Safety at sea

Last year three friends and I were caught in a raging storm in a boat on the way from Porto Palo to Malta. We were forced to reduce speed drastically to avoid sinking and we were considering abandoning the boat when it started to take in water.

We tried to use our life raft as a last resort and, although I knew that we should throw it into the water and hold it against the boat using a rope we were not certain what to do, even though I had attended the marine course and obtained my nautical licence. Luckily, after about eight hours, the storm abated and we entered Maltese waters safely. It is a pity that the subject of how to use a life raft properly was never mentioned during the nautical course. I would therefore ask the marine authorities to give this matter more attention and to issue a short DVD or video showing how to operate the life rafts properly.

It would also be good to show how personal life savers should be used by everyone on board.