How to Set Up and Maintain a Ditch Bag for Your Boat
August 22, 2025
Essential Guide to Ditch Bag Boating Safety
Essential Guide to Ditch Bag Boating Safety
Automatic fire-suppression systems react to fire faster than you can, and could save your life.
After a long, wild ride, U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer Shannon Scaff relives a storied career, plots his next mission and shares his watery wisdom.
A Potentially Life-Saving Excerpt from “The Ocean. The Ultimate Handbook of Nautical Knowledge.”
Distinguished Flying Cross recipient Shannon Scaff’s simple, experience-based lessons on how to not end up in a rescue basket—or dead.
When things go wrong on the water, they go wrong fast. The editors discuss the most important boating safety lessons they’ve learned on the job and on the water.
AIS is valuable on any boat, but treat the information it displays with a dollop of skepticism and remember that boats not transmitting on AIS are not as noticeable as those that are.
In 2020, there were 767 boating-related deaths, a 25 percent increase over 2019. We dug into the data to see what caused these deaths and shed some light on ways to prevent them in the future.
Upgrade your boating skills and test your boating knowledge with online classes from Boaters University | AIM Marine Group, powered by Power & Motoryacht, Soundings, PassageMaker, Sail, Outboard and Yachts International.
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of jumping off your boat into the refreshing water below. But be careful: Tranquility can turn to tragedy if you don’t have the right boarding ladder.
An improperly programmed AIS can be a safety hazard. Here’s why.
Join the editors as they enroll in a survival class to see if they have what it takes to survive a life-threatening emergency at sea.
Mustang Survival’s new Khimera 22 Hybrid PFD offers versatile function without compromising safety. We put it to the test on Cumberland Island, Georgia.
Essential Guide to Ditch Bag Boating Safety
When the unthinkable happens
Automatic fire-suppression systems react to fire faster than you can, and could save your life.
After a long, wild ride, U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer Shannon Scaff relives a storied career, plots his next mission and shares his watery wisdom.
A Potentially Life-Saving Excerpt from “The Ocean. The Ultimate Handbook of Nautical Knowledge.”
Always Question the “Experts”
Distinguished Flying Cross recipient Shannon Scaff’s simple, experience-based lessons on how to not end up in a rescue basket—or dead.
When things go wrong on the water, they go wrong fast. The editors discuss the most important boating safety lessons they’ve learned on the job and on the water.
AIS is valuable on any boat, but treat the information it displays with a dollop of skepticism and remember that boats not transmitting on AIS are not as noticeable as those that are.
In 2020, there were 767 boating-related deaths, a 25 percent increase over 2019. We dug into the data to see what caused these deaths and shed some light on ways to prevent them in the future.
Upgrade your boating skills and test your boating knowledge with online classes from Boaters University | AIM Marine Group, powered by Power & Motoryacht, Soundings, PassageMaker, Sail, Outboard and Yachts International.
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of jumping off your boat into the refreshing water below. But be careful: Tranquility can turn to tragedy if you don’t have the right boarding ladder.
An improperly programmed AIS can be a safety hazard. Here’s why.
Join the editors as they enroll in a survival class to see if they have what it takes to survive a life-threatening emergency at sea.
Mustang Survival’s new Khimera 22 Hybrid PFD offers versatile function without compromising safety. We put it to the test on Cumberland Island, Georgia.
