Emergency Equipment on Boats - Flares, Liferafts & Abandon Ship

Prerequisites

This lesson follows the personal safety lesson on the RYA Competent Crew course. You should already:

• Be able to fit and check a 150 N lifejacket, harness and tether, and clip on correctly.
• Know the layout of a yacht: cockpit, companionway, saloon, galley, heads, engine compartment, lockers and bilge.
• Know port, starboard, windward and leeward (you will need leeward for flares).
• Meet the course entry requirements (age 16 or over for the standard certificate, medical declaration). No previous experience is assumed.

Operating a VHF radio and sending a MAYDAY are covered in detail in the communications lesson; this lesson covers the equipment that supports those calls.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson you should be able to:

• Locate every item of safety equipment aboard and explain what it is for.
• Describe the types of distress flare, when each is used, and how to fire them safely.
• Explain what an EPIRB and a PLB do, how to activate them and how to cancel a false alert.
• Identify the fire extinguishers and fire blanket aboard, use the PASS technique, and deal with a galley fire.
• Operate the manual and electric bilge pumps, including priming a manual pump.
• Describe the liferaft, its hydrostatic release, how it is launched and boarded, and why abandoning ship is a last resort.
• Know what the first aid kit contains and where to find it.
• Explain what to do after boarding the liferaft, including signalling, warmth and water.
• Deal with an engine compartment fire and apply basic damage control to flooding.

RYA Competent Crew syllabus items covered: fire safety and use of fire extinguishers; abandon ship procedures and liferaft deployment; distress signalling (flares and basic radio); location and use of safety equipment, EPIRB and PLB; bilge pumps and flooding; first aid kit.

Know Your Boat's Safety Equipment

On your first day aboard, the skipper will give a safety briefing. It should cover where every item is and how it works. Do not just look: touch everything. Feel the weight of the extinguisher, find the fire blanket tabs, follow the liferaft painter to where it is tied, open the flare container. In an emergency, with adrenaline running, fine motor skills and the ability to read small print disappear. Your hands need to know where things are.

A typical UK coastal yacht carries:

Distress Flares

Flares are visual distress signals: they tell other vessels, aircraft and the coastguard "I am in grave and imminent danger and need immediate help." They should be used only in genuine distress (or when instructed by the coastguard, for example to help a rescuer find you). In the UK, VHF and DSC, backed by an EPIRB or PLB, are the primary means of alerting; flares are most useful for pinpointing you once rescuers are near.

Types of Flare

The three distress flares are shown below.

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Firing Flares Safely

Flares burn at very high temperatures and drip molten residue. Read the instructions on each flare before you need it; they vary by manufacturer.

Handheld red:

1. Put on gloves if available. Stand on the leeward side of the boat.
2. Remove the cap and follow the instructions to arm (often unscrewing an end cap and pulling a tab or striking).
3. Hold it firmly at arm's length, pointing up at about 45 degrees and downwind, over the leeward side, so sparks and smoke blow away from you, the crew, the sails and the liferaft.
4. Never look into the end, never point it at anyone, and do not drop it in the boat. When it has burned out, drop it over the side (it will still be hot).

Orange smoke: activate and hold over the leeward side, or throw a buoyant smoke into the water to leeward. Smoke is most effective for aircraft and helicopters, which can also use it to judge the wind.

Parachute rocket:

1. Stand facing downwind; hold the rocket vertically at arm's length, pointing up and slightly downwind. Do not fire it under the boom, rigging or a sprayhood.
2. In strong wind, angle it about 15 degrees downwind. The rocket turns into the wind as it climbs, so angling it upwind makes it fly low.
3. In low cloud, fire it at about 45 degrees downwind so the flare burns under the cloud base rather than inside it.
4. Never fire a rocket when a helicopter is close: it is a serious hazard to the aircraft. Use a handheld or smoke instead.
5. Fire two rockets about two minutes apart: the first alerts an observer, the second lets them confirm the direction.

The diagram below shows the wrong and right way to hold a handheld flare.

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Flare Expiry and Disposal

Flares have an expiry date, usually three years after manufacture. Out-of-date flares may misfire or fail. They must never be thrown away or let off: return them to a chandler or the designated disposal scheme. The skipper keeps a list of expiry dates, along with beacon batteries and servicing dates. The diagram below shows why an annual check matters.

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Firing a flare when not in distress is an offence. If you fire one by accident, tell the coastguard on VHF Channel 16 immediately.

EPIRB and PLB

EPIRB

An EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) is a floating, waterproof beacon that transmits a distress signal on 406 MHz to the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system. Modern units include GPS and send their position, usually locating you to within about 100 m within minutes. They also transmit a 121.5 MHz homing signal so lifeboats and helicopters can home in on you, and have a flashing strobe. The diagram below shows activation.

• Registration: an EPIRB is registered to the vessel (in the UK with the UK Beacon Registry), so the coastguard knows which boat is in trouble, how many crew to expect and who to call.
• Manual activation: remove from the bracket, extend or uncover the antenna, switch on (often lifting a cover and pressing a button), and keep it upright with a clear view of the sky, ideally floating tethered to the liferaft or boat.
• Automatic (Category I): fitted in a bracket with a hydrostatic release, it floats free if the vessel sinks and switches on when it floats.
• Battery: typically 48 hours of transmission; battery replacement dates are on the label.
• Take the EPIRB with you into the liferaft (it is often in the grab bag).

PLB

A PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) works on the same satellite system but is smaller, carried by a person (often on the lifejacket), registered to that person, and usually has a shorter battery life (around 24 hours). It must be activated manually. The diagram below compares it with an EPIRB.

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Note: a PLB alerts the shore authorities, who then begin a search. It does not directly alert your own boat. For a person overboard, an AIS beacon or DSC MOB device (covered in the man overboard lesson) alerts nearby vessels including your own.

False Alerts

If a beacon is activated accidentally, do not switch it off and say nothing. Switch it off and call the coastguard on VHF Channel 16 (or by phone) to cancel the alert. False alerts are common and are not punished if reported, but they tie up rescue resources.

Fire

Fire on a boat is very dangerous: you cannot walk away from it, the boat is full of fuel, gas and plastics, and smoke fills the cabin quickly. Prevention matters most: never leave a lit cooker unattended, turn the gas off at the valve after use, keep fuel and oily rags away from heat, and check electrical connections.

What Burns: Fire Classes and Extinguishers

Fire needs three things: fuel, heat and oxygen. Remove any one and it goes out. Extinguishers work by smothering (removing oxygen) and cooling. UK and European fire classes are:

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Extinguishers typically carried:

Before every voyage, read the label on each extinguisher aboard and know which one is meant for the galley, the engine compartment and the cabins.

Many yachts have an engine compartment fire port: a small hole through which an extinguisher can be discharged into the engine space without opening the hatch. Opening the engine hatch lets in a rush of oxygen and can cause a flare-up.

The PASS Technique

Portable extinguishers are used with the PASS sequence, shown below.

1. Pull the safety pin (breaking the tamper seal).
2. Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire, not the flames or smoke.
3. Squeeze the handle firmly.
4. Sweep from side to side across the base of the fire until it is out.

Keep a clear escape route behind you, ideally with the companionway at your back. A small extinguisher empties in 10 to 15 seconds, so get close enough (about 2 m) before starting. Watch for re-ignition.

Galley Fires and the Fire Blanket

The most common fire aboard is a pan of oil or fat catching fire. Never use water on it: the water sinks into the hot oil, turns instantly to steam and throws burning oil across the cabin.

The diagram below shows how to deploy a fire blanket.

1. Turn off the gas at the isolation valve, if you can reach it safely.
2. Pull the two tapes sharply down to release the blanket from its container.
3. Hold the blanket with your hands wrapped behind it (turn the top edges over your hands) so it shields your hands and face.
4. Place it, do not throw it, over the pan, starting at the near side and laying it away from you, so the whole pan is covered.
5. Leave it there, with the heat off, for at least 30 minutes until the pan is completely cold. Lifting it early lets air in and the oil re-ignites.

If clothing catches fire, wrap the person in the blanket and lay them down (stop, drop and roll).

Gas Safety

LPG (butane or propane) is heavier than air: leaked gas sinks into the bilge and can explode when a spark reaches it. Turn the gas off at the valve after every use, never leave the cooker unattended, and if you smell gas, turn off all valves, put out flames, do not use electrical switches, and ventilate and pump the bilge with the manual pump (not the electric one, which may spark).

Bilge Pumps and Flooding

Water gets into boats through leaking seacocks, failed hoses, a damaged hull, the stern gland, deck fittings or a swamped cockpit. The bilge is the lowest part of the hull where it collects.

Electric Bilge Pump

Most yachts have an electric centrifugal pump in the bilge, often with a float switch that starts it automatically when the water rises. The diagram below shows its parts.

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It is convenient and can move a lot of water, but it depends on the batteries. If rising water floods the batteries or the wiring shorts, the electric pump stops. Its small intake also clogs with debris easily.

Manual Diaphragm Pump

Every yacht must have at least one manual bilge pump, usually a diaphragm pump operated by a long handle from the cockpit, and often a second below. The diagram below shows how it works.

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To operate:

1. Fit the handle (it is usually stowed nearby, on a lanyard).
2. Check that the outlet discharges overboard and that any valve or seacock in the system is open.
3. Pump with long, steady, full strokes: about 30 to 45 strokes a minute. A good pump moves around 1 litre per stroke. Short, frantic strokes move little.
4. If you are pumping and nothing comes out, check the intake strainer (strum box) in the bilge for debris, and check the pump is primed.

Diaphragm pumps generally self-prime, but one that has been dry for a long time can lose its seal. Pouring water into the bilge or intake restores it. The diagram below shows the difference.

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Do not forget the simplest pump of all: a frightened crew member with a bucket can shift a great deal of water.

Responding to Flooding

1. Raise the alarm: "Water in the boat!" and tell the skipper.
2. Find the source: taste it (salt or fresh?), check seacocks, hoses, the stern gland, the cockpit drains and the heads.
3. Stop it: close the seacock, tighten or replace the hose clip, hammer in a softwood bung, stuff cushions or clothing into a hole.
4. Pump with everything available.

A few centimetres of water in the bilge is a problem to investigate, not a reason to abandon ship.

The Liferaft and Abandoning Ship

The Liferaft

A liferaft is an inflatable boat with a canopy, packed in a rigid canister on deck or a soft valise in a locker. It contains survival equipment (sea anchor, paddles, bailer, repair kit, flares, first aid, water, a knife, a torch). The diagram below shows the two common types of packing.

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Liferafts must be serviced by an approved station at the intervals specified by the manufacturer, usually every one to three years.

The Hydrostatic Release Unit

A deck-mounted canister is held in its cradle by a strap with a hydrostatic release unit (HRU). If the yacht sinks, water pressure at a depth of about 1.5 to 4 m triggers the HRU, which frees the canister. It floats up, and as the boat continues to sink the painter pulls tight, firing the inflation. A weak link then breaks so the raft floats free on the surface. The diagram below shows the principle.

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Abandon Ship: Last Resort

The golden rule: step up into the liferaft. Only leave the yacht when it is sinking beneath you or the fire is out of control. A damaged, waterlogged yacht is still far bigger, more visible, warmer and safer than a liferaft. Many people have died in liferafts while their abandoned yachts were later found afloat. Only the skipper decides to abandon ship.

The diagram below contrasts the panicked response to a small amount of water with the correct one.

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Launching and Boarding

If the skipper orders "Abandon ship":

1. Everyone puts on warm clothing and lifejackets (with lights), clipped on.
2. A MAYDAY is sent on VHF/DSC and the EPIRB is activated; the grab bag is taken.
3. Check the liferaft painter is tied to a strong point on the boat. If it is not, the raft will blow away once inflated.
4. Release the raft from its cradle (not the HRU's job unless the boat sinks), and two people lift and throw the canister over the leeward side, where it will be sheltered by the boat.
5. Pull the painter out: there may be 6 to 10 m before it comes taut. Then give a hard tug to fire the gas cylinder. Inflation takes about 30 seconds.
6. Pull the raft alongside. Get in directly from the yacht if possible, without getting wet, heaviest and strongest crew first to stabilise it and help the others.
7. Take the grab bag, EPIRB, handheld VHF and extra water.
8. Stay attached to the yacht as long as it is safe; cut the painter (with the knife at the raft entrance) only when the boat is going down.
9. Once clear, stream the sea anchor (drogue), close the canopy, bail out water, take seasickness tablets, and keep a lookout.

If you have to board from the water, use the boarding ladder and handles, and help each other in.

The Grab Bag

A waterproof, buoyant bag kept by the companionway, holding the things you would want in the raft: handheld VHF, EPIRB or PLB, flares, a torch, a first aid kit and seasickness tablets, water, a knife, spare glasses and essential medicines, passports and a mobile phone in a waterproof pouch. Know where it is.

Surviving in the Liferaft

Getting into the raft is only the start. The first hours decide whether the crew survive until rescue, so the Competent Crew syllabus expects you to know what happens next.

1. Cut the painter and move away from the sinking yacht, but stay close enough to be seen; the wreck is a bigger target than the raft. Streaming the sea anchor (drogue) stops the raft being blown away from the search area and reduces capsizing.
2. Check everyone and the raft. Count heads, treat injuries, and make sure the canopy is closed to keep the wind out. Check for leaks, and use the repair bungs and the pump supplied in the survival pack.
3. Treat seasickness and cold early. Take seasickness tablets in the first hour: vomiting dehydrates and weakens people. Keep everyone dry and insulated, huddle together and use the floor insulation and thermal protective aids. Hypothermia is the greatest killer after a successful abandonment.
4. Signal. Switch on the EPIRB (float it on its lanyard outside the canopy so the antenna is clear), but keep flares for when a vessel or aircraft is actually in sight. Set a lookout and use the raft's own light and torch at night.
5. Ration water. Do not drink in the first 24 hours unless needed; then take small, regular amounts. Never drink seawater or urine.
6. Keep a routine. Assign roles, keep morale up and watch for rescue. Most rafts are found within a day or two if an EPIRB has been activated.

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Image: Marwan Mohamad.jpg), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.jpg)

Lifejackets and Harnesses: Types and Maintenance

The RYA Sea Survival Handbook and the Start Yachting course both stress that a lifejacket you do not wear, or that has not been serviced, is no use.

• Choose an automatic inflation lifejacket (a water-activated or hydrostatic bobbin) with an integral harness, crotch strap, a light, a whistle and a spray hood. The crotch strap stops the jacket riding up over the head.
• Servicing: inspect before every season and after every hard use. Check the gas cylinder is screwed in tightly and not corroded, and that the green indicator is showing. Check the bobbin is in date. Orally inflate the bladder and leave it for 12 hours to check for slow leaks. Replace rearming kits before their expiry. A professional service every 1 to 3 years is recommended.
• Harness tether: a 2 m tether with a safety hook at each end; a short 1 m tether for working at the mast and a longer one for moving about. Clip on with the hook gate away from the line, and to a strong point, not to guardrails.
• Jackstays: webbing straps from bow to stern, one each side of the deck, so the crew can move along the deck while clipped on. A single jackstay down the centre line lets a person fall on either side and then be dragged in the water. The cockpit should have a clipping-on point close to the companionway so that the crew can clip on before they come into the cockpit.
• When to clip on: at night, alone on deck, in rough weather, when reefing, when leaving the cockpit, and whenever the skipper says so.

Cold Water and Survival at Sea

The RYA Sea Survival Handbook describes four stages of cold-water immersion. They are the reason that staying with the boat, if you can, is almost always better than entering the water.

1. Cold shock (0 to 3 minutes): gasping, hyperventilation, a sudden rise in heart rate and blood pressure. The greatest risk is inhaling water. Stay calm, keep your head above water, and control your breathing. A lifejacket keeps your face up.
2. Swim failure (3 to 30 minutes): the muscles of the arms and legs cool and lose strength, so even a good swimmer may not be able to swim a few metres.
3. Hypothermia (30 minutes and longer): the body core cools. Below about 35 C a person shivers, becomes confused and clumsy, and eventually stops shivering and loses consciousness.
4. Post-rescue collapse: during and after being lifted from the water, blood pressure can drop, causing collapse. Rescue a casualty as horizontally as possible and handle gently.

In water, the HELP position (Heat Escape Lessening Position: arms folded across the chest, knees drawn up) protects the main heat-loss areas for a lone survivor, and a huddle for a group reduces heat loss. Do not swim unless land or a boat is very close. Do not take off clothes in the water. Wearing several layers and a waterproof jacket traps air and insulates. Water carries heat away about 25 times faster than air.

Liferafts: Types, Packing and Servicing

• Standard: rafts built to ISO 9650 come in a canister or valise with a Group 1 pack (for voyages more than 24 hours from help) or a Group 2 pack (under 24 hours), and a Type 1 or Type 2 floor. Offshore rafts carry more water, rations and flares, and have a double floor and stability pockets that fill with water.
• Position: on the deck in a cradle or on the pushpit, in a place where one or two people can throw it overboard, and where the painter can be tied on quickly. A raft stowed in a locker or below deck is hard to bring up, because it is heavy (typically 25 to 50 kg).
• Servicing: at the interval the maker states, commonly every 1 to 3 years. The service station inflates the raft, tests it, and replaces the pack, so that when you open it the contents are in date.
• Raft capacity: a raft should be sized for at least the full crew, ideally with a spare place for each person.

Boarding and the first minutes

The canopy is closed and the entrance zipped as soon as everyone is aboard. The ballast pockets fill with water to stabilise the raft. The sea anchor (drogue) is streamed. The EPIRB is switched on and floated. The flares are kept in their container until a vessel or aircraft is seen. Everyone is checked for injuries. Seasickness tablets are given early. The crew take turns as lookout at the entrance, and one person is put in charge of water and rations.

Survival rations

A person can survive for about three days without water but is very weak by then. In a raft, issue water in small amounts only after the first 24 hours. Never drink seawater, urine, or alcohol. Use the supplied water-making equipment if there is any.

SART and Other Locating Devices

A SART (Search and Rescue Transponder) responds to a ship's or aircraft's 9 GHz radar and shows as a line of 12 dots leading from the SART's position, so that the rescuers can see the raft on the screen. It is switched on and mounted as high as possible, at least 1 m above the water. Newer AIS SARTs transmit an AIS position. A PLB and a personal AIS beacon on each lifejacket help to find individuals in the water.

How Many Flares?

The number of flares depends on where you sail. The RYA and the MCA Small Vessel Codes recommend more for offshore than for inshore use, usually at least four red parachute rockets, four red handheld flares and two orange smoke signals for coastal and offshore work, and fewer for inshore day sailing. Check the current RYA safety equipment advice or your code for the exact scale. The key point is to carry enough to fire a second set if the first fails and still have some left for a helicopter or lifeboat approach.

Fire Extinguisher Sizing and Siting

• The usual recommendation for a yacht of 10 to 12 m is two 1 kg dry powder extinguishers (or equivalent) plus a fire blanket, with another at the engine compartment.
• Position one at each exit: the main companionway (so you can escape), the forward cabin, and the galley. A fire blanket is best next to the cooker but away from it (so the fire does not block the way to it).
• Check pressure gauges monthly. Shake dry powder extinguishers every few months to prevent caking. They normally have a life of 5 years, and need servicing and recharging after any use, even if only partially discharged.
• Fixed systems: an automatic fire system in the engine compartment discharges when a thermal fuse breaks. Know where the manual trigger is, and that the engine and fans must be stopped first.

Worked Example: Abandoning Ship in the Solent in a Fire

Afternoon, 5 miles south of Cowes, a fire starts in the engine bay and spreads to the saloon. The skipper has tried CO2 through the fire port but it is not working and smoke is filling the cabin.

1. Shout "Fire", stop the engine, close the fuel valve, and get everyone into lifejackets on deck.
2. Mayday on DSC and VHF Channel 16: "Mayday Mayday Mayday, this is yacht Tern, Tern, Tern. Mayday Tern. Position 50 degrees 41 minutes north, 001 degrees 18 minutes west. Fire on board, not under control. 4 persons on board. Abandoning to liferaft." Press the DSC distress button first if time.
3. Skipper orders abandon: because the fire is not under control and the liferaft is the safer place. The crew take the grab bag and the EPIRB.
4. Launch: the painter is already tied to the pushpit. The canister is thrown into the water on the leeward side (the side away from the fire if possible), the painter pulled hard, and the raft inflates.
5. Board: step up into the raft from the deck of the yacht, without getting wet. The skipper is last. Cut the painter and move upwind of any fuel slick, but keep the burning yacht in view so that rescuers can find you.
6. Raft actions: close the canopy, stream the sea anchor, switch on the EPIRB, count heads, treat anyone with burns (cool water for 20 minutes), and keep the flares for when the lifeboat appears.

Notice how each step follows a priority: raise the alarm, protect life, signal, and survive.

SOLAS-Standard Pyrotechnics and the Fire Triangle

The photo below shows the range of SOLAS-standard distress signals carried on a lifeboat: smoke, parachute rockets and handheld flares. On a yacht you will carry the same types in smaller quantity; the colours and shapes make them easy to identify when you are stressed.

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Image: Christopher Doyle, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Fire needs fuel, heat and oxygen. Every method of fighting a fire removes one side of the triangle: a fire blanket removes oxygen, an extinguisher cools or smothers, and isolating the gas or fuel supply removes fuel.

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Image: User:Gustavb, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Engine Compartment Fire and Damage Control

An engine fire is a different problem from a galley fire, and the examiner may ask for both.

1. Shout, stop the engine and turn off the fuel at the tank or isolator.
2. Close air supply: shut the engine hatch and any vents. Do not open the hatch to look: fresh air feeds the fire and flames can flash out at your face.
3. Discharge the extinguisher (CO2 or the fixed system) through the fire port, if one is fitted, or through a small gap in the hatch.
4. Check the cabin for smoke, ventilate once the fire is out, and watch the compartment for re-ignition for at least 30 minutes.
5. Have everyone wear lifejackets, prepare the liferaft and make a MAYDAY if the fire is not under control.

For flooding, the order is always: find it, shout, stop it, pump, then report. A collision mat (a canvas sheet with ropes) can be passed over the bow to cover a hole on the outside; the water pressure holds it in place. A softwood bung hammered into a failed seacock hole or a cushion held against a hole will buy time while the pumps work. Remember that the pumps are only a temporary measure: a pump that keeps pace with a leak is no reason to stop looking for the cause.

Exam Tips: What the Instructor Expects

• You will be pointed at a place and asked "what do you do?" Speed, calmness and logical order matter more than theatre.
• Know where everything is, including the bung attached to each seacock and the location of the grab bag, and be able to take the instructor to each item.
• State the limit of each device: flares are line-of-sight and short-lived; EPIRBs need a clear view of the sky; extinguishers last only seconds, so aim well.
• Remember the three golden phrases: "shout first", "never water on an oil fire", and "step up into the liferaft".

First Aid Kit

You will not be treating serious injuries on Competent Crew, but you must know where the first aid kit is and roughly what is in it. The diagram below shows typical contents.

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Common injuries aboard are cuts (from fittings, knives and fish), burns and scalds (galley), crush injuries (winches, mooring), bumps to the head (boom) and seasickness. Burns should be cooled with cool running water for at least 20 minutes, then covered with cling film or a burn dressing. Seasickness tablets work best taken before departure. For serious injury or illness, the skipper will seek medical advice via the coastguard on VHF (a PAN PAN medico call).

Worked Example

A Galley Fire at Sea

You are cooking on the gimballed stove when the boat lurches; hot oil splashes into the burner and the pan catches fire. Flames reach towards the bulkhead. The diagram below summarises the sequence.

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1. Shout "Fire, fire, fire in the galley!" Everyone knows; the skipper takes charge; someone opens the companionway and prepares an extinguisher.
2. Isolate the fuel: turn off the gas at the isolation valve beside the cooker.
3. Blanket: pull the tapes, hands behind the blanket, lay it over the pan from the near side.
4. Cooker off at its knobs.
5. Leave it covered for at least 30 minutes; do not lift it to look.
6. If the fire has spread to the woodwork or cushions, use the dry powder extinguisher with PASS, aiming at the base of the burning material, from a position where you can escape up the companionway. Then ventilate, check for hidden smouldering, and report.

Two Inches of Water in the Bilge

The skipper says: "There are 5 cm of water over the cabin sole forward. What do you do?"

1. Tell the skipper (already done) and get the manual pump going in the cockpit. A crewmate switches on the electric pump.
2. Taste the water: salty, so it is sea water.
3. Check each seacock and hose forward: the heads inlet hose has come off its spigot. Close the seacock: the flow stops.
4. Keep pumping until the bilge is dry, then refit the hose with two hose clips.

This is a manageable problem. The liferaft stays in its cradle.

Common Mistakes

• Not knowing where things are. On joining, physically touch and try each item (without firing it).
• Holding a flare close or upwind. Hold at arm's length, over the leeward side, pointing downwind.
• Firing rockets near helicopters. Use handheld red or smoke instead.
• Using out-of-date flares or beacons. Check expiry and battery dates annually.
• Water on an oil or electrical fire. Use a fire blanket for pans; CO2 or powder for electrics.
• Opening the engine hatch on an engine fire. Use the fire port.
• Lifting the fire blanket too soon. Leave it 30 minutes.
• Frantic short strokes on the bilge pump, or pumping an unprimed pump. Long steady strokes; prime it; clear the strainer.
• Abandoning ship too early. Step up into the raft; only the skipper decides.
• Forgetting to tie on the liferaft painter. The raft blows away.
• Accidental beacon activation not reported. Cancel with the coastguard.

Summary

• Know and touch every piece of safety equipment on joining a boat.
• Flares: handheld red (night, pinpointing), orange smoke (day, aircraft), red parachute rocket (long range). Fire at arm's length, downwind, over the lee side; never rockets near helicopters. Check expiry dates.
• EPIRB (vessel, 406 MHz, satellites, often float-free) and PLB (person) alert the coastguard via COSPAS-SARSAT. Cancel false alerts immediately.
• Fire: know the extinguisher types; PASS (Pull, Aim at the base, Squeeze, Sweep); fire blanket for pan fires, never water; gas off at the valve.
• Pumps: electric pumps fail when batteries flood; every boat has a manual pump; use long steady strokes and prime if needed. Find and stop the leak.
• Liferaft with HRU floats free if the boat sinks. Abandon ship only on the skipper's order, when the boat is sinking or burning beyond control: step up into the raft, painter tied on, grab bag and EPIRB with you.
• Know where the first aid kit is and what is in it.

Check Your Understanding

1. Which flare would you use to attract the attention of a lifeboat you can see 2 miles away at night, and which by day?

Answer: At night, a handheld red flare. By day, an orange smoke flare (a handheld red can also be used).

1. How should you hold a handheld red flare, and why?

Answer: At arm's length, over the leeward side, pointing up and downwind, so the hot residue and smoke blow away from you, the crew, the sails and the liferaft.

1. Why should you not fire a parachute rocket when a helicopter is nearby?

Answer: The rocket climbs to about 300 m and could hit or endanger the helicopter. Use a handheld red or orange smoke instead.

1. What does an EPIRB do, and what should you do if one goes off accidentally?

Answer: It sends a 406 MHz distress alert, usually with GPS position, via COSPAS-SARSAT satellites to the coastguard, plus a 121.5 MHz homing signal. If set off by accident, switch it off and call the coastguard to cancel.

1. What does PASS stand for?

Answer: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, Sweep from side to side.

1. A pan of oil is on fire in the galley. List the actions in order.

Answer: Raise the alarm; turn off the gas at the isolation valve; release the fire blanket, protect your hands behind it and lay it over the pan; turn off the cooker; leave the blanket in place at least 30 minutes; if the fire spreads, use the appropriate extinguisher with PASS.

1. Why must every yacht have a manual bilge pump even if it has an electric one?

Answer: The electric pump depends on the batteries and wiring, which may be flooded or fail in the emergency; the manual pump works without power.

1. What does the hydrostatic release unit on a liferaft do?

Answer: If the yacht sinks, water pressure at about 1.5 to 4 m depth releases the canister so it floats free; the painter then pulls taut, inflating the raft, and a weak link breaks to free it.

1. What does "step up into the liferaft" mean in practice?

Answer: Only abandon the yacht when it is sinking beneath you (or the fire is out of control). The yacht is a safer, more visible platform than the raft; only the skipper decides to abandon ship.

1. Before throwing the liferaft over the side, what must you check, and which side do you launch it?

Answer: That the painter is tied to a strong point on the yacht. Launch it on the leeward side, where it is sheltered by the boat.

1. Why should the EPIRB be floated outside the liferaft canopy?

Answer: So the antenna has a clear view of the sky and the satellites can pick up its signal; inside the canopy the signal is blocked or weakened.

1. You find an engine compartment fire. Why do you not open the hatch, and how is the extinguisher discharged?

Answer: Opening the hatch lets in oxygen and flames can flash out at you. Shut off fuel and the engine, close the hatch and discharge the extinguisher through the fire port or a small gap.