What's in your grab bag? 

For anyone heading out to sea, the thought of abandoning ship is not a palatable prospect and most of us tend to avoid contemplating this unsettling idea.

After all, if you expected to sink there is no way that you would leave harbour in the first place. Nevertheless it is something we should all plan for, that is why many people carry a liferaft.

The liferaft itself only offers you protection, however its contents are also important to aid survival, as is knowledge of what the contents are. 

This will vary with life raft specification and manufacturer, they may be packed within the liferaft itself or you may have a separate pack which holds essential items.  

Your liferaft and its equipment are already arranged, however, a grab bag could save you valuable minutes in an emergency situation.

RYA Cruising Officer Carol Paddison explained: "We hope that we will never be in the position where we have to abandon our boat, but it is important to be prepared.

"Think about what would take with you into the life raft in advance, perhaps create a check-list and consider having as much of this as possible pre-prepared in a grab bag. 

“The contents of your grab bag may be essential emergency items not already contained within the liferaft – its supplementary pack if you have one – it could be vital personal possessions, or a combination of the two.

 "The key is knowing what you will find in the life raft, something as basic as water may or may not be there, then prepare accordingly, bearing in that space in the life raft will be limited.

Contents

• Items from around the boat, which of course may be in general use, but should be considered for the grab bag or a list are:
  Hand held VHF (fully charged / spare batteries where appropriate)
• Hand held GPS (fully charged / spare batteries where appropriate)
• EPIRB / PLB
• Sea sickness tablets
• Torch
• Extra flares  

Warm clothing, glasses and essential medication might make the time you spend in the life raft easier and beyond this there are also items which, whilst not essential, will make your life a lot easier once back on dry land.
 
These include:

• Passport
• House / car keys
• Wallet /credit cards
• Mobile phone
• Ships documents
  
  

The bag itself also needs some consideration, as many items will need to be kept dry – the ideal being a dry bag which will float. 

"Obviously some of these items cannot be permanently stored in a grab bag, but forethought can make sure they are quick and easy to find in an emergency" Carol added. "