What types of safety and communication equipment are important for an extended voyage?
MOST IMPORTANT SAFETY EQUIPMENT: • Personal Flotation Device (PFD). We like combination safety harness/auto-inflation collar type PFD’s. • Life raft and signaling devices including an EPIRB (emergency radio) • First aid kit • Waterproof handheld VHF radio • Lifesling Overboard Retrieval System (requires practice!) COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT: Some type of long range communication sure makes an extended voyage easier. One of the simplest ways is utilizing a satellite telephone. (EDITOR’S NOTE: Swann Neal sent this article via email from her boat in New Zealand and noted that it wouldl take less than a minute and cost $1, using the Iridium satellite system!) We also use this for receiving free NOAA 10 day GRIB weather charts at sea and if necessary, requesting a customized weather forecast from a commercial weather routing service. Another option is to use a marine radio and a modem to send and receive emails. Q: How do you prepare your boat for extended cruising? A: Wow, we spend an entire
