They keep saying Sunfish in the news, but from the photograph, that was NOT
a Sunfish.

Hypothermia is a tough thing to avoid. (been there) Space blankets might
help, but I tried to use one once and was very dissatisfied. I was trying
to sleep, and they are noisy.

Towels are good!!!

A gallon milk jug full of water is a good thing to have aboard. Tie it to
the boat.

After being thrown off by a squall line, I make sure the painter is tied to
my belt so the boat won't get too far away. I usually carry a five pound
mushroom anchor, but it's more for temporary mooring than emergency
equipment.

Every discussion of emergency equipment I've seen suggests that fish hooks
and line are very unlikely to be useful. I'd guess the compass is also
mostly decoration unless there's fog.

Some sort of communication equipment would also be good. Perhaps that old
cell phone? I think they will still call 911 even when deactivated. (if the
battery is charged) I remember seeing (buying?) a CB radio for relatively
few bucks that was supposed to live in the car trunk until there was an
emergency. Plastic bags give pretty good waterproofing if you go
redundant -- baggie around gadget, then that bag with some paper towels
inside an outer baggie.

Roger

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm

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snip
When we got near him we saw that he was shaking violently from
the cold so I threw him my raincoat and we towed him in where
he changed to dry clothes.
So, what to do about this problem? Clearly we need some safety
equipment other than just a lifejacket aboard.
Consider, the MiniCups are 12' long with almost no room for storage,
think of a slightly enlarged Sunfish (yes, I showed him that article
about the two boys in N. Carolina). What would you consider for safety
equipment?
A compass, a pint of water, a space blanket, a tiny flashlight, maybe
three pen flares, fishhooks and line. All of this must fit into a
small box velcroed to the cockpit wall. What else?
I am even thinking about a small anchor but what kind?