Greetings to all my
fellow adventure seekers and wet world exploring boaters. Welcome to the
club! It's my primary intention to keep you alert, keep you from
becoming lost, and keep you alive. Learn from my wet words and adapt them to
your own needs.
My needs have been rather varied in my past adventures, and therefore my adventure boating survival equipment has been equally diverse.
Unfortunately for me, I have lost some of it while I was on some of my high seas adventures. Fortunately for you, you can learn from my mistakes before you make some of the same. Just one life lesson could mean the difference between disaster and survival. Heed my adventure advice!
One of my past ship captain jobs was to board various different vessels within a large boating organization's fleet. I would provide expert advice and skills, stand watches, as well as provide compliance with US Coast Guard vessel certification requirements to provide a licensed master on board these vessels. This fleet consisted of 30 plus vessels. I was doing that on my weekends while I was captaining another dozen vessels during the week in another fleet that I was employed in. Needless to say, I was sometimes confronted with less than consistent on board vessel equipment.
Since I had a high degree of responsibility on board these various vessels, and since I took my responsibilities seriously, I took it upon myself to start carrying my own private equipment to supplement dated vessel equipment and to provide backup equipment for the more updated vessels. I also would complete my own vessel inspections and crew interviews prior to getting underway. I wish to share with you, my fellow adventure boaters, what some of that personal equipment was.
My first mistake was trying to carry my business life into the boating world. I used to keep my license, certificates, permits, identifications, and documents in a briefcase. The business world demanded that I wore a suit and carried a briefcase. Have you ever tried to climb aboard a vessel while holding a briefcase?
One night I was climbing from one cold damp steel vessel to another when I lost my footing. I was about to fall overboard; I made the choice to drop my briefcase instead of falling overboard. The case banged and spun on the way down hitting the side of the ship before it splashed into the water below. I was able to quickly scramble and grab a boat pole to hook my floating briefcase before it sank. The result of that incident was that I switched to a backpack. Both hands were now free for climbing, and the backpack straps ensured that the documents never hit the wet water again. Will you learn from my mistake?
Since I almost fell overboard, I also decided to buy a float coat. It was a bright orange coat with reflective tape on the upper back and front shoulders. It was Coast Guard certified as a work personal floatation device (PFD), but not to be counted as part of the vessel's required type I PFDs. If I did fall while wearing my float coat, it would have substantially increased my chances of survival. It had a hood for the freezing rain, and I occasionally used it. The down side of my float coat was that it was hot. It wasn't comfortable in the summer months. You can wear an inflatable one instead if you would like.
My needs have been rather varied in my past adventures, and therefore my adventure boating survival equipment has been equally diverse.
Unfortunately for me, I have lost some of it while I was on some of my high seas adventures. Fortunately for you, you can learn from my mistakes before you make some of the same. Just one life lesson could mean the difference between disaster and survival. Heed my adventure advice!
One of my past ship captain jobs was to board various different vessels within a large boating organization's fleet. I would provide expert advice and skills, stand watches, as well as provide compliance with US Coast Guard vessel certification requirements to provide a licensed master on board these vessels. This fleet consisted of 30 plus vessels. I was doing that on my weekends while I was captaining another dozen vessels during the week in another fleet that I was employed in. Needless to say, I was sometimes confronted with less than consistent on board vessel equipment.
Since I had a high degree of responsibility on board these various vessels, and since I took my responsibilities seriously, I took it upon myself to start carrying my own private equipment to supplement dated vessel equipment and to provide backup equipment for the more updated vessels. I also would complete my own vessel inspections and crew interviews prior to getting underway. I wish to share with you, my fellow adventure boaters, what some of that personal equipment was.
My first mistake was trying to carry my business life into the boating world. I used to keep my license, certificates, permits, identifications, and documents in a briefcase. The business world demanded that I wore a suit and carried a briefcase. Have you ever tried to climb aboard a vessel while holding a briefcase?
One night I was climbing from one cold damp steel vessel to another when I lost my footing. I was about to fall overboard; I made the choice to drop my briefcase instead of falling overboard. The case banged and spun on the way down hitting the side of the ship before it splashed into the water below. I was able to quickly scramble and grab a boat pole to hook my floating briefcase before it sank. The result of that incident was that I switched to a backpack. Both hands were now free for climbing, and the backpack straps ensured that the documents never hit the wet water again. Will you learn from my mistake?
Since I almost fell overboard, I also decided to buy a float coat. It was a bright orange coat with reflective tape on the upper back and front shoulders. It was Coast Guard certified as a work personal floatation device (PFD), but not to be counted as part of the vessel's required type I PFDs. If I did fall while wearing my float coat, it would have substantially increased my chances of survival. It had a hood for the freezing rain, and I occasionally used it. The down side of my float coat was that it was hot. It wasn't comfortable in the summer months. You can wear an inflatable one instead if you would like.
Would you like
to learn some more Capt. Marc mistakes? I've made them, ya know.
Spending so much time on the water meant that my eyes were getting a lot of
extra glare. Most of it was from the bright sunlight reflecting off the water
and the white superstructures of the vessels. So, I bought an expensive pair of
sunglasses specifically designed for life on the water- Rivo H2Os. My eyes were
now protected well enough.
One day I had to inspect a floating dock cleat. I stooped over to check the side of the dock and... bloop. Off went my sunglasses from my head and right into 20 feet of water. Always wear sun glass straps, croakies, or keepers. Learn from my mistake before it happens to you too.
One day I had to inspect a floating dock cleat. I stooped over to check the side of the dock and... bloop. Off went my sunglasses from my head and right into 20 feet of water. Always wear sun glass straps, croakies, or keepers. Learn from my mistake before it happens to you too.
Although I made a
sincere effort to find out as much about these vessels before we got underway,
some of the navigation equipment would fail while underway (see Electrical
Power Loss on Boats and Ships on this page). I bought my own personal
handheld global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver. It was the kind that had
its own color charts. I also bought my own VHF handheld radio. I had my own
waterproof flashlight and waterproof wristwatch too. I tried to keep everything
as small and as light as possible. Remember, it all had to fit into my small
backpack. I did carry a sea bag for longer duration cruises though.
In that sea bag was a sleeping bag and extra warm clothing. When I didn't bring my sea bag, I always dressed in layers. You could always shed layers of clothing if it was too hot, but heaven help you if it got cold and wet and you left your raincoat and thermal underwear at home. It's hard to concentrate when your teeth are chattering!
In that sea bag was a sleeping bag and extra warm clothing. When I didn't bring my sea bag, I always dressed in layers. You could always shed layers of clothing if it was too hot, but heaven help you if it got cold and wet and you left your raincoat and thermal underwear at home. It's hard to concentrate when your teeth are chattering!
There is one thing
that I stopped carrying though. I remember packing all these novels and other
reading materials on my first three month cruise. I didn't crack open a
single book. I was either too busy on my watch, eating, sleeping, or preparing
for my next watch. There was no time for pastime activities. From then on I
left the books home. Don't pack a bunch of non-essentials.
Some of my captain essentials may surprise you. A couple of curious curios was a flint and striker fire starter and a corkscrew. I did use the fire starter on a few islands and beaches that I visited. The butane lighters always seemed to break. The flint never broke and always worked. I admit that I never used the corkscrew on board the tug boats or the container ship, but you would be surprised how many times it was borrowed by crew members on board the dining cruise ships. I even carried a crumber. Look it up.
In all of the hundreds of nautical books that I have read, in all of the thousands of trade journals I have read, in all of the maritime classes that I sat in on, and in all of the Coast Guard tests that I have taken, I have never heard of anyone telling me that carrying a corkscrew was one of the secrets to becoming a great ship captain. I bet that there will be items in your survival backpack that will be unique to you too.
You might be an archaeologist that needs to carry a small waterproof digital camera along with a small tape measure. You might be cryptozoologist or a mainstream zoologist that needs to carry some specimen vials and bags. What ever your reasons for adventure boating, you'll carry something unique to your own backpack. Just remember to keep your specialized items small and light. Also remember that they'll probably get wet.
Some of my captain essentials may surprise you. A couple of curious curios was a flint and striker fire starter and a corkscrew. I did use the fire starter on a few islands and beaches that I visited. The butane lighters always seemed to break. The flint never broke and always worked. I admit that I never used the corkscrew on board the tug boats or the container ship, but you would be surprised how many times it was borrowed by crew members on board the dining cruise ships. I even carried a crumber. Look it up.
In all of the hundreds of nautical books that I have read, in all of the thousands of trade journals I have read, in all of the maritime classes that I sat in on, and in all of the Coast Guard tests that I have taken, I have never heard of anyone telling me that carrying a corkscrew was one of the secrets to becoming a great ship captain. I bet that there will be items in your survival backpack that will be unique to you too.
You might be an archaeologist that needs to carry a small waterproof digital camera along with a small tape measure. You might be cryptozoologist or a mainstream zoologist that needs to carry some specimen vials and bags. What ever your reasons for adventure boating, you'll carry something unique to your own backpack. Just remember to keep your specialized items small and light. Also remember that they'll probably get wet.
The vessels that were
restricted to protected waters were not equipped with emergency position
indicating radio beacons (EPIRBs). The ocean certified ones had them, but I
started carrying my own personal one as a backup for these and as a primary for
the others. These personal EPIRBs are small and light. They can go with you
into a lifeboat or life raft should the need arise. It's never guaranteed
that the vessel's EPIRB will deploy properly or even function in the event of a
disaster at sea.
I also started
carrying the minimum required combination day and night flares and smoke
signals. They were light and easily packed, but they were invaluable. All of
the vessel flares were certified and up to date at the time of their Coast
Guard inspections, however I came to learn that these flares were by far the
number one most non-compliant item that I found. The reason for this was
because they all had different expiration dates, and the different crews had a
tough time keeping up on them. With a few of my own flares inside my backpack,
I knew that no matter what ship I was on, that we were always legal.
Being legal is one
thing, but being smart is another. I always carried two large bottles of
fresh water also. Some of the ships that I was on had certain required
amounts of fresh water to be stowed in lifeboats. Some vessels had no
freshwater stowage required. I always knew that I would have some fresh water
with me if I had to abandon ship. I didn't carry a lot of water, because
it was heavy and took up a lot of room. I did have a small desalination device
though.
Remember, I couldn't
carry everything that I could possibly need in an emergency situation. I had to
choose only the most needed, and I always brought the smallest and lightest of
those items. A survival knife and a metal water bottle for boiling water in
rounded off the rest of the items in my backpack. There just simply wasn't room
for anymore stuff.
Let my shortcomings of the past as well as my adjustments made
to address all of my mistakes be your guide towards completing your
own personal survival backpack. Oh, there's just one last thing to say to help
you along your way. The number one raided item in all the on board first aid
kits were band aids. Good luck!
Capt. Marc Deglinnocenti
Capt. Marc Deglinnocenti
OldArmada@Gmail.com
