backinblue
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Survival
- Thread starter backinblue
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The friendliest place on the web for anyone who enjoys boating.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
It's an interesting story and book, well worth reading!
psneeld
Guru
My experience with survival is.....
It is better to learn survival from expert training than from stories of how some have one survival story with a happy ending. There is absolutely no guarantee that whatever that individual did to survive is the right answer for any other situation.
Fun/exciting/ inspirational/ even educational in their own way to read, so enjoy, but take lessons learned unless critically reviewed with a grain of salt.
It is better to learn survival from expert training than from stories of how some have one survival story with a happy ending. There is absolutely no guarantee that whatever that individual did to survive is the right answer for any other situation.
Fun/exciting/ inspirational/ even educational in their own way to read, so enjoy, but take lessons learned unless critically reviewed with a grain of salt.
Last edited:
Benthic2
Guru
I spent about 4 hours adrift a while back. My situation was considerably better than the guy in this story and I was still pretty scared. This guy was very lucky!!
I'm pretty sure we would agree that the main character's choice to not wear
his PFD very nearly cost him his life. That is one lesson we all can learn from him.
Mambo42
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In my younger days I flew search and rescue for many years in the Caribbean and during that time I participated in over a hundred SAR missions.
As a result of that experience I can tell you that this guy was extremely lucky to find that buoy and that he had the presence of mind to hang on to it. Without that buoy I don't think he would have been found anymore. The search area was immense since his fellow crew members had no idea when he fell overboard. Not wearing a life jacket did severely limit his chances of survival. And even if he would have worn them it still would have been difficult to find him, since the only thing sticking out of the water is his head. Good luck trying to see a head in the sea when you are passing by at about 120 kts (was the slowest we could go) at an altitude of 100'.
Like KnotYet already stated, one lesson is to wear a life jacket if you are in heavy seas or you have to work equipment by hanging partially overboard.
Some other things I want to pass on to you all and maybe it may help anyone who also ends up in a life threatening situation.
During my years as a SAR pilot we only found a person in the water once, all others were never seen again. The one that we found however had a life jacket and.............had a water proof radio. On top of that, we knew he had a radio, since that he had done the correct thing. When he left port (went out fishing) he had filed the anticipated route, departure time, expected arrival time, POB, safety equipment on board etc etc.
What had happened is that his boat had flipped over in the heavy seas and he ended up in the water. When he did not come back in port the person in charge of the fishing port decided to give the police a call, the police then called us. We got in contact with the POC in the port, got the info and started planning.
Once we had that info it became easier for us. We knew where to search, but most of all we knew there was a chance he could operate the radio. From the moment of take off we started calling on channel 16 and after establishing contact we could home in (via Direction Finder on VHF) on his position. Found him, dropped a dinghy nearby and arranged a pick up.
This guy was lucky, since he was well prepared. All other persons in the water that we were notified of we never saw again.
On top of that, we never lost a boat that had an operating radio on board. We also never lost a boat that had a working EPIRB on board. Those are 2 things to take into consideration when you think about your safety.
So, even if you take your dinghy out for a spin..............wear that life jacket and take a radio with you. If you can afford it and are willing to spend the money, get a simple waterproof radio for everyone on board. It is an investment, but when you go out at sea it might save your life one day.
As a result of that experience I can tell you that this guy was extremely lucky to find that buoy and that he had the presence of mind to hang on to it. Without that buoy I don't think he would have been found anymore. The search area was immense since his fellow crew members had no idea when he fell overboard. Not wearing a life jacket did severely limit his chances of survival. And even if he would have worn them it still would have been difficult to find him, since the only thing sticking out of the water is his head. Good luck trying to see a head in the sea when you are passing by at about 120 kts (was the slowest we could go) at an altitude of 100'.
Like KnotYet already stated, one lesson is to wear a life jacket if you are in heavy seas or you have to work equipment by hanging partially overboard.
Some other things I want to pass on to you all and maybe it may help anyone who also ends up in a life threatening situation.
During my years as a SAR pilot we only found a person in the water once, all others were never seen again. The one that we found however had a life jacket and.............had a water proof radio. On top of that, we knew he had a radio, since that he had done the correct thing. When he left port (went out fishing) he had filed the anticipated route, departure time, expected arrival time, POB, safety equipment on board etc etc.
What had happened is that his boat had flipped over in the heavy seas and he ended up in the water. When he did not come back in port the person in charge of the fishing port decided to give the police a call, the police then called us. We got in contact with the POC in the port, got the info and started planning.
Once we had that info it became easier for us. We knew where to search, but most of all we knew there was a chance he could operate the radio. From the moment of take off we started calling on channel 16 and after establishing contact we could home in (via Direction Finder on VHF) on his position. Found him, dropped a dinghy nearby and arranged a pick up.
This guy was lucky, since he was well prepared. All other persons in the water that we were notified of we never saw again.
On top of that, we never lost a boat that had an operating radio on board. We also never lost a boat that had a working EPIRB on board. Those are 2 things to take into consideration when you think about your safety.
So, even if you take your dinghy out for a spin..............wear that life jacket and take a radio with you. If you can afford it and are willing to spend the money, get a simple waterproof radio for everyone on board. It is an investment, but when you go out at sea it might save your life one day.
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