Ditch Bags & Emergency Gear
It should come as no surprise but it can be vitally important to keep your abandon-ship gear dry. And the time to think about it and plan for it is now, while youre on dry land. A few items to consider:
All non-waterproof equipment should be protected or stored in waterproof pouches or containers. Waterproof dry bags keep their contents dry and provide plenty of buoyancy. The problem is that they have no inherent flotation, so if opened in the water, they have the potential to fill with water and sink.
Any life raft flashlight should have a waterproof switch. Since the life raft kits usually contain no more than one set of extra batteries, youll want to know what size spares to pack in the abandon-ship bag.
For more advice on life raft survival packs, purchase Practical Sailors downloadable ebook, Survival at Sea, Volume 2: Ditch Bags & Emergency Gear today!
