A wood and fabric Jodel was reported to be afloat hours after ditching. Baltic??
Wear the lifejacket, otherwise it’s just more weight.
I saw the latter part of an Air Force guy trying to get into a one-man raft, in a choppy sea. Not easy, and when he did get in, it capsized.
Eventually he stayed in, and was rescued.
As he was winched up, they were lowered again. The rescue guy dropped off, swam to the raft, got in easily, and the helicopter departed, leaving him to drift ashore. It’s a skill. All seen from my garden.
I suspect that is not a true story, unless the Jodel has seals around the rudder pedals, etc. and it was very calm. Or maybe the engine broke off?
Maoraigh wrote:
I saw the latter part of an Air Force guy trying to get into a one-man raft, in a choppy sea. Not easy, and when he did get in, it capsized.
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: a raft without a ladder is totally useless for anyone other than 20-year old Navy SEALs or similarly athletic people.
That’s definitely not correct – see the linked ditching thread.
Peter wrote:
That’s definitely not correct – see the linked ditching thread.
Good luck, Peter. Without a ladder it’s essentially ballast, nothing more, unless you are… see above.
dublinpilot wrote:
It was the most benign circumstances you could ask for. Yet about 75% of the participants failed to get into the raft despite being allowed to take as long as they needed.
172driver wrote:
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: a raft without a ladder is totally useless for anyone other than 20-year old Navy SEALs or similarly athletic people.
Most people cannot even lift themselves out of a swimming pool onto the side – they simply lack the upper body strength. A raft is that much harder because it moves when you press against it. Then you also need the composure and presence of mind not to waste your energy doing counter-productive things.
I don’t think you need to be special forces or an athlete, but you do need sufficient upper body strength to lift your own weight fairly easily. That means that if you weigh a lot, an awful lot of strength is necessary.
Some pull-ups, press-ups and other assorted exercises will make a big difference, more quickly than you might think. But of course most people will dispute that it’s either worth it or possible because, as always, there’s every excuse not to exercise.
I don’t know about a Jodel, but a Piel Emeraude can float long enough to still be on the surface when the RNLI’s Mersey-class all weather lifeboat shows up.
