What To Do On A Sinking Boat
Boats sink. Granted, it thankfully happens a lot less these days but they do still happen all around the world, even on five star cruises. Certainly there is more chance of a boat sinking than a plane falling out of the sky and so it is well worth knowing how best to survive. Remember these 5 points and you’ll stand a much better chance of getting out alive
Life jacket. If you do nothing else in your attempt to survive, make sure you wear a life jacket. more lives have been preserved by using them than by any piece of equipment on ships. The main reasons for this is that they always force you to the waters surface, despite which direction you are pointing or how disorientated you are. Secondly you cannot stay afloat without one for any great length of time as you will start to become fatigued
Stay calm. A great deal of people who have made it off sinking boats suggest that they survived mainly due to staying settled and calm. If you panic your decision making abilities become compromised and you will expend energy that you will likely need later. It is quite rare for a boat to suddenly hit the bottom the ocean, they usually take at least a couple of hours to fully submerge. You therefore have time to think straight and make sure your actions are not irrational
Go towards deck.Below deck is simple the worst place to be on a ship that is heading down. There are a lot more hazards below deck and you can easily get trapped in rooms or pockets of water. Get the top of the ship as soon as you can and do not budge
Move away from the ship. There are have been tests that disprove the theory that a sinking ship will pull you down with it. However, no one can really predict what would happen with any degree of accuracy and people who have experienced it first hand have claimed that a pull effect does occur. If you’re not the type to risk it, swim around fifty to sixty metres from the boat when it is sinking to ensure your safety
Stay in a group. If there is no lifeboat to get into, ensure that everyone huddles in a group in the water. This will help keep everyone warm, will deter any predators as they rarely attack big objects and will help you to be spotted be passing ships or rescue parties.
If you’re looking for very safe cruises go for river cruise or if you’d like a cruise agent with high saftey records go to Peter Deilmann Cruises
