Expert response

Joel Innes, spokesman for the RNLI Water Safety team, responds: This is an excellent anecdote of how things can quickly go wrong while at sea. I’ve been an RNLI crew member for quite a few years now and have seen this situation unfold many times, though in this incident Ray luckily didn’t need the help of the RNLI, or HM Coastguard, but it could have easily escalated.

The RNLI regularly must respond to callouts during storms, and while we are trained to respond in emergency situations, even in extreme weather, sometimes these could have been prevented. With most storms in the UK and Ireland, the RNLI sends out press releases, reminding the public that storms bring different complexities to even the most knowledgeable mariners. Ray reflected in his article

and said, ‘What was I thinking?’, this thought must go through many sailors’ minds at some point and if everyone takes the time to really evaluate the situation before setting sail, then many incidents could be reduced.

If it looks and feels dangerous, then it more than likely is dangerous. It sounds obvious, but please do think twice before setting out in extreme weather – look for that safety option.

Finally, Ray mentions lifejackets in his reflection points. It sounds silly to keep saying, but I can’t stress enough how vital wearing a lifejacket is.

We also recommend carrying a means of calling for help, none more suited than a personal locator beacon. Unfortunately, we’ve seen fatalities where the person wasn’t able to call for help and we just didn’t know they were in trouble. If you’re able to carry a reliable means of calling for help on your person, you have a far higher chance of alerting the rescue services you need help and where to find you.