A Father's Day gift from the oldest daughter, meant for cooking, will be useful for sailing. The gift, a FoodSaver, vacuum packs food for storage and, more importantly Sous Vide cooking ( I won't go into detail on that as I've been accused more than once of making this a food blog). I immediately saw some uses for on the boat.
I have vacuum packed the spare vhf radio, above, and Garmin gps, both pieces of equipment in working order which have been replaced with newer models this summer. I also vacuum packed emergency gear (fire starter, hypothermia bags, chem lights, spare knife, spare flashlights, etc) and extra sets of warm clothing that are part of the hypothermia kit.
One piece of gear that was sitting in the closet in a bag will not be stored there any longer. After reading DoryMan's story of a capsize, lost radio and phone, hypothermia setting in, I've decided to keep the SPOT on the boat all the time. The idea of calling for help with the push of a button appeals to me. In the past I have carried the SPOT on cruises only. But bad things can happen on daysails too. So I will learn from Dory-Man's experience. I am very glad he shared the story. Here is a link to "Capsize," and below I've copy and pasted a portion of it.
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In the meantime, a Coast Guard helicopter, two fire departments, a local first-responder group on jet skis and a fire-boat showed up. I was in the water about an hour and had hypothermia.
When Dave showed up, I was focused solely on getting Saga righted, and bless him, against his better judgment, tried to help. We did get the boat upright but she was awash and we had to abandon her to get me to shore. He was shocked that I could pull myself up on his swim platform, but that's what adrenaline is for.
A fire department first aid truck group brought my body temperature back up, blood pressure down, so there was no trip to the hospital. The fire-boat brought Saga into Boston Harbor and pumped her out. Lost some stuff, but got my boat back. And lived to tell the story.
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In the last dya newletter there was some very interesting stories about hypothermia and small boats. Highly recommended read for all of is.
ReplyDeleteI'll take a look. Thanks, Rik.
ReplyDeleteApologies... Its the dca.
ReplyDeletehttp://forum.dinghycruising.org.uk
Interesting. I've often been teased for what I carry on me, but in light of this, I stand by it even more. Attached to my PFD or in a pouch bag on my life jacket is my VHF radio, my SPOT PLB, and a mobile phone. Always. Every time I step in Arwen be it cruise or day sail
ReplyDeleteWelsh paranoia............
Very smart, Steve.
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting post thanks for sharing. Check our website for quality boat and fishing accessories.
ReplyDeleteSteve: Thank you for the reminder to double-check my safety equipment...it's all tucked into my PFD, but I haven't looked at/tested it since early April.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime - eggs! Sous vide yourself some eggs, they're wonderful, no baggie needed. Also mason jar meals - hint, hint for your cruises - I SV stuff in jars all the time (fill to top, any extra remaining air will burp out). Now that you have the foodsaver, SV oil-poach yourself some tuna... You love the spanish stuff? You'll love SV'ing your own.
Fair Winds!
Hey, thanks for the tip, Tom. Sounds worth looking into! steve
ReplyDelete