Sea Survival Handbook: the Complete Guide to Survival at Sea

Description

A full-scale reference book for everyone boarding a seafaring vessel. The information is accessible, concise, up-to-date, and potentially life-saving. This is a weapon against ignorance at sea, and a no-brainer buy for all those who are interested in the safety of their passengers, their boats and themselves. The book covers everything from emergency radio operation, proper employment of safety equipment, to survival and first aid in the water. It also includes a full glossary and index. It was originally published in the UK this year by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA). Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Foreword Introduction CHAPTER 1 : Before you go out Make a plan Clothing Immersion (Survival) suits Care and maintenance of boat and equipment CHAPTER 2 : Weather Local winds Fog Beaufort scale CHAPTER 3 : Preparing for heavy weather Shortening sail Storm sails Breaking waves CHAPTER 4 : Handling heavy weather Running for shelter Riding it out at sea Damage control and repair CHAPTER 5 : Lifejackets and buoyancy aids Buoyancy Aids Lifejackets Gas lifejackets Lifejacket fittings The effect of wind and waves. Donning a gas-inflated lifejacketCHAPTER 6 : MOB prevention Clipping on CHAPTER 7 : MOB MOB search patterns Sailing yacht MOB maneuver Powerboat MOB maneuver MOB recovery methods Recovery methods for sailing yachts Recovery method for motorboats CHAPTER 8 : Liferafts Basic leisure rafts Inflatable Active Survival Craft Liferaft standards Which size raft? Typical leisure raft ISAF, ISO 9650 Part 1 and SOLAS Canister v Valise Liferaft stowage Maintenance Renting Hydrostatic release units (HRUs) How an HRU works HRU safety checks Liferaft packs Grab bag. CHAPTER 9 : Fire controlFire prevention Fire triangle Fire extinguishers Maintenance Firefighting CHAPTER 10 : Raising the alarm Flares Raising the alarm CHAPTER 11 : When to abandon ship What you need to survive I will survive! When disaster strikes CHAPTER 12 : Abandoning ship Drills for abandoning ship Launching and entering liferaft Entering the water Protection Keeping cool CHAPTER 13 : Survival in cold water Diving reflex Cold shock Swim failure Hypothermia Huddle CHAPTER 14 : First aid Heat exhaustion Heat stroke Hypothermia Near-drowning Secondary drowning. Heart attackPanic attack Shock Severe bleeding Frostbite Immersion foot Seasickness Pre-rescue collapse Circum-rescue collapse and hydrostatic squeeze Post-rescue CHAPTER 15 : Life-saving signals Search-and-rescue unit replies Surface-to-air signals Air-to-surface direction signals Shore-to-ship signals Air-to-surface replies Surface-to-air replies CHAPTER 16: Rescue Rescue by lifeboat Rescue by ship Rescue by helicopter GLOSSARY INDEX.