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Safety
Equipment
           
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Choosing the right safety
equipment to take with you on any long cruise is probably the most important
decision that you are going to make. |
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Blue Water Supplies can supply the full range
of ocean safety products. Liferafts, Lifejackets, Para Anchors and Drogues
ect. |
As with everything else, it
is always going to be a balance between your budget, the physical limitations of
your boat and what you would like to take. You cannot possibly prepare for
all eventualities, but it is well worth equipping yourself to cope with the
majority.
HOW TO SPREAD YOUR
SAFETY BUDGET
Choosing which safety gear to opt for is not
as easy as one might first think. There are more and more equipment
devices coming on the market and we all find ourselves under increasing pressure
to part with our money for the latest gimmick. The trick is to buy the
right equipment to be able to cope with 99% of the situations that might arise.
There is no point in having six GPSs if you’ve got no boat left to sail in!
If your GPS fails you are not in imminent danger and therefore a GPS should not
be considered to be a safety device except for perhaps in a man overboard
situation. The list of equipment shown below can be used to judge where
you should be spending your money.
LIFEJACKETS,
DANBUOYS, MAN OVERBOARD RECOVERY,
MEDICAL, EPIRBS,
FLARES,
GRAB
BAG, EMERGENCY REPAIR,
FIRE EXTINGUISHERS, CABLE/BOLT CUTTERS
It is also worth giving some consideration
to the type of emergency situations you might encounter so that you can
appreciate the respective values of the equipment that you are buying.
Possible
Emergencies
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A)
MAN (OR WOMAN) OVERBOARD - Lifejackets, Danbuoys,
White Parachute Flares, MOB recovery devices and possibly Medical.
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B)
CREW INJURY/ILLNESS - Medical
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C)
FIRE/EXPLOSION - Fire extinguishers, possibly
medical - may lead to D)
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D)
VESSEL SINKING - Emergency repair, Liferaft,
Lifejackets, Grab Bag, EPIRB, Flares, Grab Bag, Medical.
COLLISION AT SEA WITH
ANOTHER VESSEL, ANIMAL OR FLOATING OBJECT- This could result in A), B),
C) or D) above.
DISMASTING - not an emergency in
itself, but could lead to A), B), C) or D) above.
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