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Are you ready to Abandon Ship?
By Douglas Gould, MTOA #2606© 2007
 s the first light of dawn breaks through the cabin windows, you sip at your  second cup of fresh coffee, and your hand instinctively searches for thewarm spot on the steering wheel. The familiar rumble from the engineroom relaxes you, and you settle in for another morning of travel down theChesapeake Bay. With no conflicting traffic in sight, you set the autopilot and take a moment to make some entries in the log. Suddenly, a bump, then a Bang,then a
CRASH
 , and all hell breaks loose. The floor shakes, the bow swings, and everything on the chart table is now on the floor. You hit something. Instinctively, you open the cabin sole over the engine, and already the water level is rising…
 A
Do you have a container pre-loaded withessential items that you will need in theevent that you are forced to abandon ship?For years, ditch bags were carried aboardyachts that are crossing oceans or venturingfar from shore. The idea is that if you findyourself needing to actually abandon ship,you are probably too busy and distracted togather all the things that, in hindsight, youwish you had remembered. The need to pre-plan for abandonment was particularlytrue in terms of survival necessities likeemergency food rations, fresh water,signaling devices and basic first aid.Many of the survival supplies that would be part of a traditional ditch bag are nowreplaced by the standard equipment inmodern canister life rafts. Those canistersare intended to create an instant survival pod, with all the necessities to keep humansalive while they wait, perhaps for days, for rescue. If you venture offshore, you shouldown a life raft, but don’t assume that themanufacturer of a life raft can anticipate allof your abandon ship needs.If you are like me and travel almostexclusively in protected waters like theICW, you don’t find that a life raft is justified, because in the unlikely event thatyou do have to abandon ship, rescue would be so close and imminent that it would preclude any need for survival equipment,and the tender can serve as a lifeboat.As you can see, whether you own a life raftor not, it is a good practice for every crewto be prepared for a rapid and unexpecteddeparture from the vessel. Personalnecessities, legal documents and a means of communication should all be readilyavailable without any need to search for them in a panic. What about a minimumsupply of your prescription medications andyour passport? Even if you are forced toabandon ship into the safety of another  boat, these are some things that you willwant to take with you.In the unlikely event that some calamitystrikes, a fire for instance, wouldn’t it niceto know that you and your crew can focuson the immediate problem (like fighting thefire), rather than trying to conjure a mentallist of essentials that you don’t want toleave behind?So why not have a ditch bag ready to gowhenever you’re cruising on your boat? Itdoesn’t have to be fancy, nor does it haveto be a bag. A plastic toolbox from Home
 
Depot would work, or an old briefcasefound at a yard sale. For years, I used a 5-gallon bucket with a tight lid. I prefer something watertight, but certainly acanvas ice tote kept by the main helmstation would be fine, as long as you can fitall your essentials in there.ARC Electronics is offering a new product just for this purpose; the RapidDitch bag,made in bright yellow rip-stop with handycompartments and flotation built right in.Begin by making a one-page paper document for each regular crewmember.On one side, make a copy of each person’s passport and driver’s license. On the back side, make copies of medical prescriptions,medical insurance card and the primary physician’s contact information. Take thosedocuments to Kinko’s and have themlaminated. (One note of caution: thecontents of those documents are in somerespects a way for you to rebuild your identity. Someone else could also use thatsame information for more sinister motivations. You should keep the ditch bagin a safe place, even locked up, when youare not cruising.) Next, make copies of your vessel’s official paperwork, such as the USCG documentand state registration, FCC licenses andMMSI registration . If you have a loan onyour vessel, include a bank contact number and the loan number. Include a copy of the‘declaration page’ of your hull insurance policy too.If you store a lot of phone numbers in your cell phone’s speed dial, instead of your memory, make sure you also have thenumbers for important contacts, like familymembers, written down in your ditch bag,in case your phone gets left behind or goesin the drink. If you are lucky enough toremember to take your phone with you,you’ll be glad that you put an extra charger in your ditch bag, because if you really doabandon ship, you will be making endless phone calls for days.Once you have all the paper documentscopied, start thinking about what else isabsolutely vital for you to have.Prescriptions drugs, eyeglasses, money,food and a leash for your pet, and drinkingwater would all be essential.You certainly don’t need to carry your wallet around the deck all day when youare cruising, so get in the habit of keepingyour wallet (and purse) in the ditch bag,right next to the lower helm station.Below is a suggested list to get you started, but it is by no means comprehensive.Assume that you are going to live 24 hourswithout getting to a store, bank or  pharmacy.
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