Re: recommendation on emergency gear

From: Ken Poulton (poulton@zonker.labs.agilent.com-DeleteThis.com)
Date: Sun Aug 17 2003 - 12:17:02 PDT

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Message-Id: <200308171917.MAA26026@zonker.labs.agilent.com-DeleteThis.com>
To: wind_talk@opus.labs.agilent.com-DeleteThis.com
Subject: Re: recommendation on emergency gear 
In-reply-to: Your message of "Sat, 16 Aug 2003 17:21:08 PDT." <004b01c36455$73a9a000$210110ac@gateway.2wire.net-DeleteThis.com> 
Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 12:17:02 -0700
From: Ken Poulton <poulton@zonker.labs.agilent.com-DeleteThis.com>

> I am interested to hear what list members think should be included in the
> "ideal" emergency kit.

Everyone should have these:

    Full wetsuit
        If you sail on the coast, at Crissy, Treasure Island, or in the
        channel at 3rd, you should never wear a shorty. Breakdowns
        happen. Hypothermia starts in 30-90 minutes and swimming in can
        take much longer. You need to dress for the day something breaks.
    Spare 6-foot downhaul line
        This can be used for many emergency repairs to get yourself in.
    Flasher
        This is *the* way you can be seen and rescued after dark.

Strongly recommended:

    Marine radio in waterproof bag
        This is the big-ticket item ($200), but it makes a huge
        difference in emergency response times.
        Without a radio, you flag someone down and send them in to make
        a phone call. The coast guard arrives from Treasure Island 45
        minutes later and starts searching. A downed windsurfer is hard
        to see among whitecaps and finding the rescuee usually takes
        *hours*. With a radio, you call the coast guard direct and they
        can come straight to you in 45 minutes. This made my day when I
        broke my ankle in 30 knots at 3rd.
    Wetsuit hood (carried)
        This increases the time you can stay in the water without
        hypothermia. Heat loss from the head will be the main loss
        if you have a good suit.
    25-50 foot line.
        This can be used for towing or for keeping people involved in a
        rescue together.
    Tools: knife, screwdriver, hex key if your mast base uses it.

Unresolved:
Emergency fin replacement.

Dubious value:
flares, whistles, dye markers

Ken Poulton
poulton@labs.agilent.com-DeleteThis.com

"Structural engineering is the art of molding materials that we do not
wholly understand into shapes we cannot precisely analyze so as to
withstand forces we cannot really assess in such a way that the
community at large has no reason to suspect the extent of our
ignorance". -- Parker E Schaeffer

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