1Plan on about two minutes and 30 seconds to abandon ship. Different rafts may perform differently, but sinking can happen blindingly fast.

2Pull the raft back to the boat, if possible, and board directly instead of swimming to the raft. You'll be glad you're dry, later.

3Check boarding systems before you purchase a life raft. Some are tough to get into, but those with inflated boarding platforms and lots of webbing for handholds make it easy.

4Remove wet cloths before bailing, or you'll just drip into the raft as you bail.

5Pack some sealed, ever-lasting artificial bait (like Fishbites or Gulp,) in your emergency fishing kit. If you catch a fish, guard it with your life and never put it into the inflatable boarding platform.

6"Emergency" fishing kits are very basic; check yours and add to it, before you have to depend on it.

7Sun is one of your biggest enemies when trapped in a life raft. Make sure yours is equipped with a canopy.

8Add some thick, SPF 70 (the maximum commonly available) sunscreen to your ditch bag.

9Sealed water pouches have a metallic taste so you may want to put bottles in your ditch bag, instead. (Be sure to replace them annually.)

10Food does you no good without water (your body needs it to digest) so fill extra room in your ditch bag with water, not food rations. You may be able to fish for food, but water is tougher to obtain.

11Deflate the floor of the life raft and lay directly on the rubber to get a cooling effect.

12Make sure the life raft you purchases has a ballast system, for stability. Different manufacturers have different systems, so do some research.

13Survival tip from Winslow's Survival Guide: All sea birds are edible.

14Seal some toilette paper in a baggie, and add it to your ditch bag.

15If you need to paddle or tow your raft, be sure to collapse the ballast bags, first.

16The boarding platform and handholds can be used as a towing harness on some models, including the Winslow used in our exercise.

17Another tip from Winslow's Survival Guide: Unless there's a pressing reason (i.e., to pick up a survivor) don't attempt to paddle your raft in one particular direction. The authorities will calculate your direction of speed and drift, and altering this may hinder rescue.

18One more tip (why not?) If stranded on an island with no fresh water, go as far from the ocean as possible and dig a hole below sea level until one foot of water fills it. But dig no deeper"”freshwater floats on top of salt water, and if there is any fresh or possibly drinkable brackish water beneath the sand, it will be the first water you hit.

19A waterproof flashlight is a must-have (it's impossible to locate things in a pitch-dark life raft.)

20At night as the air cools, your raft's air chambers will grow soft. Expect to have to give them a pump or two as it gets chilly out.

21Inflate the life raft floor to keep warm. Laying on the deflated floor at night is very, very cold.

22Space blankets are very, very loud.

23In a pinch, zip-lock bags can be used for socks.

24Always think it through thoroughly before accepting an assignment from Mad Mariner.