Grab Bag Checklist

Hello fellow boaters, well the weather certainly seems to be improving day by day in the Hamble. Which is fantastic news for all us fair-weather sailors!

 Just to say we spotted a good article in the April edition of Yachting Monthly, it's all about creating a ship's grab bag checklist. They've split the list into the Most Important and General items, and then whether they're essential or optional for Coastal and Offshore sailing. A really handy guide, and a good read.
 
So we've been inspired to write up a list of products we think you should consider for your ship's grab bag (Prices are correct at time of blog being published 25/03/2011).
 

Important Items to consider for your Ship's Grab Bag:
 
EPIRB/PLB (GPS enabled are best) - We'd consider:

Mcmurdo Fastfind 220 PLB with ReturnLink

GlobalFix V4 406 GPS EPIRB

RescueME EPIRB1 Class 2 GPS EPIRB

Hand-held GPS + Spare Batteries - We'd consider:

Garmin GPS 73 Handheld GPS Navigator

Duracell Pack of 4 AA Batteries

Hand-held VHF radio + Spare Batteries - We'd consider:

Cobra HH150 Waterproof VHF Handheld Radio

First Aid Kit - We'd consider:

Coastal First Aid Kit

Offshore First Aid Kit

Important Items to consider for your Ship's Grab Bag:

Communications - We'd consider:

ACR C-Strobe lifejacket light

Waterproof Notebook

Write anywhere pen

Inshore Flare Pack

Coastal Flare Pack

Plastimo Iris 50 Compass

ACR Hotshot Mirror

ACR Res-Q Signal Whistle

First Aid - We'd consider:

Malibu SPF30 Lip Balm

Riemann P20 Suncreen Protection

TPA Thermal Protective Aid

Survival Equipment - We'd consider:

Fladen Fishing Hand line, Pirk and feathers

Aquamate Solar Still

Extra Rations - We'd consider:

Ocean Safety Water rations

Tools - We'd consider:

Water Bailer

Light sticks

Gorilla Tape

SOLAS Waterproof Torch

LED Lenser Diver Torch

Duracell Pack of 4 AA Batteries 

Liferaft Sea Anchor

Liros Floating 8 Plait Rope 

Jumbo synthetic sponge

Wichard Rescue Knife

Gerber Suspension Multi tool

Floating safety knife

Waterproof matches

Additional products we'd consider:

Aquapac Trailproof Waist SUP Pack

Windward grab bag

McMurdo Grab Bag

Blaster Oral Fog Horn

Ocean Safety Solas 2 Card

SealSkinz waterproof beanie hat

Remember to check out the full list of essential grab bag items broken down by coastal and ocean sailing, it's a good read, and a good place to start building your own check list.

Happy Sailing!