Offshore basics

"Wow, you guys are heading offshore.  Will you be safe?"  Thanks for that question, friends and followers of the blog!  We have spent a lot of money on safety gear we hope to never use--a life raft and an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB)--and set ourselves up with a bit more gear when we are on deck.

Here I am modeling our Mustang auto-inflating PFDs. We wear them with leg straps and safety tethers.

The safety tether clips into strong points around the boat, or to Jack lines if we have to head to the bow for anything.  Here I am clipped in at the helm.

But that's not all!  When you're on watch you carry a few more things, like our floating, handheld VHF radio (a watch turnover item) and this nifty pouch full of survival gear!

Inside the pouch is a knife, signal mirror, emergency blanket, dye marker, flare, and another watch turnover item, the Personal Locator Beacon (PLB, we only have 1 so we have to share!).  The EPIRB stays with the boat, the PLB stays with the person.

That should cover the wave tops on that topic!  Here we are, 3 miles east of Palm Beach, FL, heading out for a few nights off shore!