Boat Cards

There have been several occasions where it would of been useful to have a boat card so I decided to make some. I considered ordering them online, but it would have been more effort so I decided to go the simplier, diy route. Firstly I googled images of boat cards and decided on the style that appealed to me most. Then I looked for a photo of the right shape that summed up how I felt about this new cruising lifestyle. It was actually harder than I thought but I finally found one on a fellow westsail site. After I found it, I photo-shopped the words into the photo and went onto Microsoft word and attached the photo. I had to re-size it a little to get 10 copies onto a page and then I printed it out on card stock. Then it was just a matter of getting the scissors out.

Mindful of the fact that most boats are leaky, I waterproofed some with Avery 8665 full page labels. They turned out a lot stiffer and little harder to read but overall a good result.

Ditch Bag

A sailboat offshore must have an abandon ship bag, or ditch bag, in its emergency equipment. After collecting it's contents I have come to the conclusion that it is advisable for everybody to have a grab and go bag in their home or office for disasters that require a rapid evacuation.

I learnt a few things getting the bag ready over 2 weeks. The red Infiniter laser light can clearly shine on trees over a mile away from my house, the Cyalume snap lights stay illuminated for more than 12 hours and for protecting my documents from getting wet, I bought Avery 8665 full page labels and made 2-sided copies.
Here is my list of contents;
Document copies
Leatherman
Whistle,
Sunglasses
flares and Cyalume sticks
Head torch
Laser pointer
Spare batteries
Unbreakable  mirror
binoculars,
Hand-bearing compass
First Aid Kit small
Energy bars and Hard Candies
Sun Screen and Carmex
Paper / Pencil / Sharpie
Scissors (paramedic style – cuts anything)
Basic Fishing kit
Extra Zip Lock bags
Extra batteries
Extra cord
Cutting board
Sun hat
Duct tape

Of course I have to add plenty of drinking water

I have not yet decided whether or not to get a survival suit or hand held watermaker and I still have to purchase the following, but I will wait to get those later on.
EPIRB,
handheld VHF,
Iridium sat-phone,
Seasickness tablets
GPS