Why yachts make the best liferafts [and how to avoid needing one]

James Stevens is the author the Yachtmaster Handbook and spent 10 of his 23 years at the RYA as Training Manager and Yachtmaster Chief Examiner

Having to abandon ship is the biggest decision a skipper has to make. Current thinking about this was greatly influenced by the 1979 Fastnet Race Inquiry Report written by the RYA and RORC. The race fleet encountered very severe weather in the Irish Sea; 24 yachts were abandoned of which 19 were later recovered. There were 15 fatalities. Before we become too judgemental, however, remember that yachts in 1979 were not designed for knockdowns and inversion. Batteries, toolboxes, cookers and other heavy equipment were not secured as they should be now, so conditions below would have been grim in a storm. However, the point was forcibly made that if the yacht is afloat it is the best liferaft.

While the RNLI is kept busy with yachts running aground, engines failing or crew needing to be taken off, it is very unusual for a lifeboat or a helicopter to rescue a crew from a liferaft. In spite of this, it is worth considering the circumstances when it is time to abandon ship, how it might be prevented and if the worst happens, how