The new boat came with a life raft that was last certified 15 years ago and was first made in 1975. Since we already had a new life raft, I didn't know what to do with it. The canister was huge, by modern life raft standards, and since the company told me that they wouldn't recertify a raft that as over 30 years old, there was no real way to verify that it would still work if the ultimate disaster happened and it was needed. More because we didn't know what to do with it than having a plan for it, we left it on deck when we left San Diego. We didn't feel right in giving it to a cruiser that would actually depend on it working, so we decided that it would make a great kid demo and float at the cruisers full moon party! So all the kids gathered around and Jason pulled the ripcord.

Pop....Bang!


She Floats


Then the Kid Testing Begins


Just the fact that it opened surprised me but the fact that it survived an afternoon with the kids was simply amazing, but now we still have the same problem we had before. Now instead of an old un-certifiable life raft in a container, we have an old life raft that has been opened to get rid of. We didn't want to just toss it in the trash and we are hoping to give it to one of the Yacht clubs here in Mexico for use as a demo unit at their various cruisers events.

As the kids played on the raft, the adults all looked on with the expression on their face of unease because the site of an inflated life raft raises some pretty ugly thoughts and fears about having to see one inflated next to their boat. The sounds of kids screaming while they played would be replaced with orders to abandon ship, and as most bad things seem to happen, it would be at 2AM.