Will Your Life Raft Inflate When You Need It?

Every time I set off for an ocean passage, that thought inevitably creeps through my head as land disappears behind us and the great ocean rises up ahead. I can almost hear Captain Ron saying, “If it’s gonna happen, Kitty, its gonna happen out there.”  When we were sailing around the world with our young  kids, the question had even more meaning. We bought a new life raft before we left on the trip and three years into the circumnavigation it was time to have the raft serviced. We were at that point in Cyprus in the eastern Med and were lucky enough to have a certified Avon life raft inspection station on the island. We took them the raft and then asked if we could open it ourselves for inspection.  As we pulled on the cord, we were first amazed at how long it was. Then, when we got to the end, it took a lot more force to start the inflation. It blew up quickly and then kept filling for a while. But it worked, much to our relief. It would have saved us if necessary. Three thoughts occur to me: Don’t go offshore without a currently inspected life raft, even if you are on an “unsinkable” multihull; make sure the raft is equipped with all the safety and survival gear it can carry, including a hand-operated watermaker and a registered 406-based personal locator beacon; and, when you have your raft inspected as required, inflate it yourself so you can get a firsthand look at how it actually works. It is eye opening. Here’s a video of a skipper (not me) inflating an old raft he had been given. It’s fun to see his reaction. Watch Video