[sciroccoGTX]

Thought I'd post this and see if there's any other information that may help someone if their in distress..

I recently did a Personal Survival Technique course (used by commercial fishermen/supply boats etc) and have some useful advice in the case of an emergency.

1) Stay on your boat as long as possible, even if it taking in water etc. Your boat is the best lifeboat and should only be left at the last instance.

2) When wearing a lifejacket make sure it is tightly fitted. A loosely fitted jacket can actually cause more trouble for you if you fall in the water. It can ride up and cause severe injury. It can also restrict movement and even breathing.

3) If you do fall in the water or have to enter it, do not try to swim anywhere for at least 3 minutes. It takes time for your body to adjust to the temperature of the water and any movements during this time will tire you out very quickly. It will increase your heart-rate considerably and your breathing will become very heavy if you don't take the time to adjust.

4) Preserve you body heat by tucking your arms and legs in tight to your body if you're in the water. Hypothermia can set in very quickly so try to keep the heat in.

5) Try not to wear jeans when you are out fishing. When jeans get wet, say if you enter the water, they weigh a significant amount. Better to wear light material clothes that do not retain as much water.

These are probably the most relevant points that I learnt and I would encourage all boat owners to do the course too, if they haven't already. The course only costs about £40, well worth it if a life is saved.

 

[Salar]

Good advice to anyone fishing on or by the sea. I didn't know the three minute rule and I've been running boats at sea for 32 years...goes to prove you can never know enough.

 

[Peter B]

Hi,

Sound advice indeed!!

Last autumn a chap who has a small boat in our harbour did the ONE thing you should NEVER do when out at sea in a boat. While the boat was motoring at full throttle, about 7 knots in his case, he climbed out of the deck area and went forward down the side of the cabin without a safety line attached to himself to wipe his forward looking windows . Yep - you've got it - he slipped and fell in. No life jacket, jeans, two T shirts under a thick jumper. He had detached the outboard motor kill line from his wrist to perform this operation, so the boat just carried on, leaving him in a very dangerous and life-threatening situation.

Luckily there was a commercial fishing boat a few hundred yards away which saw this happen. It took the fishing boat about 15 minutes to come about and get to him, by which time he was in severe difficulty with hypothermia and on the point of going down. The fishing boat picked him out of the water, put out a MAYDAY RELAY call and the coastguard arranged for the air ambulance to meet them ashore. The chap was air ambulanced to hospital and survived.

The hospital told him that they weighed his wet clothes - go on, guess how much - 48 lb!!! They said he was a very lucky man firstly that there was another boat nearby, and secondly that this boat saw what happened. Another few minutes and he would have drowned - no doubt about it. Lucky? that's more than lucky!!!

He now wears a life jacket every trip and has a safety line attached to himself even when he's in the 'cockpit' of his boat.

By the way, his boat ended up going round and round in circles and another boat eventually got a line on it , killed the outboard and towed it back.

A salutory tale folks!!!!

Cheers, (with a slight shudder!!)

 

[kelvindavies11]

thanks for that, i dont fish from boats, but always where jeans as it blocks out the wind. guess i wont be wearing jeans on any rocky marks again.

kelvin

 

[Jonboy]

If owning a boat you may want to make sure you have plenty of fresh water for drinking.
Flares are in date.
As said dont try swimming for a few minutes as water temp will shock your system what ever you are wearing, shock is the biggest Killer.
Tell someone where you are going time out and back?
all above may well apply to a shore fisherman as well so do not shun any free advice on safety.
Always wear strong boots even if you are on shore or boat, a good footing is essential.
No Wellies or Waders on boats?MMmmmmmmmmmmm
Carry a Radio fixed unit is best hand held is a good back up mobile phone last resort!!!!
You can buy a lifejacket belt that can be pulled over your head in an emergency £ 40 was the price when i bought one 2 years ago, handy for boat or shore

 

[Shropfisher]

thanks for that, i dont fish from boats, but always where jeans as it blocks out the wind. guess i wont be wearing jeans on any rocky marks again.

kelvin

If you want warm trousers that will not sap the heat from you when wet, Moleskins, they don't take on the water like jeans, they block out the wind, they keep you warm, even when wet, Jeans are a killer, leave them behind, plus you will pay around £50 for decent jeans Molies cost about £30, and take a load of hard wear.

 

[sciroccoGTX]

Always wear strong boots even if you are on shore or boat, a good footing is essential.

I would have to slightly disagree with this especially on a boat. You are better wearing a good set of non-slip trainers that, if in the event of going into the water, you can simply slip off. Its amazing how much water boots can hold and the weight of wet trainers.

 

[sciroccoGTX]

A story that I was told..

A trawler was out in rough seas very close to where I live and it was looking for a safe port to get out of the weather. The skipper of the trawler,who was not familiar with the area, saw lights coming from a small village and mistook them for lighthouse lights.
He decided to take the boat into what he thought was a harbour and the boat ran aground.
It was then that some of the crew made a fatal mistake. Thinking that they were in extreme danger, and remembering that it was a really bad night, some of them decided to abandon ship.
The next morning, just as daybreak was approaching, a local from the village spotted a glowing red light just a few hundred yards from the shore. He thought that it was very strange and so he had a better look. What he saw probably seemed funny at the time.
The boat had ran aground and the red light was that of a cigarette, which one of the remaining crew was smoking in the wheelhouse.
The man called the coastguard and as the tide receeded the crew on the boat simply used a ladder to climb down from the boat and to safety.
The crew members who had jumped ship were not so lucky. Their bodies were found the following day. None of them had survived.

This highlights the need to remain on your boat until the very last second if you are in distress.