Ditch Bag

[Adelie]

It seems to that if you are in a liferaft the GPS is of little use. A second EPIRB would be better.

However if you are in a dinghy with even a minimal ability to control your direction of travel a GPS would be useful in conjunction with a map.

A small solar charger for AA batteries would also be good for use with Ni-MH batteries.

[Adelie]

Another thing to have if you are going to be in dinghy rather than a raft is a compass. a cheap kayak compass would be just fine. I know that a GPS will give you COG which is would be better than a magnetic heading, but a compass does not use batteries. I would turn on the GPS every 4-8hr to save batteries and steer by compass in between.

[Jimbo485]

a hat

[missnmountains]

Originally Posted by pwilliams

Here's what's in our bag:

___ Knife
___ Handheld VHF Radio
___ Water
___ Flares, smoke, dye
___ Flashlight
___ Hand-bearing compass
___ Handheld GPS
___ Seasickness tablets
___ Signal mirror
___ Energy bars
___ Sponges (one fresh water / one salt water)
___ Mylar Emergency Blankets
___ Sun Screen
___ Capstick / Carmex
___ Hard Candies
___ Paper / Pencil / Sharpie
___ Scissors (paramedic style – cuts anything)
___ Basic Fishing kit (size of cigarette pack)
___ Aluminum Foil (radar reflector)
___ Extra Zip Lock bags
___ Extra AAA batteries
___ Extra cord (small stuff / 550 Paracord)
___ Hard Water Bottle
___ Chemical Light Sticks

I bought a bag made for EMS personnel. It has two large side pockets and one large center compartment.

They say the new standard in rescue is to have the Sat Phone in one hand and the GPS in the other!

We have all of this plus a second epirb and a first aid kit. These are all in a dry bag next to our life raft.

Ken

[PEACETIME]

handheld watermaker only needs pickled once a year, you only can function for 3 days without water! It will produce 1 liter per hour, enough to keep you hydrated which means alert. Really, in this instance, money is not a consideration. I believe they should be sold at a lower price so more people would have them. I pack one of those solar yard lights, just the top, to recharge my AA batteries. Got a Dry Bag, they are available in several sizes, to pack everything in. If you spice a line to the bag with a SS spring clip, to attach to your vest, you can let it float behind you as you take care of business.

[rebel heart]

yoga mat so i can be flexible enough to kiss my ass goodbye

[Cheechako]

+1 on the second epirb if you are spending money and serious about being rescued. You really aren't going to "float home". The key these days is to get the signal out if you are a long way from civilization. 90% full water jug ready to go with the raft costs little, floats and is only needed when you start that big crossing. GPS? what for ?

[Capt Phil]

All of the above plus cat food. When you run out of cat food, eat the cat! Capt Phil

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

GPS? what for ?

I remember years ago (pre GPS) at maritime collage students being asked what they would take if abandoning ship, nearly all of them said a Sextant....

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

All of the above plus cat food. When you run out of cat food, eat the cat! Capt Phil

I always keep my crew well fattened fed......

[Palarran]

I wouldn't plan on being on my life raft for very long. Planning like it is 1973 when the Bailey's where adrift is somewhat backward. Sat phone, PLB or EPIRB, gps, water, hand held vhf radio, strobe light, and flares would be the most important for me. My life raft contains water, energy bars, and flares already. With a sat phone you can text your location to someone every 24 hours for 50 cents and if they don't get a text message in a certain amount of time you become overdue. There are so many ways to summon help inexpensively and reliably in a true emergency today compared to even 10 years ago.

Here is a picture of mine. I also have a flare gun, knife, and rope in it.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

GPS? what for ?

I keep a spare handheld GPS in the bag (I have 6 so what's a loss of one for full time use) I feel that the mental soothing of knowing where I am or where I'm drifting to be more useful than anything else. But in a pinch a radio broadcast with position is more useful than a radio broadcast without position.

[callmecrazy]

Seems like a having a GPS position would be useful if you happen to make contact with a passing ship within VHF range. Epirb should to do the job well enoug on it's own. But they only last a day or two... a GPS+VHF and a pack of spare batteries could last for weeks.

[Curmudgeon]

I forget what's in my ditch bag. I know there's a handheld watermaker, but it hasn't been pickled for awhile. Plus there's lots of other cool survival stuff. I suppose I should take inventory, but I like suprises.

One piece of equipment I need to add to my ditch bag (or put in my life raft) is one of those portable solar chargers.

[Palarran]

I found a picture of my safety equipment. We have 4 survival suites, 4 offshore life jackets, harnesses, etc, all in one spot.