David wrote:
Howard wrote:
I like the concept of the "life dinghy" like the Portland Pudgie, as an alternative to the so called "life raft"............. "death raft" is a more appropriate name unless help is fairly close by....... which for most of us it is..... unless you happen to be a "real" adventurer... as a number of members here are or have been at times. The gradual deterioriation of these so called "life rafts" is a major feature of every survival story involving them it seems. The idea of designing a ply dinghy that could provide the needed shelter and resources for survival...... and be able to make progress under a sail is intriguing.
H.W.
I did build a 'life dinghy' once, and had it approved as part of a New Zealand Category 1 inspection and clearance. But silly me, I built it to meet the Cat 1 requirements for a life dinghy which definitely compromised it's usefulness as an actual tender. I do know of someone whose liferaft started falling apart after just a few hours. But I also know of people who have survived for a very long time in a liferaft. I am also thinking of the tragic situation off the New Zealand coast a few months ago where a yacht sank and one person died because in the experienced conditions the liferaft was apparently swept away before they could get into it. Launching a life dinghy in this situation could be even worse.
I personally am starting to question the whole traditional approach to rescue and survival in these situations. By way of explanation I set off recently to purchase a set of flares for my current yacht as we had none, and you should always carry flares - right? On the way to the marine store I began thinking about the many hundreds of dollars worth of flares I have purchased, and eventually had to dispose of, during my long sailing career, and had a think about how many people have actually signaled for help and been rescued as a result of using flares in recent times, probably not many. There is better technology out there. So rather than purchasing flares I bought a good EPIRB with a 10 year battery life. Yes it was twice the price of the coastal flare pack I was going to purchase, but it has a ten year shelf life instead of three, and if I get into trouble and need to activate the EPIRB our NZ Rescue Center will know very quickly that I am in trouble, they will know which boat is involved, and they will know very precisely exactly where I am
I agree: pyrotechnic flares have had their day. I carry a
Odeo OLED Flare, just with the aim of homing in some form of rescue service, which I would have alerted by other means - VHF, DSC, EPIRB, PLB.
If I were still sailing offshore, and cared enough about surviving a sinking*, I'd carry an EPIRB. As a singlehander, now sailing in coastal waters mostly within VHF reach of the coastguard, there's little need for one. Perhaps I should carry a PLB for when my DSC signal isn't going to be in range of a shore station.
*but I don't. I'm in my mid-70s, and not immortal. Being brutally realistic, a quick death by drowning would be one of the better ends that I could envisage.