Sea Survival revision module 1 of 8

SOS

Survival Priorities

A source-reviewed survival decision loop for protecting people, alerting early, monitoring a damaged vessel, preparing a liferaft, deciding when transfer is safer, and staying findable.

protect alert stabilise prepareMayday and DSCvessel versus liferaftcrew roles and headcount

8 guided lessons · 8 practice questions · 8 flashcards

3 outcomes · self-guided revision

Use a six-stage priority model to protect people, alert rescue services, preserve the safest platform and prepare for change without abandoning too early.
Select the correct distress or urgency route from the danger actually present and give rescuers a concise, updateable operating picture.
Separate observed vessel evidence from guesses, control only hazards the crew can address safely and define the changes that trigger escalation or transfer preparation.

A self-guided revision companion that explains essential concepts, then helps you practise and test them. It supports—but does not replace—recognised instruction, practical training, assessment or certification. Access is a one-time payment, not a subscription.

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Lesson 1 of 8

Survival Priorities: Protect, Alert, Stabilise, Prepare

What you will learn

Use a six-stage priority model to protect people, alert rescue services, preserve the safest platform and prepare for change without abandoning too early.

Sea survival is not a fixed list performed once. It is a repeated comparison between the people, the vessel, the developing hazard and the rescue picture: protect life, raise the alarm, stabilise what can safely be controlled, prepare the next option, transfer only when it is safer, and stay findable.

The first success is preserving people and decision capacity. Put the relevant flotation and protection in place, account for everyone, retain safe vessel control and stop crew from scattering into unowned tasks. These actions run alongside alerting; they are not a reason to delay it.

A vessel that remains tenable can provide shelter, equipment, communications and a much larger search target than people in the water or a liferaft. That makes staying aboard a strong default, not an unconditional rule. Fire, rapid sinking, loss of structural integrity, capsize risk or another worsening hazard can make the vessel the less safe platform.

Preparation creates options before stress and deterioration remove them. Make the liferaft, grab bag, portable communication and essential medicines accessible; brief roles and thresholds; and keep the current position, people, hazard and vessel state updateable. Preparing to abandon is different from deciding to abandon.

Survival priorities board

Protect, alert, compare platforms and keep updating

Select a changing situation to rehearse which priorities overlap and which evidence changes the vessel-versus-alternative decision. Every state is complete in text and does not depend on colour.

1Protect people
2Alert
3Stabilise + monitor
4Prepare options
5Transfer if safer
6Stay findable

These stages overlap. Protecting people and alerting do not wait for a perfect diagnosis, while preparation does not by itself authorise launching or abandoning.

1 · Protect people

Account for everyone, put the relevant flotation and protection in place, and retain vessel control, lookout and a safe escape route.

2 · Alert

Use the appropriate distress route while position and communication remain available. Give the flooding trend, people, assistance and any loss of control.

3 · Stabilise + monitor

State water level, trim, pump or bailing effect, power and access. Attempt only controls supported by the boat plan, equipment and crew competence.

4 · Prepare options

Make the raft, painter plan, portable communication, beacon, medicines and priority grab-bag items accessible without sending people into an unsafe space.

5 · Transfer if safer

Compare the vessel with the ready alternative repeatedly. Transfer before a safe route disappears if flooding, list, structure or rescue direction makes staying more dangerous.

6 · Stay findable

Update the new platform, position source, people and condition. Keep the registered beacon, radio watch and permitted signals coordinated until handover.

Decision and communication rehearsal only. This board cannot assess a damaged vessel, diagnose flooding, fire or structural failure, choose a distress route for a live incident, operate a radio, beacon or liferaft, teach damage control, launching, boarding or physical transfer, decide when to abandon, predict survival or rescue time, or direct a real emergency. Use recognised practical sea-survival and SRC training, the vessel and equipment instructions, and HM Coastguard and rescue-unit directions. For a real emergency at sea, contact HM Coastguard through the appropriate distress route and follow its instructions.

Choose a changing situation and rehearse which priorities run in parallel, which evidence changes the platform decision and what must be reported.

Worked example

At night, a yacht develops rapid water ingress and a worsening bow-down trim. Four people are aboard, the current position is known and the electric pump is running but not keeping pace.

1The skipper gives named roles for vessel control, distress communication, people and lifejackets, and the flooding picture; the repeated headcount remains four.
2Because the situation is grave and worsening, the radio operator sends the appropriate distress alert and Mayday with position, nature, assistance and persons aboard, then keeps the watch open.
3The raft, grab bag, portable communication and medicines are made accessible without launching the raft or sending people below into an unsafe space.
4The skipper keeps comparing flooding, trim, structure, fire and rescue information. The crew transfers only when the vessel is no longer the safer platform or the rescue plan directs it.

Sense check: The crew has not waited for sinking before alerting, and preparation has not been mistaken for a premature abandonment order.

Survival Priorities: Protect, Alert, Stabilise, Prepare
Stage	Question to answer	Decision evidence
Protect	Are all people accounted for and protected from the immediate hazard?	Headcount, lifejackets, exposure, safe positions and owned vessel control
Alert	Do rescue services have a usable distress picture?	Appropriate distress route, position, people, nature, assistance and updates
Platform	Is the vessel still safer than the available alternative?	Fire, flooding trend, stability, structure, shelter, communications and rescue plan
Prepare	What option will disappear if we wait?	Accessible raft, painter plan, grab bag, medicines, portable radio and crew brief
Transfer	Has leaving become the safer controlled action?	Explicit decision, safest available route, lifejackets, headcount and no unnecessary water entry
Find	Can rescuers identify, locate and update us?	Registered beacon data, radio watch, visible signals and changed position or platform

Run the loop after every change

A crew member says, ‘We have already done the survival checklist,’ just as the pump output falls and one person goes below for personal possessions.

1. Stop separation
Restore the headcount and prevent entry into a space that is becoming unsafe.
2. Update evidence
Report the lower pump output and changed access risk; reassess whether the vessel remains the safer platform.
3. Reset the next option
Keep the essential survival equipment accessible and brief the threshold for a controlled transfer.

Sense check: A priority model stays live; it is not completed once and forgotten while the emergency changes.

Common mistake or limitation

Memorising a slogan such as ‘stay with the boat’ without continuing to test whether the boat remains tenable.
Doing damage control first and postponing the distress alert until communication or time has been lost.
Treating liferaft preparation as an instruction to launch or board immediately.

Recap

Protect, alert, stabilise, prepare, transfer if safer and stay findable.
The people, platform, hazard and rescue picture are reassessed after every material change.
Preparation buys options; it does not force abandonment.

Optional quick check

Section 1 of 8

A yacht has uncontrolled flooding but is still upright. What is the strongest immediate priority pattern?

Continue

Lesson 2 of 8

Call for Help While Options Remain

What you will learn

Select the correct distress or urgency route from the danger actually present and give rescuers a concise, updateable operating picture.

Alerting is part of survival action. Use Mayday and the DSC distress route for grave and imminent danger when assistance is required; use Pan Pan for an urgent safety concern that has not reached that threshold. Do not delay a serious call while trying to produce a perfect report.

For VHF DSC equipment, the MCA small-boat procedure separates the digital distress alert from the voice Mayday on Channel 16. The voice message includes vessel identity, position, nature of distress, assistance required, number of people and other useful information. A DSC alert does not make the continuing voice and listening-watch tasks disappear.

The priority is a message rescuers can act on: who and where you are, what is happening, how many people are involved, what help is needed and what has changed. Use the current recognised procedure and the controls of the fitted equipment; this lesson does not substitute for SRC training or live radio practice.

A registered EPIRB or PLB can alert and support location, but it is not a complete narrative. Current UK guidance requires applicable UK-coded beacons used aboard UK vessels or watercraft to be registered and kept accurate. Continue the available communication and update route rather than assuming activation has conveyed every operational change.

Worked example

After a heavy impact, a yacht has slow water ingress within pump capacity. Later, a new clunk accompanies every roll and movement is visible around the keel area.

1The skipper treats the initial damage as a serious safety concern, establishes communication early and reports position, people, damage and current control measures.
2When the new structural evidence appears, the call is updated immediately. The platform decision and urgency are reassessed rather than frozen at the earlier, more reassuring report.
3The crew prepares for a controlled transfer and follows the rescue coordination plan; they do not wait for a capsize to prove the risk.

Sense check: The communication threshold follows changing evidence. A calm first report is not a promise that the situation will stay calm.

Call for Help While Options Remain
Evidence	Supported route	Unsafe inference
Grave and imminent danger; assistance required	DSC distress alert where fitted, followed by the current Mayday voice procedure	Wait for certainty that the vessel will be lost
Serious safety concern without grave and imminent danger	Current Pan Pan / urgency procedure and an actionable update	A Pan Pan can never be escalated
406 MHz beacon activated	Keep other available communication and situation updates running	The beacon has sent every detail or replaces the radio watch
Position source uncertain	State the source, time and uncertainty honestly	Invent precision to sound more convincing

Make the update change the picture

The first call reported slow flooding. Ten minutes later the bilge level rises faster and steering becomes unreliable.

1. State the delta
Say what was true, what is true now and when the change was observed.
2. Restate essentials
Give the current position, people, vessel state and assistance required rather than assuming the first operator has every detail to hand.
3. Confirm the next contact
Read back the instruction, working channel or next update and assign one person to maintain it.

Sense check: A useful update changes rescue decisions; it is more than repeating that the yacht still has a problem.

Common mistake or limitation

Waiting for a complete diagnosis or a certain sinking before sending a distress message.
Treating the DSC alert, voice call, beacon or phone as interchangeable systems with identical reach and information.
Failing to update because the first call was acknowledged.

Recap

Alert while communication, position and crew capacity remain available.
Match the route to the current threshold and raise it when danger worsens.
Keep the rescue picture current after the first alert or beacon activation.

Optional quick check

Section 2 of 8

A DSC Mayday has been acknowledged, but flooding is now faster and one steering option has failed. What should the radio role do?

Previous Continue

Lesson 3 of 8

Stabilise and Keep a Live Picture

What you will learn

Separate observed vessel evidence from guesses, control only hazards the crew can address safely and define the changes that trigger escalation or transfer preparation.

Damage control is useful only while it preserves people and options. Track the trend, protect escape and communication, and state what would make the vessel no longer tenable; do not turn a temporary improvement into an unsupported all-clear.

Build a shared picture from observations: water level and trim, pump or bailing effect, smoke or heat, fire boundary, unusual movement or sound, stability, propulsion and steering, electrical supply, access and people. Record the source and time where that matters. A guessed diagnosis is less useful than a clear trend that the Coastguard and crew can understand.

Attempt only controls supported by the vessel plan, equipment instructions and crew competence, and only where the scene remains safe. Keep an escape route, lookout and communication role. Do not send somebody alone into flooding, smoke, heat, unstable structure or another space that may become inaccessible.

Set explicit change triggers: water rising despite pumps, smoke spreading, a boundary heating, abnormal structural movement, increasing list, lost power or communication, a missing person, or a rescue-plan change. These do not each prescribe abandonment, but they force a fresh platform and alert decision.

Worked example

A three-person yacht crew has controlled a leak enough that the water level stops rising, but the electric pump is hot and the battery voltage is falling.

1One person retains vessel control and lookout; one maintains communication and the people count; one monitors water level, pump output, temperature and safe access.
2The report is ‘level stable with pump continuously running; pump hot; voltage falling’, not ‘leak fixed’.
3The raft and portable equipment remain accessible, and the crew agrees that rising water, pump loss, worsening list or unsafe access triggers an immediate update and platform reassessment.

Sense check: The crew has converted a temporary control into monitoring time, not into permission to stand down.

Stabilise and Keep a Live Picture
Observation	What it supports	What it does not prove
Bilge level stable for five minutes with pumps running	The current control is keeping pace for now	The leak is repaired or the vessel will remain stable
New clunk and movement near a structural attachment	Immediate update and structural-risk reassessment	The exact failure mode or remaining time
Smoke no longer visible from one position	Recheck boundaries and maintain escape	The fire is out or the space is safe to enter
Battery or main radio lost	Use the planned alternative and update the rescue picture	Rescuers automatically know communication has failed

Use state, trend and trigger

Two crew members disagree: one says the vessel is safe because the bilge stopped rising; the other says it must be abandoned immediately because the pump is hot.

1. State
Name the current bilge level, pump state, people, power and access without choosing a diagnosis.
2. Trend
Compare the latest timed observations with the earlier ones and report the uncertainty.
3. Trigger
Agree the evidence that forces escalation, a control change or the transfer decision.

Sense check: The decision is neither reassurance by wish nor abandonment by fear; it is tied to observable change and current rescue advice.

Common mistake or limitation

Saying ‘fixed’ when a pump or crew effort is only holding the situation temporarily.
Sending all available people to the fault and leaving nobody accountable for the vessel, radio or headcount.
Entering or re-entering an unsafe space to retrieve equipment or prove a diagnosis.

Recap

Observe state, trend, control effect and uncertainty.
Keep escape, people, communication and the next platform protected.
Use explicit changes to trigger a new platform and alert decision.

Optional quick check

Section 3 of 8

The bilge level is stable only while a hot pump runs continuously and voltage is falling. Which report is strongest?

Previous Continue

Lesson 4 of 8

Crew Control Under Load

What you will learn

Allocate named survival roles, use closed-loop instructions and repeat the people count whenever the crew, platform or task picture changes.

Stress makes vague group instructions unreliable. Give one person clear ownership of each essential function, require a brief acknowledgement, and combine roles deliberately when the crew is small.

Essential functions commonly include vessel control and lookout, distress communication, people and protection, hazard monitoring, and preparation of the alternative platform. Say the person's name, the action, the limit and the report-back: ‘Sam, maintain the radio watch and repeat any Coastguard instruction to me.’ A nod, repeat-back or short confirmation closes the loop.

On a short-handed vessel one person may own several functions. Make the order explicit: for example, preserve vessel control, then send the changed position, then prepare the accessible grab bag. Do not leave a first aider, helm or radio operator silently carrying incompatible continuous tasks.

Repeat the headcount at the first alarm, after anybody moves below or on deck, before launching, before and after transfer, after capsize or separation, and at rescue handover. Include an impaired person in the task plan rather than counting only able crew.

Worked example

Three people are aboard. One is injured, one is helming, and water ingress is increasing. The current position and radio remain available.

1The helm retains vessel control and lookout and states immediately if that becomes impossible.
2The second able person sends the distress update, keeps the injured person protected and reports the timed bilge trend; the skipper states which task takes priority when they conflict.
3The injured person is included in every count and movement plan. Accessible survival equipment is prepared only when the continuous vessel and communication duties are covered.

Sense check: The plan acknowledges the real crew capacity instead of allocating five imaginary people to five simultaneous roles.

Crew Control Under Load
Function	Closed-loop instruction	Failure to avoid
Vessel	‘Lee, keep steerage and lookout; report any loss of control.’	Everyone leaves the helm to investigate
Communication	‘Sam, maintain the Coastguard watch; repeat every critical instruction.’	Two people answer different versions of the plan
People	‘Jo, lifejackets and count four; tell me before anybody moves below.’	The initial count is treated as permanent
Preparation	‘Mara, make the raft and grab bag accessible; do not launch.’	Preparation becomes an uncommanded abandonment

Recover from duplicate action

Two people both reach for the liferaft while nobody answers a Coastguard call and the helm is struggling to maintain control.

1. Stop and account
Restore the headcount and confirm who still owns the helm, radio and people.
2. Reassign by name
Give one person the radio, one the vessel and only the available remainder the preparation task.
3. Close the loop
Require each person to acknowledge and report when the state or limit changes.

Sense check: A short reset is safer than allowing urgent but duplicated movement to erase essential functions.

Common mistake or limitation

Calling a task to the whole crew and assuming somebody has accepted it.
Allocating more continuous functions than the available able crew can perform.
Counting people once and not again after movement, transfer or confusion.

Recap

Use named, bounded instructions with a visible acknowledgement.
Protect vessel, communication, people and preparation functions from accidental abandonment.
Count everyone again whenever people or platform state changes.

Optional quick check

Section 4 of 8

Two crew members both start preparing the liferaft while the radio is unanswered. What should the skipper do?

Previous Continue

Lesson 5 of 8

Prepare Without Committing

What you will learn

Prepare the raft, essential survival equipment and crew transfer plan in priority order without launching early, chasing valuables or entering an unsafe space.

Preparation reduces last-minute omissions. It should keep the raft deployable, the painter plan understood, the people protected and the highest-value rescue items accessible while the vessel remains the selected platform.

Use the actual liferaft and vessel instructions to identify its stowage, release, intended deployment area, painter arrangement and service state before an emergency. During an incident make the raft accessible and remove relevant obstructions, but do not launch merely because it is ready. A raft lost because the painter was not secured can remove the only alternative platform.

The RYA's current grab-bag priority begins with making the plight known and assisting location, then protection from the elements and raft conditions, medical supplies, and food and water. Adapt the content to the voyage, raft pack, people and medicines; do not borrow permanent items and assume they will be returned before an emergency.

Lifejackets, portable communication, registered beacon, essential medicines and the people come before property. Never re-enter a sinking, smoke-filled or otherwise unsafe space for belongings or equipment. Prepare only what can be reached without losing escape, headcount or the functions still controlling the emergency.

Worked example

A vessel is sinking faster. The raft and grab bag are on deck, but one crew member wants to go below for a laptop and another says the painter can be sorted out after the raft is thrown overboard.

1The skipper stops the unsafe re-entry and confirms the repeated headcount and lifejackets.
2The assigned person follows the actual raft instructions and confirms the painter's intended secure arrangement before any deployment; another retains communication and position updates.
3Only already accessible essential medicines, portable communication and survival items are taken. Property is left behind.

Sense check: The preparation protects the alternative platform and the people instead of losing either for avoidable property or a rushed launch.

Prepare Without Committing
Priority	Prepare if safe	Do not trade away
Alert + location	Portable radio, registered beacon, position and signalling equipment	The current distress watch or vessel control
Protection	Lifejackets, suitable clothing, thermal aids and raft-condition equipment	Safe access or the people count
Medical	Essential labelled medicines and appropriate first-aid items	Casualty care or observation
Sustenance	Water and food appropriate to the voyage and raft pack	Immediate rescue and protection items

Sort by rescue value

There is time for one safe collection from the cockpit locker: a waterproof handheld VHF, a spare warm jacket, bottled water or a bag of documents. The fixed radio and distress alert are already operating.

1. Check what already works
Do not duplicate a functioning role while another essential capability is missing.
2. Use the priority order
Choose alert and location capability, protection, medical need, then water and food according to the actual gap.
3. Keep the route safe
Abandon the collection if access, escape, headcount or vessel state deteriorates.

Sense check: The best item depends on what is already available; the priority order is a decision aid, not a universal packing list.

Common mistake or limitation

Throwing the raft overboard before its painter and deployment arrangement are controlled from the actual instructions.
Using grab-bag space and collection time for documents or valuables ahead of rescue and protection needs.
Going back into a space that has become unsafe because an item was labelled essential during the passage plan.

Recap

Prepare the alternative platform without launching before the decision.
Use alert/location, protection, medical, food/water as a context-sensitive priority order.
Nothing in the grab bag is worth losing a person, escape route or distress watch.

Optional quick check

Section 5 of 8

The raft is ready and the vessel remains tenable. Which preparation is strongest?

Previous Continue

Lesson 6 of 8

When the Vessel Stops Being Safer

What you will learn

Make a conditional vessel-versus-alternative decision from fire, flooding, stability, structure, access and rescue evidence rather than from a rigid stay-or-leave slogan.

Abandonment is a last resort because the vessel is usually the better shelter and search target. Last resort does not mean last second: transfer becomes justified when staying aboard is more dangerous than the controlled alternative.

Test both platforms. The vessel side includes fire and smoke spread, flooding trend, free surface or list, structural movement, capsize risk, loss of shelter, access and the time remaining to transfer. The alternative side includes raft readiness, deployment hazards, sea state, exposure, crew condition, rescue instructions and whether a dry or assisted transfer is available.

The MAIB recorded a yacht case that exposes the limit of a simple ‘stay aboard while pumps cope’ rule. Slow flooding remained within pump capacity, but new movement and noise at the keel changed the structural-risk picture enough that an orderly transfer to a rescuing ship was the safe decision. The trigger was changed evidence, not proof of final failure.

The skipper should communicate the decision and its reason, update the Coastguard, assign the transfer sequence and preserve a fallback. If the evidence improves or the rescue plan changes, reassess; do not continue an obsolete abandonment merely because the raft has been prepared.

Worked example

After collision damage, flooding is slow and the yacht is sailing. An hour later, the keel area begins to move and clunk on every roll while a merchant ship is approaching under Coastguard coordination.

1The skipper reports the new structural evidence and confirms the updated rescue arrangement rather than relying on the earlier ‘pumps coping’ assessment.
2Lifejackets, headcount, portable communication, medicines and the prepared alternative remain controlled while crew avoid unnecessary movement below.
3The crew follows the coordinated transfer when that route becomes safer than remaining aboard; they do not wait for structural failure to prove the forecast.

Sense check: A last-resort decision can be made before the last second when credible observations indicate the vessel may fail too quickly for a later safe transfer.

When the Vessel Stops Being Safer
Evidence	Decision implication	Limit
Vessel afloat, stable, accessible and not threatened by fire	Remain aboard while controlling, alerting and preparing	This must be monitored; it is not permanent
Flooding rising despite controls or list worsening	Escalate and reassess transfer threshold immediately	No generic time-to-sink can be inferred
New structural movement or capsize evidence	Treat the platform risk as materially changed	Pump capacity does not prove structural safety
Rescue vessel offers a controlled direct transfer	Compare that route with remaining aboard or entering the raft	Follow the rescue plan; do not improvise the manoeuvre

Say why the platform changed

A crew member objects to leaving because ‘the pump is still winning’, while the skipper has observed increasing list and movement around a structural attachment.

1. Separate systems
Explain that pump capacity addresses water rate, not structural integrity or capsize risk.
2. Name the trigger
State the new evidence that crossed the pre-briefed platform threshold.
3. Give one plan
Communicate the controlled transfer sequence and the Coastguard or rescue instruction being followed.

Sense check: Crew compliance improves when the change is tied to evidence and one coordinated plan rather than to unexplained urgency.

Common mistake or limitation

Turning ‘abandon only as a last resort’ into ‘wait until the vessel is visibly disappearing’.
Using one reassuring control result, such as pump capacity, to dismiss a different worsening hazard.
Continuing a prepared transfer after the hazard or rescue plan changes without reassessment.

Recap

Stay aboard while it remains the safer, tenable platform.
Leave before the last second when credible changed evidence makes delay unsafe.
State the trigger, update rescue coordination and keep one controlled plan.

Optional quick check

Section 6 of 8

Pumps still control slow flooding, but new movement at the keel suggests possible structural failure. What is the strongest decision response?

Previous Continue

Lesson 7 of 8

Transfer Without Creating New Separation

What you will learn

Preserve people, flotation, the alternative platform and communications through a controlled transfer without unnecessary water entry or premature separation.

The transfer is a high-risk transition, not the end of the emergency. Use the actual raft and rescue instructions, keep lifejackets and headcount explicit, prefer a dry route where available and do not release the raft or scatter equipment by reflex.

Before transfer, confirm the order, route, people count, lifejackets, essential survival items, portable communication and who controls the painter or other permitted connection. Keep people away from lines under load, launching hazards and the space into which the raft will inflate. The exact release and boarding method belongs to the equipment instructions and practical training.

A dry direct transfer from the vessel or a rescue-assisted route avoids avoidable immersion where it is available and safe. Do not instruct people to jump onto a canopy, remove lifejackets, swim independently or enter the water merely to make the plan look simple. The RYA course includes pool practice because an uncooperative raft, wet-weather clothing and crew assistance cannot be learned fully from prose.

Keep the raft attached while that remains safe and useful under the actual plan; do not cut away automatically. Fire, entanglement, sinking or rescue direction may require separation, so the connection decision remains conditional. Report the platform change and preserve the beacon, radio and people count after transfer.

Worked example

A four-person crew has deployed the raft alongside under its instructions. One person suggests cutting the painter now, while another starts handing loose bags across before the least mobile crew member has a transfer plan.

1The skipper stops the loose transfer, confirms four people, lifejackets, the ordered route and who controls communication and the painter.
2Essential items are secured according to the actual plan and the least mobile person's safe, assisted route is agreed before movement begins.
3The raft remains connected while that is safe and useful. Separation occurs only when vessel danger or the rescue and equipment plan requires it, followed by another count and position update.

Sense check: The sequence protects the person most likely to be left or immersed and avoids turning loose equipment or an automatic cut-away into a second emergency.

Transfer Without Creating New Separation
Transition control	Supported action	Hazard to avoid
People	Lifejackets, named order and repeated count	Independent jumping, swimming or an unrecorded movement
Raft	Actual deployment instructions and controlled painter arrangement	An unsecured launch or improvised strong point
Route	Safest available dry or rescue-directed transfer	Unnecessary immersion or boarding over an inflation hazard
Separation	Remain connected while safe and useful; separate when the plan or hazard requires	Cutting away by habit or staying attached to a dangerous vessel

Pause a broken sequence

Halfway through preparation, the vessel rolls heavily, one bag enters the water and the least mobile person is no longer at the agreed waiting point.

1. Stop movement
Do not let more people or equipment cross while the people count and route are uncertain.
2. Restore people first
Locate, protect and include the least mobile person; do not chase a loose bag at the cost of separation.
3. Rebrief the transfer
Update the vessel and raft state, confirm the connection and rescue instruction, then restart only if the route remains safe.

Sense check: A controlled pause preserves people and platform; urgency is not permission to continue a sequence whose assumptions have failed.

Common mistake or limitation

Teaching a generic launch or boarding sequence as if every raft, vessel and sea state were identical.
Cutting the painter automatically or, conversely, remaining attached when the vessel has become dangerous.
Moving bags before the people count, least mobile person and transfer route are controlled.

Recap

The transfer is a controlled transition with people first.
Avoid unnecessary immersion and preserve the alternative platform.
Connection and separation follow actual hazard, equipment and rescue evidence.

Optional quick check

Section 7 of 8

The raft is alongside and a crew member reaches to cut the painter automatically. What is the strongest response?

Previous Continue

Lesson 8 of 8

Stay Findable and Keep Updating

What you will learn

Maintain an accurate location, identity, people and platform picture after abandonment and close the rescue handover deliberately rather than assuming one signal completed the job.

Being in the raft is not being rescued. Keep the group, communication, beacon evidence and visible signals coordinated, update material changes, and confirm responsibility when rescuers take over.

A registered 406 MHz beacon supports alerting and location, and accurate registration helps HM Coastguard understand the vessel, people and equipment associated with the signal. It does not know every later change. If safe and available, maintain the instructed radio watch and report a new platform, people count, position source, injury, beacon state or separation.

Use lights, reflective material, flares and other signalling equipment only for their intended purpose and current instructions, with the actual equipment guidance and rescue picture. Do not fire signals indiscriminately, exhaust every method at once or assume a single sighting means rescuers will retain visual contact in darkness or weather.

Keep people and essential equipment secured and visible. At rescue, state the people count, injuries or medical needs, time and reason for abandonment, beacon and radio state, missing people or equipment and any continuing hazard from the vessel. Confirm who has responsibility for each person before standing down or silencing equipment as directed.

Worked example

Four people have transferred to a raft and the EPIRB is active. The handheld VHF works, but the raft has drifted away from the position in the original Mayday and one person is becoming less responsive.

1The repeated headcount remains four and the crew protects the less responsive person using current first-aid training.
2The assigned communicator reports the platform change, current position and source, people count and casualty change, then confirms the next watch or instruction.
3The crew keeps the beacon and permitted signals operating according to their instructions and prepares the same facts for the rescue handover.

Sense check: The EPIRB remains valuable, but it has not been treated as a substitute for the changed position, platform and casualty report.

Stay Findable and Keep Updating
Evidence channel	Useful contribution	Limitation
406 MHz beacon	Distress alert, identity and location support with registered context	Does not narrate every later change
VHF voice	Current platform, position, people, condition and instructions	Coverage, power and antenna state can change
Lights / reflective / visual signal	Local recognition and homing when used appropriately	A sighting may be temporary and equipment is finite
Rescue handover	People, injuries, missing items, beacon and continuing hazards	Physical contact alone does not prove everyone is transferred

Close the rescue loop

A lifeboat recovers three people and asks whether everyone is aboard. The fourth person is still in the raft with the portable radio and medicines.

1. Say the mismatch
State immediately that one person and essential items remain in the raft; do not answer with the original total alone.
2. Keep one count
Track people on the rescue craft, in the raft and missing until all categories reconcile.
3. Confirm responsibility
Close only when the rescue team acknowledges every person and directs the beacon, radio and equipment actions.

Sense check: A rescue is complete by reconciled people and responsibility, not by the first physical contact with a rescue unit.

Common mistake or limitation

Assuming an EPIRB activation transmitted the current people, injury and platform story for the rest of the incident.
Using every visual signal at once without regard to equipment instructions or whether a rescue unit can act on it.
Standing down communication or headcount when the first people reach a rescue craft.

Recap

Beacons, radio and visible signals contribute different evidence.
Update material changes after the first alert and after platform transfer.
Finish with a reconciled people count and explicit responsibility handover.

Optional quick check

Section 8 of 8

The EPIRB is active, but the raft has drifted and a casualty has deteriorated. What should happen if communication remains available?

Previous Continue to Practise

Lesson previewSurvival Priorities: Protect, Alert, Stabilise, Prepare1 section shown

Preview lesson

Survival Priorities: Protect, Alert, Stabilise, Prepare

What you will learn

Use a six-stage priority model to protect people, alert rescue services, preserve the safest platform and prepare for change without abandoning too early.

Survival priorities board

Protect, alert, compare platforms and keep updating

Select a changing situation to rehearse which priorities overlap and which evidence changes the vessel-versus-alternative decision. Every state is complete in text and does not depend on colour.

1Protect people
2Alert
3Stabilise + monitor
4Prepare options
5Transfer if safer
6Stay findable

These stages overlap. Protecting people and alerting do not wait for a perfect diagnosis, while preparation does not by itself authorise launching or abandoning.

1 · Protect people

Account for everyone, put the relevant flotation and protection in place, and retain vessel control, lookout and a safe escape route.

2 · Alert

Use the appropriate distress route while position and communication remain available. Give the flooding trend, people, assistance and any loss of control.

3 · Stabilise + monitor

State water level, trim, pump or bailing effect, power and access. Attempt only controls supported by the boat plan, equipment and crew competence.

4 · Prepare options

Make the raft, painter plan, portable communication, beacon, medicines and priority grab-bag items accessible without sending people into an unsafe space.

5 · Transfer if safer

Compare the vessel with the ready alternative repeatedly. Transfer before a safe route disappears if flooding, list, structure or rescue direction makes staying more dangerous.

6 · Stay findable

Update the new platform, position source, people and condition. Keep the registered beacon, radio watch and permitted signals coordinated until handover.

Choose a changing situation and rehearse which priorities run in parallel, which evidence changes the platform decision and what must be reported.

Worked example

At night, a yacht develops rapid water ingress and a worsening bow-down trim. Four people are aboard, the current position is known and the electric pump is running but not keeping pace.

1The skipper gives named roles for vessel control, distress communication, people and lifejackets, and the flooding picture; the repeated headcount remains four.
2Because the situation is grave and worsening, the radio operator sends the appropriate distress alert and Mayday with position, nature, assistance and persons aboard, then keeps the watch open.
3The raft, grab bag, portable communication and medicines are made accessible without launching the raft or sending people below into an unsafe space.
4The skipper keeps comparing flooding, trim, structure, fire and rescue information. The crew transfers only when the vessel is no longer the safer platform or the rescue plan directs it.

Sense check: The crew has not waited for sinking before alerting, and preparation has not been mistaken for a premature abandonment order.

Survival Priorities: Protect, Alert, Stabilise, Prepare
Stage	Question to answer	Decision evidence
Protect	Are all people accounted for and protected from the immediate hazard?	Headcount, lifejackets, exposure, safe positions and owned vessel control
Alert	Do rescue services have a usable distress picture?	Appropriate distress route, position, people, nature, assistance and updates
Platform	Is the vessel still safer than the available alternative?	Fire, flooding trend, stability, structure, shelter, communications and rescue plan
Prepare	What option will disappear if we wait?	Accessible raft, painter plan, grab bag, medicines, portable radio and crew brief
Transfer	Has leaving become the safer controlled action?	Explicit decision, safest available route, lifejackets, headcount and no unnecessary water entry
Find	Can rescuers identify, locate and update us?	Registered beacon data, radio watch, visible signals and changed position or platform

Run the loop after every change

A crew member says, ‘We have already done the survival checklist,’ just as the pump output falls and one person goes below for personal possessions.

1. Stop separation
Restore the headcount and prevent entry into a space that is becoming unsafe.
2. Update evidence
Report the lower pump output and changed access risk; reassess whether the vessel remains the safer platform.
3. Reset the next option
Keep the essential survival equipment accessible and brief the threshold for a controlled transfer.

Sense check: A priority model stays live; it is not completed once and forgotten while the emergency changes.

Common mistake or limitation

Memorising a slogan such as ‘stay with the boat’ without continuing to test whether the boat remains tenable.
Doing damage control first and postponing the distress alert until communication or time has been lost.
Treating liferaft preparation as an instruction to launch or board immediately.

Recap

Protect, alert, stabilise, prepare, transfer if safer and stay findable.
The people, platform, hazard and rescue picture are reassessed after every material change.
Preparation buys options; it does not force abandonment.

Optional quick check

Section 1 of 1

A yacht has uncontrolled flooding but is still upright. What is the strongest immediate priority pattern?

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Lesson routeSurvival Priorities: Protect, Alert, Stabilise, Prepare0/8 read

Lesson 1 of 8

Survival Priorities: Protect, Alert, Stabilise, Prepare

What you will learn

Use a six-stage priority model to protect people, alert rescue services, preserve the safest platform and prepare for change without abandoning too early.

Survival priorities board

Protect, alert, compare platforms and keep updating

Select a changing situation to rehearse which priorities overlap and which evidence changes the vessel-versus-alternative decision. Every state is complete in text and does not depend on colour.

1Protect people
2Alert
3Stabilise + monitor
4Prepare options
5Transfer if safer
6Stay findable

These stages overlap. Protecting people and alerting do not wait for a perfect diagnosis, while preparation does not by itself authorise launching or abandoning.

1 · Protect people

Account for everyone, put the relevant flotation and protection in place, and retain vessel control, lookout and a safe escape route.

2 · Alert

Use the appropriate distress route while position and communication remain available. Give the flooding trend, people, assistance and any loss of control.

3 · Stabilise + monitor

State water level, trim, pump or bailing effect, power and access. Attempt only controls supported by the boat plan, equipment and crew competence.

4 · Prepare options

Make the raft, painter plan, portable communication, beacon, medicines and priority grab-bag items accessible without sending people into an unsafe space.

5 · Transfer if safer

Compare the vessel with the ready alternative repeatedly. Transfer before a safe route disappears if flooding, list, structure or rescue direction makes staying more dangerous.

6 · Stay findable

Update the new platform, position source, people and condition. Keep the registered beacon, radio watch and permitted signals coordinated until handover.

Choose a changing situation and rehearse which priorities run in parallel, which evidence changes the platform decision and what must be reported.

Worked example

At night, a yacht develops rapid water ingress and a worsening bow-down trim. Four people are aboard, the current position is known and the electric pump is running but not keeping pace.

1The skipper gives named roles for vessel control, distress communication, people and lifejackets, and the flooding picture; the repeated headcount remains four.
2Because the situation is grave and worsening, the radio operator sends the appropriate distress alert and Mayday with position, nature, assistance and persons aboard, then keeps the watch open.
3The raft, grab bag, portable communication and medicines are made accessible without launching the raft or sending people below into an unsafe space.
4The skipper keeps comparing flooding, trim, structure, fire and rescue information. The crew transfers only when the vessel is no longer the safer platform or the rescue plan directs it.

Sense check: The crew has not waited for sinking before alerting, and preparation has not been mistaken for a premature abandonment order.

Survival Priorities: Protect, Alert, Stabilise, Prepare
Stage	Question to answer	Decision evidence
Protect	Are all people accounted for and protected from the immediate hazard?	Headcount, lifejackets, exposure, safe positions and owned vessel control
Alert	Do rescue services have a usable distress picture?	Appropriate distress route, position, people, nature, assistance and updates
Platform	Is the vessel still safer than the available alternative?	Fire, flooding trend, stability, structure, shelter, communications and rescue plan
Prepare	What option will disappear if we wait?	Accessible raft, painter plan, grab bag, medicines, portable radio and crew brief
Transfer	Has leaving become the safer controlled action?	Explicit decision, safest available route, lifejackets, headcount and no unnecessary water entry
Find	Can rescuers identify, locate and update us?	Registered beacon data, radio watch, visible signals and changed position or platform

Run the loop after every change

A crew member says, ‘We have already done the survival checklist,’ just as the pump output falls and one person goes below for personal possessions.

1. Stop separation
Restore the headcount and prevent entry into a space that is becoming unsafe.
2. Update evidence
Report the lower pump output and changed access risk; reassess whether the vessel remains the safer platform.
3. Reset the next option
Keep the essential survival equipment accessible and brief the threshold for a controlled transfer.

Sense check: A priority model stays live; it is not completed once and forgotten while the emergency changes.

Common mistake or limitation

Memorising a slogan such as ‘stay with the boat’ without continuing to test whether the boat remains tenable.
Doing damage control first and postponing the distress alert until communication or time has been lost.
Treating liferaft preparation as an instruction to launch or board immediately.

Recap

Protect, alert, stabilise, prepare, transfer if safer and stay findable.
The people, platform, hazard and rescue picture are reassessed after every material change.
Preparation buys options; it does not force abandonment.

Optional quick check

Section 1 of 8

A yacht has uncontrolled flooding but is still upright. What is the strongest immediate priority pattern?

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Lesson 2 of 8

Call for Help While Options Remain

What you will learn

Select the correct distress or urgency route from the danger actually present and give rescuers a concise, updateable operating picture.

Worked example

After a heavy impact, a yacht has slow water ingress within pump capacity. Later, a new clunk accompanies every roll and movement is visible around the keel area.

1The skipper treats the initial damage as a serious safety concern, establishes communication early and reports position, people, damage and current control measures.
2When the new structural evidence appears, the call is updated immediately. The platform decision and urgency are reassessed rather than frozen at the earlier, more reassuring report.
3The crew prepares for a controlled transfer and follows the rescue coordination plan; they do not wait for a capsize to prove the risk.

Sense check: The communication threshold follows changing evidence. A calm first report is not a promise that the situation will stay calm.

Call for Help While Options Remain
Evidence	Supported route	Unsafe inference
Grave and imminent danger; assistance required	DSC distress alert where fitted, followed by the current Mayday voice procedure	Wait for certainty that the vessel will be lost
Serious safety concern without grave and imminent danger	Current Pan Pan / urgency procedure and an actionable update	A Pan Pan can never be escalated
406 MHz beacon activated	Keep other available communication and situation updates running	The beacon has sent every detail or replaces the radio watch
Position source uncertain	State the source, time and uncertainty honestly	Invent precision to sound more convincing

Make the update change the picture

The first call reported slow flooding. Ten minutes later the bilge level rises faster and steering becomes unreliable.

1. State the delta
Say what was true, what is true now and when the change was observed.
2. Restate essentials
Give the current position, people, vessel state and assistance required rather than assuming the first operator has every detail to hand.
3. Confirm the next contact
Read back the instruction, working channel or next update and assign one person to maintain it.

Sense check: A useful update changes rescue decisions; it is more than repeating that the yacht still has a problem.

Common mistake or limitation

Waiting for a complete diagnosis or a certain sinking before sending a distress message.
Treating the DSC alert, voice call, beacon or phone as interchangeable systems with identical reach and information.
Failing to update because the first call was acknowledged.

Recap

Alert while communication, position and crew capacity remain available.
Match the route to the current threshold and raise it when danger worsens.
Keep the rescue picture current after the first alert or beacon activation.

Optional quick check

Section 2 of 8

A DSC Mayday has been acknowledged, but flooding is now faster and one steering option has failed. What should the radio role do?

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Lesson 3 of 8

Stabilise and Keep a Live Picture

What you will learn

Separate observed vessel evidence from guesses, control only hazards the crew can address safely and define the changes that trigger escalation or transfer preparation.

Worked example

A three-person yacht crew has controlled a leak enough that the water level stops rising, but the electric pump is hot and the battery voltage is falling.

1One person retains vessel control and lookout; one maintains communication and the people count; one monitors water level, pump output, temperature and safe access.
2The report is ‘level stable with pump continuously running; pump hot; voltage falling’, not ‘leak fixed’.
3The raft and portable equipment remain accessible, and the crew agrees that rising water, pump loss, worsening list or unsafe access triggers an immediate update and platform reassessment.

Sense check: The crew has converted a temporary control into monitoring time, not into permission to stand down.

Stabilise and Keep a Live Picture
Observation	What it supports	What it does not prove
Bilge level stable for five minutes with pumps running	The current control is keeping pace for now	The leak is repaired or the vessel will remain stable
New clunk and movement near a structural attachment	Immediate update and structural-risk reassessment	The exact failure mode or remaining time
Smoke no longer visible from one position	Recheck boundaries and maintain escape	The fire is out or the space is safe to enter
Battery or main radio lost	Use the planned alternative and update the rescue picture	Rescuers automatically know communication has failed

Use state, trend and trigger

Two crew members disagree: one says the vessel is safe because the bilge stopped rising; the other says it must be abandoned immediately because the pump is hot.

1. State
Name the current bilge level, pump state, people, power and access without choosing a diagnosis.
2. Trend
Compare the latest timed observations with the earlier ones and report the uncertainty.
3. Trigger
Agree the evidence that forces escalation, a control change or the transfer decision.

Sense check: The decision is neither reassurance by wish nor abandonment by fear; it is tied to observable change and current rescue advice.

Common mistake or limitation

Saying ‘fixed’ when a pump or crew effort is only holding the situation temporarily.
Sending all available people to the fault and leaving nobody accountable for the vessel, radio or headcount.
Entering or re-entering an unsafe space to retrieve equipment or prove a diagnosis.

Recap

Observe state, trend, control effect and uncertainty.
Keep escape, people, communication and the next platform protected.
Use explicit changes to trigger a new platform and alert decision.

Optional quick check

Section 3 of 8

The bilge level is stable only while a hot pump runs continuously and voltage is falling. Which report is strongest?

Previous Continue

Lesson 4 of 8

Crew Control Under Load

What you will learn

Allocate named survival roles, use closed-loop instructions and repeat the people count whenever the crew, platform or task picture changes.

Stress makes vague group instructions unreliable. Give one person clear ownership of each essential function, require a brief acknowledgement, and combine roles deliberately when the crew is small.

Worked example

Three people are aboard. One is injured, one is helming, and water ingress is increasing. The current position and radio remain available.

1The helm retains vessel control and lookout and states immediately if that becomes impossible.
2The second able person sends the distress update, keeps the injured person protected and reports the timed bilge trend; the skipper states which task takes priority when they conflict.
3The injured person is included in every count and movement plan. Accessible survival equipment is prepared only when the continuous vessel and communication duties are covered.

Sense check: The plan acknowledges the real crew capacity instead of allocating five imaginary people to five simultaneous roles.

Crew Control Under Load
Function	Closed-loop instruction	Failure to avoid
Vessel	‘Lee, keep steerage and lookout; report any loss of control.’	Everyone leaves the helm to investigate
Communication	‘Sam, maintain the Coastguard watch; repeat every critical instruction.’	Two people answer different versions of the plan
People	‘Jo, lifejackets and count four; tell me before anybody moves below.’	The initial count is treated as permanent
Preparation	‘Mara, make the raft and grab bag accessible; do not launch.’	Preparation becomes an uncommanded abandonment

Recover from duplicate action

Two people both reach for the liferaft while nobody answers a Coastguard call and the helm is struggling to maintain control.

1. Stop and account
Restore the headcount and confirm who still owns the helm, radio and people.
2. Reassign by name
Give one person the radio, one the vessel and only the available remainder the preparation task.
3. Close the loop
Require each person to acknowledge and report when the state or limit changes.

Sense check: A short reset is safer than allowing urgent but duplicated movement to erase essential functions.

Common mistake or limitation

Calling a task to the whole crew and assuming somebody has accepted it.
Allocating more continuous functions than the available able crew can perform.
Counting people once and not again after movement, transfer or confusion.

Recap

Use named, bounded instructions with a visible acknowledgement.
Protect vessel, communication, people and preparation functions from accidental abandonment.
Count everyone again whenever people or platform state changes.

Optional quick check

Section 4 of 8

Two crew members both start preparing the liferaft while the radio is unanswered. What should the skipper do?

Previous Continue

Lesson 5 of 8

Prepare Without Committing

What you will learn

Prepare the raft, essential survival equipment and crew transfer plan in priority order without launching early, chasing valuables or entering an unsafe space.

Worked example

A vessel is sinking faster. The raft and grab bag are on deck, but one crew member wants to go below for a laptop and another says the painter can be sorted out after the raft is thrown overboard.

1The skipper stops the unsafe re-entry and confirms the repeated headcount and lifejackets.
2The assigned person follows the actual raft instructions and confirms the painter's intended secure arrangement before any deployment; another retains communication and position updates.
3Only already accessible essential medicines, portable communication and survival items are taken. Property is left behind.

Sense check: The preparation protects the alternative platform and the people instead of losing either for avoidable property or a rushed launch.

Prepare Without Committing
Priority	Prepare if safe	Do not trade away
Alert + location	Portable radio, registered beacon, position and signalling equipment	The current distress watch or vessel control
Protection	Lifejackets, suitable clothing, thermal aids and raft-condition equipment	Safe access or the people count
Medical	Essential labelled medicines and appropriate first-aid items	Casualty care or observation
Sustenance	Water and food appropriate to the voyage and raft pack	Immediate rescue and protection items

Sort by rescue value

1. Check what already works
Do not duplicate a functioning role while another essential capability is missing.
2. Use the priority order
Choose alert and location capability, protection, medical need, then water and food according to the actual gap.
3. Keep the route safe
Abandon the collection if access, escape, headcount or vessel state deteriorates.

Sense check: The best item depends on what is already available; the priority order is a decision aid, not a universal packing list.

Common mistake or limitation

Throwing the raft overboard before its painter and deployment arrangement are controlled from the actual instructions.
Using grab-bag space and collection time for documents or valuables ahead of rescue and protection needs.
Going back into a space that has become unsafe because an item was labelled essential during the passage plan.

Recap

Prepare the alternative platform without launching before the decision.
Use alert/location, protection, medical, food/water as a context-sensitive priority order.
Nothing in the grab bag is worth losing a person, escape route or distress watch.

Optional quick check

Section 5 of 8

The raft is ready and the vessel remains tenable. Which preparation is strongest?

Previous Continue

Lesson 6 of 8

When the Vessel Stops Being Safer

What you will learn

Make a conditional vessel-versus-alternative decision from fire, flooding, stability, structure, access and rescue evidence rather than from a rigid stay-or-leave slogan.

Worked example

1The skipper reports the new structural evidence and confirms the updated rescue arrangement rather than relying on the earlier ‘pumps coping’ assessment.
2Lifejackets, headcount, portable communication, medicines and the prepared alternative remain controlled while crew avoid unnecessary movement below.
3The crew follows the coordinated transfer when that route becomes safer than remaining aboard; they do not wait for structural failure to prove the forecast.

Sense check: A last-resort decision can be made before the last second when credible observations indicate the vessel may fail too quickly for a later safe transfer.

When the Vessel Stops Being Safer
Evidence	Decision implication	Limit
Vessel afloat, stable, accessible and not threatened by fire	Remain aboard while controlling, alerting and preparing	This must be monitored; it is not permanent
Flooding rising despite controls or list worsening	Escalate and reassess transfer threshold immediately	No generic time-to-sink can be inferred
New structural movement or capsize evidence	Treat the platform risk as materially changed	Pump capacity does not prove structural safety
Rescue vessel offers a controlled direct transfer	Compare that route with remaining aboard or entering the raft	Follow the rescue plan; do not improvise the manoeuvre

Say why the platform changed

A crew member objects to leaving because ‘the pump is still winning’, while the skipper has observed increasing list and movement around a structural attachment.

1. Separate systems
Explain that pump capacity addresses water rate, not structural integrity or capsize risk.
2. Name the trigger
State the new evidence that crossed the pre-briefed platform threshold.
3. Give one plan
Communicate the controlled transfer sequence and the Coastguard or rescue instruction being followed.

Sense check: Crew compliance improves when the change is tied to evidence and one coordinated plan rather than to unexplained urgency.

Common mistake or limitation

Turning ‘abandon only as a last resort’ into ‘wait until the vessel is visibly disappearing’.
Using one reassuring control result, such as pump capacity, to dismiss a different worsening hazard.
Continuing a prepared transfer after the hazard or rescue plan changes without reassessment.

Recap

Stay aboard while it remains the safer, tenable platform.
Leave before the last second when credible changed evidence makes delay unsafe.
State the trigger, update rescue coordination and keep one controlled plan.

Optional quick check

Section 6 of 8

Pumps still control slow flooding, but new movement at the keel suggests possible structural failure. What is the strongest decision response?

Previous Continue

Lesson 7 of 8

Transfer Without Creating New Separation

What you will learn

Preserve people, flotation, the alternative platform and communications through a controlled transfer without unnecessary water entry or premature separation.

Worked example

1The skipper stops the loose transfer, confirms four people, lifejackets, the ordered route and who controls communication and the painter.
2Essential items are secured according to the actual plan and the least mobile person's safe, assisted route is agreed before movement begins.
3The raft remains connected while that is safe and useful. Separation occurs only when vessel danger or the rescue and equipment plan requires it, followed by another count and position update.

Sense check: The sequence protects the person most likely to be left or immersed and avoids turning loose equipment or an automatic cut-away into a second emergency.

Transfer Without Creating New Separation
Transition control	Supported action	Hazard to avoid
People	Lifejackets, named order and repeated count	Independent jumping, swimming or an unrecorded movement
Raft	Actual deployment instructions and controlled painter arrangement	An unsecured launch or improvised strong point
Route	Safest available dry or rescue-directed transfer	Unnecessary immersion or boarding over an inflation hazard
Separation	Remain connected while safe and useful; separate when the plan or hazard requires	Cutting away by habit or staying attached to a dangerous vessel

Pause a broken sequence

Halfway through preparation, the vessel rolls heavily, one bag enters the water and the least mobile person is no longer at the agreed waiting point.

1. Stop movement
Do not let more people or equipment cross while the people count and route are uncertain.
2. Restore people first
Locate, protect and include the least mobile person; do not chase a loose bag at the cost of separation.
3. Rebrief the transfer
Update the vessel and raft state, confirm the connection and rescue instruction, then restart only if the route remains safe.

Sense check: A controlled pause preserves people and platform; urgency is not permission to continue a sequence whose assumptions have failed.

Common mistake or limitation

Teaching a generic launch or boarding sequence as if every raft, vessel and sea state were identical.
Cutting the painter automatically or, conversely, remaining attached when the vessel has become dangerous.
Moving bags before the people count, least mobile person and transfer route are controlled.

Recap

The transfer is a controlled transition with people first.
Avoid unnecessary immersion and preserve the alternative platform.
Connection and separation follow actual hazard, equipment and rescue evidence.

Optional quick check

Section 7 of 8

The raft is alongside and a crew member reaches to cut the painter automatically. What is the strongest response?

Previous Continue

Lesson 8 of 8

Stay Findable and Keep Updating

What you will learn

Maintain an accurate location, identity, people and platform picture after abandonment and close the rescue handover deliberately rather than assuming one signal completed the job.

Being in the raft is not being rescued. Keep the group, communication, beacon evidence and visible signals coordinated, update material changes, and confirm responsibility when rescuers take over.

Worked example

1The repeated headcount remains four and the crew protects the less responsive person using current first-aid training.
2The assigned communicator reports the platform change, current position and source, people count and casualty change, then confirms the next watch or instruction.
3The crew keeps the beacon and permitted signals operating according to their instructions and prepares the same facts for the rescue handover.

Sense check: The EPIRB remains valuable, but it has not been treated as a substitute for the changed position, platform and casualty report.

Stay Findable and Keep Updating
Evidence channel	Useful contribution	Limitation
406 MHz beacon	Distress alert, identity and location support with registered context	Does not narrate every later change
VHF voice	Current platform, position, people, condition and instructions	Coverage, power and antenna state can change
Lights / reflective / visual signal	Local recognition and homing when used appropriately	A sighting may be temporary and equipment is finite
Rescue handover	People, injuries, missing items, beacon and continuing hazards	Physical contact alone does not prove everyone is transferred

Close the rescue loop

A lifeboat recovers three people and asks whether everyone is aboard. The fourth person is still in the raft with the portable radio and medicines.

1. Say the mismatch
State immediately that one person and essential items remain in the raft; do not answer with the original total alone.
2. Keep one count
Track people on the rescue craft, in the raft and missing until all categories reconcile.
3. Confirm responsibility
Close only when the rescue team acknowledges every person and directs the beacon, radio and equipment actions.

Sense check: A rescue is complete by reconciled people and responsibility, not by the first physical contact with a rescue unit.

Common mistake or limitation

Assuming an EPIRB activation transmitted the current people, injury and platform story for the rest of the incident.
Using every visual signal at once without regard to equipment instructions or whether a rescue unit can act on it.
Standing down communication or headcount when the first people reach a rescue craft.

Recap

Beacons, radio and visible signals contribute different evidence.
Update material changes after the first alert and after platform transfer.
Finish with a reconciled people count and explicit responsibility handover.

Optional quick check

Section 8 of 8

The EPIRB is active, but the raft has drifted and a casualty has deteriorated. What should happen if communication remains available?

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