All at Sea

Well, you were promised gory photos of our recent Sea Survival adventure.  Winds howled and waves rocked us in our little life raft.  Sharks surrounded us, waiting to pick off a juicy snack. 

Lifting into the Liferaft

Hmmmm…maybe not!  We were all at sea in the Warringah Aquatic Centre diving pool. Gerry Fitzgerald from Offshore Maritime Training Australia took no prisoners however and we were all expected to hold our own.  This was not as easy as it seemed, dressed to the nines in a full kit of wet weather gear, boots, life vests and harnesses.  Our first “swim” determined whether we naturally floated or would sink to the bottom like a lead weight.  GS bobbed like a cork, the Crew needed to be scraped off the pool floor and the Cap’n tried to hide his embarrassment.

Righting the Liferaft

We were all too wet and too busy to take photos so Gerry kindly let me use some of his stock.  You’ll be pleased to know that we are now all certified.  The Cap’n is still not sure we’ll cut the mustard…. So we have to go back for more training (radar, radio & first aid now) and then we’re under threat of several man overboard drills when we get back to the Chesapeake.