RYA Sea Survival

The RYA Sea Survival course is a 1 day course that runs at our Saxon Wharf classrooms with the afternoon session at Southampton`s specialist marine services swimming pool just 5 minutes from our training centre. This course is needed for many commercial endorsements and also for joining many popular sailing events worldwide.

It is a well proven fact that in the event of an emergency at sea, people who have received RYA sea survival training are more likely to survive. This 1 day course covers preparation for survival, lifejackets, search and rescue and a practical session in a swimming pool with a modern self inflating liferaft.

Course Structure

1. Preparation for sea survival

Survival difficulties

Survival requirements

Equipment available

Actions prior to abandonment

2. Lifejackets and liferafts

Lifejacket design and construction, correct donning procedure, purpose and use of lifejackets

Safety harnesses – purpose and use

Liferafts –stowage and containment on boardtypes, design and construction launching abandoning the vessel and boarding liferaft righting a capsized liferaft equipmentinitial actions to be taken in a liferaft

3. Principles of survival

Methods to increase chances of survival

Signs, symptoms and treatment of hypothermia

Symptoms, method of treatment for sunburn, heat exhaustion and heatstroke

Survival routines to aid location

Correct use of pyrotechnics and other location aids

Water rationing – procedures

Dehydration and preventative measures

Food rationing

Sources of food

4. Survival craft ailments

5. Raft management

6. Search and rescue

Rescue by helicopter or vessel

Role of HM Coastguard

UK and International SAR Organisation

Other services