[Phantom]

Salukigirl -- It has been a long standing practice of ours (my son/wife/I) to have periodic discussions of what we'd do, who'd do what, or where various items (given a particular emergancy) are located.

We have been doing this since my son was around 10 or 12 years old. Old enough in our opinion to be an active help, given the situation. The topic of any particular discussion comes up based on events that eithor happened around us or we've heard of (such as the Cobolt going down in a matter of seconds). And we've revisited discussions that revolve around that sort of event.

A couple of "for instances" are --

We routinely have our grandchildren aboard (three under the age of 5) -- Even though they always wear PFD's, we've discussed specificaly who grabs who in an event such as just occurred (and we've had this discussion long before the Cobolt). In addition, although (as with most of us) the vast majority of our PFD's are stored away -- there is always 3 "Ski Jacket" type pfd's directly in front of the helm with very easy access.

Another discussion involved an ice skater breaking through the ice -- we've had "verbal drills" as to what steps to take in the event it might be one of us or we directly witness such an event.

(back to boating) I of all people got a nasty gash years ago when I slipped and ripped my arm on the windshield passing thru the passageway on a bowrider -- we now have a fully stocked med kit aboard and everyone knows where it is. On a side note, we created our own kit vs. one of those store bought versions which only have a couple of bandages and a host of other useless stuff. We simply took a tupperware container and a trip to CVS.

Another situation occurred this past Labor Day week-end. My son & I came upon on overturned kyak in 2-3 ft cross-chop in front of the Wiers. My son, now 26 and a very, very strong swimmer, jumped in with a throw PFD to help the struggling Kyaker out and help get both the person & the Kyak alongside. All ended well and there were no issues. Later that day My son & I reviewed the events -- We screwed up!! -- He should never have jumped in (in our collective opinions) before taking the extra 60 seconds it would have taken to put in one of the "Ski Jackets". Lessons learned for the next time!!

Finally, and I will stop this long winded reply -- you seemed concerned that the kids may get "freeked out" -- my retort to that is -- if they are old enough to be driving the vessel (or any other boat, including rowboat) by themselves -- then they MUST know the risks & what the proper thing to do is. Freeked out or not -- They'll remember and perhaps be a little more careful themselves. Remeber, kids don't have the experiance or knowledge and are typically fearless.