Life Raft Debate

The life raft debate is an annual event held at University of Montevallo, to make a long story short here is the gist of it…. Imagine there is a nuclear disaster and several survivors are setting out to repopulate society, each professor argues for their discipline for the last place in the life raft and why the world needs them.


Now to my business I sell life rafts and as I listened to this debate on NPR driving recently I could not help but think about the “real” debate on life rafts. There are so many in this business like myself who see this as a debate we should not have, if you have a boat that will be used more than 5-10 miles from shore you need a life raft. To accompany this life raft you need an EPIRB or PLB, by having the right equipment if disaster strikes you can help ensure your rescue as well as saving millions of dollars used to search for you. Of course these things don't guarantee survival but they certain stack the odds in your favor.

I would like to step back to last summer when 3 men set out for a simple fishing trip that turned out to be a disaster for them. The boat is one that most people considerer seemingly unsinkable, well it did not sink but due to a bilge pump failure it took on water and capsized. These 3 men survived 8 days on the bottom of the catamaran with a blue bottom. Search and Rescue crews looked diligently for 7 of those days and then called off the search. They were so close but yet so far away because of the color of the boat it was impossible to see them in the water. They were happened upon by a leisure fisherman and rescued on day eight. Each man was lucky to be alive.

I am reminded daily of the dangers on the water, Mother Nature can show her worst side at any moment and the only way to help yourself is through preparedness.

My life raft debate today is simply one sided go back to this post and you can compare a life raft and a dinghy. Again it is a one sided debate there is really nothing to argue about. Each piece of equipment has a purpose and a place on your boat.

Imagine if the 3 fishermen mentioned above would have had a life raft and a PLB ….

Imagine how different an outcome it would have been for the students aboard the S/V Concordia if they had not had life rafts…..

Imagine what it could have been like for the 4 men (2 of which were NFL Players) who went down in Florida last spring…. The 3 deaths were due to hypothermia a life raft, EPIRB or PLB could have brought them all home.

As we approach spring and summer many of our locals with hit the water and it is my hope that each one of them has been impacted in some way that makes them choose safety first.

I will end with this imagine watching your friends or family suffer hypothermia and perishing in the water because you chose not to arm yourself with any safety defenses.