How to Pack Your Ditch Bag

Written By Fabienne Michi

When packing a ditch bag(s), one thing to consider is how many bags do you want? For most cruisers it will be one to keep things simple and easy for short handed crew to deal with. However, if you are on a larger vessel, you may want to consider separating the bag into more manageable sizes and having a dedicated crew member assigned to each. In my case, I chose a chose a this Ronstan bag to hold all my gear, however any 55l dry-bag backpack would have done the job. Additionally, I chose to secure it to my life raft so that if it were to auto-deploy in a worst case scenario, the bag would remain with the raft. I also have an ACR PFD Strobe attached to the top of the bag to help locate it in the dark. Now, some may point out that this is putting all my eggs in one basket and they would be right. However when examining my vessel, staffing and budget, I decided this was the best location for it.

As far as what goes into a ditch bag, 10 “experts” will give you 11 opinions, and ultimately you will have to decide for yourself what will go into yours. When considering items, you can break them into several categories:

  • Items to get you rescued:

    • The most important item in this category is your EPIRB. Some may choose to purchase a bag like this designed to hold the EPRIB, while others may choose a Category 2 EPIRB or Category 1 system and keep the EPIRB separate. Both have pros and cons, for you to consider, and if you want more info, you can check out our dedicated blog on that topic.

    • Regardless where you keep your EPIRB, I am of the opinion that every ditch bag should have a dedicated PLB in. Whether you choose the ACR PLB , OS PLB or another brand, having a backup for your EPIRB in your ditch bag is essential to ensuring a successful  rescue.

    • Other satellite communicators such as the ZOLEO or inReach can be good supliments, however I would not recommend them as replacements for a PLB. I personally chose the inReach Mini with a Dive Case so that I have satellite rescue options if I’m on a dive and the worst happens. I also use it as my backup satellite communicator in case Starlink goes down. For more info on satellite communication offshore, checkout our dedicated blog. Non-satellite dive beacons like the Nautilus Lifeline are a good budget option to mitigate that risk as well.

    • I also carry a DSC equipped VHF dedicated to the ditch bag that I check and charge on a monthly basis. Standard Horizon radios also include a battery insert so if the rechargeable battery dies, you can power it off of AAs that we keep in a dedicated battery bag as a backup power source.

    • Moving onto non-digital items to facilitate your rescue, we have flares. And while a kit like this might have the bare minimum, I strongly recommend adding SOLAS parachute flares to supplement the standard 12g and handheld signals in most kits.

    • I also supplemented my flare kit with a Dye Marker and signal mirror for increased daylight visibility.

    • The final signaling item I keep is this radar reflector. This may not be necessary for everyone as many rafts come with one included, and there are smaller units that can fit better in your bag, however this is what I have and it will do the job fine.

  • Items to keep you alive while you wait to be rescued:

    • The first item here is a good med kit. And while I have my own custom setup that allows me to function at my level of training as a paramedic, an off-the-shelf kit will be adequate for most people. If you are interested in more advanced medical kits, training or resources, be sure to check out our blog on that topic. Regardless what kit you choose though, one thing to ensure you have are antiemetics, or sea sick pills. And don’t forget that everyone needs to take immediately upon getting into the raft. Checkout our blog on life raft survival for other rules when in a raft.

    • The next item here is arguably the most important and that is water. We have some bottles as well as these packets, but no matter it’s packaged, remember to check the expiration date and ensure your supplies haven’t gone bad. If you have the space and budget, an emergency watermaker is by far the best way to ensure your crew will remain hydrated. If that is not an option, you must decide how much water you can feasibly carry. Remember the Rule of Threes: 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. For more on that rule and others, see blog mentioned above.

    • The last item needed to keep you alive (you have shelter and water) is food. For this we carry MRE bricks. They don’t taste good, but they will give you the calories you need to survive if rescue is not fourthcoming. These do take a fair amount of moisture from your body, so they should only be consumed if necessary for survival and hydration status has been considered. Again, more info on this in the survival blog. In addition to these, we have a fishing kit and collapsable Hawaiin sling to help pass the time and possibly get us some fresh food.

  • Items to keep you comfy/sane while waiting for rescue:

    • As any account of survival at sea will show you, the sun can quickly become your worst enemy. To combat this we carry sunscreen packets, hats, and sun glasses for every crew member.

    • After the sun goes down, solar lanterns are a great way to light up the raft without burning through flashlight batteries.

    • These awesome porta-wipes are a great substitute for conventional wet-wipes and also can function as toilet paper which can be vital for sanitation and moral at little to no cost to space. Other sanitation items like hand sanitizer  and baby power can make living in a small damp space for (hopefully not) a long period of time much more bearable by helping prevent saltwater shores and maintain the integrity of your skin. Good personal hygiene and skin care (as much as you’re able) will in turn conserve your body’s water and increase your survival odds.

    • Since we only sail tropical water, heat loss is not a huge concern, however we do carry a space blanket for each crew member as well as a reflective tarp (heavy duty space blanket) that we can use for warmth as well as for a ground cover, rain water collector, reflective signal, and much more.

    • Moving onto illumination, to compliment the solar lantern, we have several flashlights spread throughout the kit. This includes headlights and handhelds, one of which is found in this survival kit. We also carry several chem lights.

    • Fresh batteries for all our non-rechargeable lights can be found in nested waterproof bags, and have a solar power bank and appropriate cords for the rechargeable lights and electronics.

    • To preserve our sanity and boost moral, we have a pack of cards, a write in the rain notepad with some things to write with, and a survial at sea booklet.

  • Other miscellaneous items we have in the bag are:

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Fabienne Michi
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