries. And finally, an old etrex is worth maybe $30 and stays in the ditch bag...I doubt any decent cell phone would.

Our sat phone resided in the ditch bag whenever not in use. Can you imagine calling for help, but not knowing your position? Good fodder for a movie perhaps.

And finally, self rescue is the best rescue. Getting to shore, an island, or shipping lanes might save your life.

The lesson intended by the PO is a good one. Its not just about having the stuff on the boat, it has to be setup right (so the vhf doesn't fall out of the bag, and the flashlight has good batteries) and everyone needs to know how to use it. My kids enjoyed learning how to make a mayday call when they were little and I was the only adult aboard. It was fun, but it also gave me some confidence that they would know what to do if I got seriously hurt, or worse. I talk about all the things that could go wrong, and we discuss what we would do. That way, when trouble happens, you already have a well thought out plan, not just starting to think about it.

When I crossed the atlantic, I wanted to discuss backup plans and contingencies with the skipper. He called me a pessimist and dismissed me as having a negative attitude. I had brought Jessica Watson's book with me, and I found solace in her words, as she planned for every possible situation and survived an amazing ordeal.

How do you plan on navigating to safety in a drifting life raft using a Garmin chartplotter? "Self rescue is the best rescue."

Do tell....

[grantmc]

I hope not too off topic of what goes in a ditch bag.

I think it's wise to be an observer of your life raft being packed by the servicing agent after agreeing on its optional contents. A decent agent will oblige. Also good to pop the raft yourself so you know how and what to expect.

Have a kite in both raft and ditch bag. But big enough to lift a strobe light up. Increases your horizon and so your chances of being seen hugely. I've heard it said if you find yourself in a raft expect to have 6 ships steam right past you.

I've crewed on boats with a small notice board with crew names and jobs for if the worst occurred. Something like:
John Mayday call and activate EPIRB
Mary ditch bag tied to wrist
Fred Tie Liferaft to boat ready for launch
Bob get tethered dinghy in water with oars.

Obviously nice and easy to remember just a simple job.

As part of any sea survival course a large chunk is about what ifs, options and scenarios. It's not a pessimistic or negative attitude to consider and to plan. It's about doing your best to manage a very negative and not unlikely event into a positive outcome for all on board. It's also about maintaining confidence and control, and as a result much less likely to give up.

Bad stuff happens all the time, things break constantly, people get sick or injured, we know this. In reality the issue is one about the degree of the failure as to whether it is an annoyance or life threatening. And of course when we have a string of little things all together, we're tired, cold and wet, things can get ugly real fast, particularly if we feel we're loosing control.

Also a reminder to practice. As someone wrote earlier one might have to abandon in pitch blackness.

This topic has been done several times on the Forum (keep on doing this topic I say) but just a reminder about the rescue below:

Eugenie Russell was captain on a J120 in the 2007 Baja Ha Ha. Running in a nice breeze when the rudder hit a whale and pushed it up through the hull. 45 minutes later the boat had sunk.

They lost their ditch bag early on. It wasn't tethered to anyone and in the process of getting into the life raft, it drifted away. There was no way to recover it. However, they were able to hold on to the EPIRB and handheld VHF.

While waiting for rescue in the life raft, they heard the US Coast Guard helicopter approaching and their hearts sank as the helicopter kept on going. Without the VHF handheld USCG would have had to search for them. Even though the helicopter had their coordinates from the EPIRB activation, they could not see the life raft and had flown right over it. The VHF was a critical piece of equipment in their speedy recovery.

Other points reported in the USCG investigation:

1. Whilst the captain and crew did everything perfectly, they waited too long before activating the EPIRB. They figured they could repair the damage. The Coast Guard said that she should have activated the EPIRB immediately. Their thinking is that they would rather have someone activate the EPIRB and then say they had repaired the damage and no rescue was necessary than wait too long.

2. Ditch bags should be tested. Take your loaded ditch bag to a swimming pool and throw it in. You might be surprised if it sinks. We have an old inflatable PFD in ours with the pull cord hanging out so in the event of a catastrophe, we can make sure it will float. We also have a tether secured to it.

No one was injured during the sinking or rescue and Ms Russell was given very high marks for her skills and leadership. Her crew was inexperienced.

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

How do you plan on navigating to safety in a drifting life raft using a Garmin chartplotter? "Self rescue is the best rescue."

Do tell....

An etrex is not a chartplotter. It tells your position, speed, direction of travel, etc. It has no charts.

Suppose you are drifting towards an island or friendly shore. The etrex could tell you your rate of drift, and if you are headed in the right direction. You could then anticipate your landfall, and ration your water and supplies accordingly.

Thats just one example, without getting into any sort of attempt to steer or sail a liferaft.

Knowing when you are in a shipping lane might encourage a more vigilant nightwatch. Passing a nearby island (out of sight, but known by GPS position), even if you can't steer towards it, you might decide to risk some flares if close at night.

However, the most likely use is to give coords using the handhelf VHF or sat phone.

Knowledge is power.

[seabreez]

Originally Posted by CarlF

A friend of a friend had to abandon ship this year - at night - in a hurry. This was a very experienced sailor with 10s of thousands of offshore miles - but his first abandon ship. There were a few "lessons learned" that I thought I'd pass on:

1. The handheld VHF radio was stored in a handy pocket on the outside of the ditch bag. It fell out somewhere along the line. This made it impossible to talk to the CG when they got close.

2. The flashlight in the ditch bag didn't work so the CG also couldn't see them even though they were almost overhead.

3. It took 20 minutes to figure out how to turn on the EPIRB (the button didn't turn it on but finally dunking it in the water did). Remember, it was pitch dark.

4. Even though they were in not-cold water in a dinghy, they were constantly wet. They wore survival suits and felt that those may have saved their lives.

I would keep my distress signaling devices (parachute flares) and a sound signaling device (manual, whistle), dried food and water, glow sticks, survival jump suits, neoprene gloves, tie in pieces of rigid foam board to right the bag upwards and float, reflector signaling mirror.

[seabreez]

Originally Posted by seabreez

I would keep my distress signaling devices (parachute flares) and a sound signaling device (manual, whistle), dried food and water, glow sticks, survival jump suits, neoprene gloves, tie in pieces of rigid foam board to right the bag upwards and float, reflector signaling mirror.

also 100' of poly line to keep everyone together.

[ozsailer]

Hello all,
We keep a fully serviced life raft as well as two ditch bags ready to go. A few things without going into detail that I believe are essential. We keep a spare set of reading glasses in each grab bag,( if you are like me reading small print without glasses is almost impossible such as on flares) a spare phone, our handheld VHF, A litre of water per grab bag as will as what is in the liferaft. Before we head off on a passage our persnal items such as wallet watches, car keys etc go in as well, a small set of binoculars and a handheld sighting compass and GPS. We figure we dont want to waste time searching for these items if a something occurs but cannot stress how important these things will be when you reach shore. We have a portable charging unit for the phone and spare batteries for the VHF. We also keep a small amount of any prescribed medication in each bag.
We undertake a check of all the gear in the ditch bags every trip to make sure everything is in its place and working.


Greg H
SV Sunshine