Prepare an Abandon Ship Bag

I have been cruising for 15 years but, until recently, didn’t think about creating an Abandon Ship Bag.   But as I planned a trip to Antarctica, my thinking changed about that. A few months before I left, the MS Explorer, The Little Red Boat, sank in Antarctic waters.

To be prepared, I decided to create an Abandon Ship Bag. When I got on board, I emptied my backpack.  Then, into the backpack went a plastic bag and into the plastic bag went:

• money
• credit cards
• passports (or you can put copy of passports if the ship holds the originals)
• medicines
• emergency blankets – purchased in a camping store for $4.00 each
• change of underwear
• extra pair of socks

My Abandon Ship Bag, left open so I could quickly throw in any additional items I might need (like hat, scarf, gloves on my Antarctica trip), and cameras, was kept at the foot of the bed, easy to grab if necessary, on the way out.