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Grab bag on board: what goes in the emergency bag?
Short answer
The grab bag is the emergency bag that goes with you into the liferaft when you abandon ship. It holds a beacon, a handheld VHF, flares, water, medicines, a torch, thermal protection and copies of the boat's papers with the claims contact of your insurer.
If you have to abandon a boat, there are often only seconds to do it. Whatever is not ready in a bag stays aboard. That is why the grab bag is a standard part of the safety kit on board any yacht that goes beyond sheltered coastal waters, and why the RYA Sea Survival course spends time on it. The bag should be waterproof, buoyant and brightly coloured, and it lives in a fixed place near the companionway where everyone aboard knows to find it.
Pack the things that get you found and help you through the hours that follow. Alerting comes at the top of the checklist: a registered EPIRB or PLB, a waterproof handheld VHF with DSC and spare batteries. Then flares, a smoke signal and a signalling mirror. Add drinking water, energy bars, seasickness tablets and any regular medication, a small medical kit, a waterproof torch, thermal protective aids or foil blankets, spare glasses and sun protection. A UK beacon should be registered with the MCA beacon registry, so HM Coastguard knows whose it is.
The papers are often forgotten. Put copies of passports, the registration certificate, the ICC and the insurance certificate in a waterproof pouch, along with a list of key contacts in international format: the coastguard or MRCC for your waters, the claims line of your insurer and family at home. A charged mobile phone in a waterproof case belongs in there too, as does a memory stick with photographs of the boat and its inventory, which makes a claim after a total loss far easier to document. Check the contents before every season and every long passage, because batteries, flares and medicines expire.
Grab bag checklist sorted by job: alert, signal, survive, prove
A grab bag checklist is easier to keep complete when it is sorted by what each item does. To alert: the registered EPIRB or PLB, a handheld VHF with DSC and spare batteries, and a satellite messenger if you carry one. To signal: hand flares, a smoke signal, a mirror, a whistle and a waterproof torch. To survive: water, energy food, seasickness tablets, personal medication, a small medical kit, thermal protection, a hat and sunglasses, and a knife on a lanyard.
To prove: copies of passports, ship's papers, qualifications and insurance certificate, a contact list in international format and a memory stick with photographs of the boat and its equipment. Add a waterproof notepad and pencil, which help in the raft for keeping a log of times, positions and decisions. A list printed and taped inside the lid of the locker where the bag lives makes checking quick.
Grab bag and liferaft pack: what is already in the raft
A liferaft is packed with an equipment pack whose contents depend on the standard it was built to and the pack chosen at purchase. Some packs carry flares, water and a basic medical kit, others very little. The service certificate or the manufacturer's documentation lists what is inside, so check it once, then plan the grab bag to fill the gaps rather than duplicate what the raft already holds.
Remember that a liferaft pack is sealed until the raft inflates and cannot be checked at sea. Flares and water in the raft are renewed at the service and nowhere else, so the grab bag is the place for anything you want to control yourself: your own medication, a reliable handheld VHF, a beacon registered to you and the documents you would need ashore after a rescue.
How to pack a grab bag and where to stow it
Use a bag designed for the job: waterproof, with enough buoyancy to float when full, a bright colour, reflective tape and a strong lanyard with a clip, so it can be attached to the raft or to a crew member. Pack the contents in small dry bags inside, so that one leaking item does not soak the rest, and keep the beacon and the VHF at the top where they can be reached without emptying the bag.
Stow it close to the companionway, never under other gear, and tell every crew member at the briefing where it is and who takes it. If the boat carries spare water in containers, fill them partly so they float, tie them together and stow them next to the bag. The page on emergency roles on board covers how to divide these jobs among the crew.
Grab bag for offshore passages and ocean crossings
On a coastal cruise help usually arrives within hours. On an ocean crossing it can take much longer, and the grab bag should reflect that. Carry more water, consider a hand operated watermaker, more energy food, more medication including enough of every crew member's regular prescriptions, and a means of communication that works far from land, such as a satellite messenger or satellite phone in a waterproof case.
Check the bag before each ocean passage, not just at the start of the season, and replace anything that has passed its date. Practise with the crew how the bag goes into the raft, because on a long passage the crew is often tired and the boat moves a great deal. A grab bag that the crew has handled in harbour is far more likely to reach the raft in a real emergency.
Worth remembering
Seconds
to abandon the boat
One bag
with everything that gets you found
Whatever is not in the grab bag stays aboard.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
What is a grab bag?
A waterproof, buoyant emergency bag that goes with you into the liferaft when you abandon ship. It holds a beacon, a VHF, flares, water, medicines and copies of the boat's papers.
Which papers should go in the grab bag?
Copies of passports, the registration certificate, the ICC and the insurance certificate in a waterproof pouch, plus a list of contacts: the MRCC, the claims line of your insurer and family.
How often should I check the grab bag?
Before every season and before every long passage. Batteries, flares and medicines expire and need replacing in good time.
Should drinking water go inside the grab bag?
Water is heavy and can make the bag sink. Many crews put a little in the bag and keep extra containers, filled partly so they float, tied together next to it.
Does a liferaft already contain a grab bag?
It contains an equipment pack whose contents depend on the standard and the pack chosen. Check the service certificate and use the grab bag to fill the gaps.
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