{"id":17133,"date":"2024-05-23T04:01:31","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T08:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/?p=17133"},"modified":"2024-05-24T11:11:47","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T15:11:47","slug":"your-liferaft-in-their-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2024\/05\/23\/your-liferaft-in-their-hands\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Life(raft) in Their Hands"},"content":{"rendered":"
Position: 55\u00b036’50.0″N 13\u00b001’13.8″E<\/a><\/h6>\n

\"weather-vane\"<\/a>With Aleta\u2019s mast unstepped for the first time in seven years, we took the opportunity to replace her VHF antenna and Windex (the sailboat\u2019s equivalent of a rooster on top of a barn that shows the wind\u2019s direction). That meant a quick train ride down to Malm\u00f6 to poke my head into Bachman\u2019s, the area\u2019s finest chandlery. With Niklas’ help I soon found a replacement Windex. Then, while wandering through the shop and out back into the huge workshop filled with enormous liferafts, I realised this place might be our best bet for getting our own liferaft serviced.<\/p>\n

We were about two years overdue for an inspection. Why? Searching liferaft dealers around the Med we found the price of an inspection was about half to two thirds the cost of a new liferaft<\/a>. That seemed extortionate. Why not just wait and replace the entire thing? Liferafts are after all mostly an afterthought. Cruisers buy one so they can join a rally and their boat can meet the minimum safety requirements, not because they seriously believe it will save their lives. But our plans include recrossing the Atlantic in the next year or so, and insurance companies are kind of picky about safety equipment.<\/p>\n

Feeling Lucky?<\/h6>\n

The reality is you are very, very unlucky if you need a liferaft. And mind-bogglingly lucky if you use it and<\/em> get rescued. The odds are profoundly stacked against you. Stories of surviving a sinking and drifting to shore, or into the warm galley of a passing cargo ship, are few and far between. Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea<\/a> by Stephen Callahan is one such story. I haven\u2019t read it because I\u2019m superstitious.More recently, Rick Rodriguez and the crew<\/a> of Raindancer were sunk by a whale in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and survived. I did watch Catch-22<\/a>. One of the film’s most memorable images is of Alan Arkin as Yossarian desperately trying to escape the rigid insanity of military life during wartime by paddling to Sweden. That tiny yellow liferaft is as symbolically futile today as it was 54 years ago.<\/p>\n

Rolls Royce<\/h6>\n

Inspired by my walk into the back room, I asked Peter if he might service our liferaft? \u201cWe\u2019ll be here for a week. I know it\u2019s short notice, but\u2026?\u201d Peter looked at me with all seriousness and said, \u201cIt\u2019s very unlikely. We are incredibly busy right now. But I\u2019ll ask.\u201d He came back five minutes later and said, \u201cYes!\u201d \u201cFantastic,\u201d I replied, \u201cI\u2019ll drop it off tomorrow.\u201d My 30-minute drive back to Landskrona gave me a chance to figure out how we were going to get the liferaft off Aleta and into our rental car.<\/p>\n

You see, our Viking Rescuyou 6<\/a> weighs about 42 kgs (93 lbs), which is about as much as I can dead lift these days. Having spent years cycling, my upper body strength took a back seat. After all, muscle mass up top only slows you down as a cyclist. That\u2019s my excuse and I\u2019m sticking to it. As often happens in marinas, our neighbour Michael generously offered to help and between us we lugged the raft down to the car. The next morning, I pitched up at the service centre bright and early. Peter began the steady job of unpacking things. Viking has a long checklist of tests that needed carrying out, and an equally long list of goodies like packaged water that needed replacing.<\/p>\n