We are truly fortunate to live among a wonderful liveaboard "community" of boaters. Over the past few months with earthquakes closer to home and several tsunami warnings issued, it has come to peoples attention that we need a plan of action for our unique community.

Darren volunteered, among others to be involved in developing an action plan in our community for both Float home owners & liveaboard boaters. As boaters, we certainly have a great deal more freedom to pick up and go if we choose, should the "big one" hit. (An earthquake of great magnitude or a tsunami.) The committee came up with an amazing emergency preparedness action plan that we could all use as a checklist during a catastrophic event.

In further discussion, we decided that for us an itemized procedure for getting our boat started, & prepped to leave our slip in the event of such an emergency was a valuable addition. Of course when you are about to head out for a day sail or weekend trip, you pay no attention to the small details & steps, but should an emergency occur it can often be those details that are routine that cause the most confusion under stress. Yesterday we sat down itemizing a step by step procedure for our boat, including the smallest of details, so in the event of an emergency, completely stressed out, we have a flash card to refer to, incase one of us is not here to help out. We hope to never have to implement this, but I certainly slept well last night knowing that a well thought out checklist exists for us.

Hopefully this blog topic will prompt conversation, whether you live on land or on the water, as to how your family could benefit from having a check list of your own. An earthquake kit, and an emergency contact person and meeting place are invaluable.