Thread: Safety gear
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Old 08-25-2018, 02:01 PM   #17
BandB
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City: Fort Lauderdale. Florida, USA
Join Date: Jan 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by melissar View Post
We are both pilots -- husband is a professional, I have all my ratings, including CFI, multi, etc. The thought of not both being skilled and capable boaters together would never cross our minds. We're in this adventure together!
Wifey B: My kind of woman. No admirals or 1st mates, all the way in. Your piloting experience will benefit you. I don't pilot planes, but am a licensed captain and love gathering all the knowledge and experience I can.

I'm not suggesting everyone get a license but when thinking emergency and safety I do think of a couple of courses that are perhaps the least fun but the most important we've done in that regard. So don't have to take the courses but anything you can learn in the regard is helpful.

1. Fire fighting
2. First aid and beyond...we took Medical Person in Charge
3. Survival craft and rescue

You learn things you hope you'll never use or need to.

They forced us to push closer to our limits too, to do things we didn't know we could. Fire fighting was toughest for me. It's so physically demanding. My hubby's tough one was the time we had to do in the Emergency Room. He never liked blood and gore. He learned he could handle it though and one time since has shown he can handle it in helping a stranger.

Emergencies and serious safety issues will put most of us far outside our normal comfort zone and that's part of being prepared. Everyone here comes from a different background. Those of you with military backgrounds have done physically demanding tasks we never have. We're younger and in better shape than some and probably swim better than some. Then there's the mental prep of what we'll do individually and as a team in different circumstances.

Medical kit, I'm sure we've gone far overboard, but the last thing we ever want to face is saying we couldn't help because we didn't have something we needed with us. Sealife listed some items.

We have always worried about what if something happened to one of our friends aboard, but our 4 year old niece, Aurora.....I must say the most beautiful and incredible 4 year old in the history of the universe ....Aurora traveled off shore with us this summer and that made us really think. We went through all the what if's. What if she got terribly sick, what if she cut her foot or broke her leg, what if she got stung by a bee or bitten by a snake or spider. Suddenly the value of being prepared sky rocketed. We feel a responsibility for everyone's safety, but when it's your wonderful niece, or child or grandchild, it really hits.
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