ISAF Personal Survival Course

ISAF Survival Course 2010

ISAF Survival Course 2010

Inspecting the liferaft and other survival gear, generously brought to the class by a large German chandlery.

A 4 person liferaft deployed. They just said that 4 would fit, not how comfortable they would be.

I purchased this Offshore / North Sea survival suit made by Helly Hansen on eBay and brought it to the training. The suit works incredibly well - but it designed for frigid and subzero North Sea waters and the pool we were using was heated - I almost had a stroke.

Our class at the course watching the 4-person liferaft being deployed in the still waters of the pool, later things would get a bit rougher.

Just prior to returning to the boat in late November 2010 I was fortunate enough to get a slot in a training course which not only went through the survival options and preparations at sea but also included some practical exercises in getting into and out of a life raft while wearing full gear (a task that is somewhat harder in practice than one would assume, even in the calm waters of a swimming pool).

This course was held by the Segel-Kameradschaft Unterbacher See e.V. and the curriculum was approved by the ISAF (International Sailing Federation) according to their “Offshore Special Regulations”. The detailed description can be seen in Appendix G.

Update: See 2014 ISAF Course for the newer, and bigger, course

Here we simulated getting winched up by a helicopter.

Entry into a liferaft while in heavy seas is really quite difficult!

Inside the 4 person liferaft during the ISAF offshore course in Düsseldorf. We are wet and not comfy.

I purchased this Offshore / North Sea survival suit made by Helly Hansen on eBay and brought it to the training. The suit works incredibly well - but it designed for frigid and subzero North Sea waters and the pool we were using was heated - I almost had a stroke. The buoyancy is impressive and I was very comfortable apart from being cooked in my own juices.

Entry into the liferaft while people are pushing and tugging at you and the liferaft (not to mentioned capsizing it), is difficult in the pool and certainly much more so in open waters during a storm.

All of us had to enter the waters and liferaft in heavy clothing as one would typically have on during a passage and during a storm. I don't know about those inflatable wings, though.