Dear readers,

Have you ever imagined what it must be like to swim behind your boat after a fall from board and see it speeding away? Or the other way round: you come on deck from the cabin and some of the crew are missing?

Exactly: you'd rather not even imagine it. The thought is terrifying. And yet it quickly comes to mind if you do a little research into safety on board and at sea, for example as part of offshore sea survival training. Some offshore regatta sailors have to complete it. Some providers in Germany also offer certified courses for this reason.

Perhaps you have photos or Videos of these courses before: Hand flares are set off, fires are extinguished, leaks in real boat hulls are plugged and fake wounds are dressed. There is also a lot of knowledge transfer about storm tactics and sails, man-overboard manoeuvres and rescue equipment.

The practical exercises are the centrepiece of the training. If in doubt, you can read up on the theory yourself. But when was the last time you extinguished a blazing fire, lit a hand torch or jumped into the water in full gear with a life jacket to test the equipment in an emergency?

I never have. Until recently, when I attended an offshore sea survival course for the first time. The exercise in the wave pool, where participants are sent into an artificial disaster under supervision and under controlled conditions, was particularly eye-opening: A sea emergency including rescue is simulated. They learn what it feels like when the automatic waistcoat is (hopefully) triggered when jumping (or falling) into the water. How to release air from it when the waistcoat presses on your neck. How long the seconds feel when you - consciously floating on your stomach - wait for the buoyancy compensator to finally turn you over. And how difficult it is to raise a life raft floating upside down and then climb into it in rough seas.

Even though the conditions in the swimming pool water, which was over 20 degrees centigrade, were much friendlier than the reality at sea, the training pushed some of the participants to their limits - and got everyone thinking.

One instructor emphasised that this was precisely one of the aims of the course: to question their own equipment and preparation for various worst-case scenarios. Above all, the exercises also made it clear how important the little things are - whether it's the crotch strap on the lifejacket, fire extinguishing agents ready to hand or suitable leak plugs on the sea valves.

My personal conclusion: None of the emergency situations we have practised should actually occur in the first place. Especially not with a small crew. No MOB, no grease fire, no rough collision of boom and skull. This is precisely why prevention is so incredibly important and why our heads are full of ideas after this course as to how it can be further improved on the next trip. The winter weekend was also a lot of fun with other sailors, exciting exercises and plenty of input. Therefore: definitely give it a try! It belongs on every sailor's bucket list.

You can read the report on the training in one of the next issues of YACHT and on yacht.de - with information on where you can take part yourself.

Kristina Müller,

YACHT editor

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