How to Survive a Boat Capsize

Boats capsize differently, producing varying scenarios for surviving each. The smaller the boat, the more likely is a capsize. The best way to prepare is to actually go through it in a supervised course, so that if it does happen inadvertently you’ll know exactly what to do. Here are some guidelines:

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. How to right a kayak: If your kayak doesn’t have a deck and you find your self upside down in the water, it’s fairly simply to exit from under the boat and flip it over. The challenge is getting back in. The best way is to keep your center of gravity low and to swim in, gingerly swinging your hips back over the gunwales before picking up your paddle.
   
   If you’re in a decked kayak, you’ll have to release the spray skirt. All skirts have pull tabs on them. Bend forward to release the tension of the skirt’s front and pull the tab. Continue to roll forward and out. Surface. Breathe, right the kayak and ease back in.
2. Handling a rowboat capsize: Rowboats built in the US since 1978 have floatation devices built in to keep them afloat. Rowboats are extremely stable. It’s rare for one to capsize. If it does, try to right the boat in the water. Send one person back in over the gunwale to begin bailing. Bail it practically dry before bringing the other passengers in.
3. Canoes capsize readily. Even though I’m a Red Cross Certified Small Craft Instructor, this happened to me once on a cold Massachusetts lake at the tail end of winter. Fully clothed, I was flipped by a gust of wind into the water. The ice cold knocked the breath out of me. I couldn't draw air for a long time while treading water.
   
   Unlike a rowboat, it is possible to propel a canoe filled with water. First, flip the canoe upright. If you have bailer, use it. Otherwise, sit, don’t kneel in the bottom of the canoe and paddle it to the nearest point of shore. Note that a capsized canoe is harder to paddle and tips more readily than one that is riding on the water. When you get to shore, slowly draw it on land then empty it.
4. Sailboat capsize: Larger sailboats rarely capsize, but if you’re in a small sailboat with a center board, here’s what to do. When the mast hits the water, loosen the sheets that control the sails. You don’t want the boat to sail away once you’ve righted it. Get around to the bottom of the boat and stand on the centerboard as soon as you can. This will probably bright it back up immediately. When I went through this drill on a Maine lake, my partner and I barely got wet. Point the boat into the wind and climb back in.
   
   If you’re on a bigger sailboat with a keel, you might need the entire crew to stand on it. In all cases you have to do this quickly so the sailboat doesn’t turn turtle with the mast pointing to the bottom.
   
   Sometimes ocean going sailboats simply won’t right. For a gripping tail of 4 men surviving a boat flipping in the South Pacific, I recommend, “Capsized the True Story of Four Men Adrift for 119 Days” by James Nalepka and Steven Callahan

Tips & Warnings

• In most cases a capsized boat will still float better than you will alone with or without a PFD. Don’t abandon a boat unless absolutely necessary.
• If you find yourself in rough conditions where going in the water is a possibility, don a PFD, personal floatation device. The Coast required that there be one PFD per boat passenger whether it is worn or not.
• In a smaller boat, it’s a good idea to have a bailer on boat tied with a short length of line to a thwart so it doesn’t head to the bottom in the event of a capsize.