I raise my glass to Dave, and agree with Scott, this has been the most
informative and pertinent post I have read. I have spent a very large amount
of time trying to visualize what would happen in a worst case, get off the
boat situation and I'm fairly sure it's not gonna be pretty. Boats don't
usually go down on the open ocean benignly, they thrash and protest every
inch of lost waterline. They don't go down flat and level either, they like
to go head first for some reason, at least power boats do, I know nothing of
sailboats. Most people seem to think that they will "step" into the
liferaft, I don't think so ! If I am deploying my liferaft things are way
past any salvage of the boat. The raft won't go until everyone is ready.
Sometimes we think we have the plan down, until the situation arises and the
plan is the first thing to abandon ship. It's good to hear from a person
with REAL experience in this area.

Absent the small number of people with "REAL" experience in abandoning their
boats, what would you guys have us do? Not read Allard Coles? Ignore the
experienced based knowledge offered at the Safety At Sea Seminars? Have you
been to one?

These resources, amongst others, would inform you that early deployed life
rafts can and do breakaway from the vessel in distress because of the
conditions and the tensile strength of the tether. The Seminar shows you
video of this happening.

Different people under different conditions will act differently to and in
an emergency. It is very difficult to predict this behavior. In fact, for
some critical combat missions in Special Forces, you don't get selected for
the mission unless you have done it before! Not quite "Catch 22," because
any similar/relevant combat experience may suffice. No one is willing to
predict performance under stress - your ability to perform under comparable
conditions must have been demonstrated. So what one person might do in a
sinking emergency might not be what you will do. You can only make
preparations, set criteria, and make plans. Then you can expect it to go to
hell.

Some of the most informative, REAL experiences we can get in this area is
from interviewing dead people. Failing that, USCG and NTSB reports and
seminars might be as close as you can get.

Ron Rogers
----- Original Message -----
From: "bob england" bob_england@hotmail.com

| If I am deploying my liferaft things are way
| past any salvage of the boat. The raft won't go until everyone is ready.
| Sometimes we think we have the plan down, until the situation arises and
the
| plan is the first thing to abandon ship. It's good to hear from a person
| with REAL experience in this area.