Carl, I think your 20 mins survival in the channel is pessimistic. Current
sea temp in the channel is around 11 C at which death from hypothermia is
said to be unlikely in less than 90 mins - and this is close to the coolest
sea water temp of the year. There is much interesting info on ditching and
survival times vs water temp on http://www.equipped.org/ditchingmyths.htm
together with the linked pages. A dinghy doesnt need to weigh more than 10
lbs, although a survival kit may add to that, and I would personally carry
one for long or cold sea crossings, but not for a summer short channel
crossing. I do also carry a McMurdo Paines Fastfind Plus PLB attached to my
person.
Regards, David Joyce, G-XSDJ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl Pattinson" <carl@flyers.freeserve.co.uk>
Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2007 1:53 PM
Subject: Europa-List: Sea Survival Equipment
Surviving a sea ditching.
Looking in the latest issue of the Transair catalogue the Survival Equipment
offered is limited to Lifejackets, ELT's and Liferafts.
IHMO, lifejackets are OK but bearinging mind the survivability in the North
Sea is limited to approximately 20 mins its a bit of a risk to assume you
would be rescued within that time.
Ideally a liferaft would be the best option but weight and bulk are a
consideration in the Europa - not to mention cost.
ELT's - does anyone have any experirnce/ reccomendations of these and are
they legal for use and carriage in the UK?
Additionally I think it would be a good idea to carry a DYE pack and smoke
flares but these dont seem to be readily available in the UK (and would they
be legal to carry - ie: flares or smoke canisters). I suspect that smoke is
probably the most effective way of visually identifying ones position in the
water.
I think many of us assume that in a daylight channel crossing it would be
possible to attract the attention of a passing ship or vessel but short of
ditching in the path of a suitable vessel (which could be dangerous) the
chances of being spotted immediately are probably not that high.
Any suggestions.
|