27 oct ’25
Lady Magellan Safety at Sea Training
In preparation for the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) 2026, Helen Morris, Senior Policy and Evaluation Officer at UNHCR, joined her fellow crewmates of Lady Magellan for a hands-on sea survival training on Lake Geneva. As the all-women crew prepares to set sail across the Atlantic next November, they’re learning that confidence at sea begins with preparation and teamwork.
Why do I love sailing?
So many reasons, you learn something every time; you’re immersed in nature, and you appreciate the beauty, the majesty and the power of nature. But the power of nature can also be scary and when things can go wrong, it can all happen very fast. If you know what to do and have done drills, the risks of injury are lessened dramatically. A sea survival course is a brilliant way to learn and to practice so that if there is a critical incident, you know what to do. On 18 October, we did a sea/lake survival exercise with the retired life-raft from Lady M. It was sunny and calm, but chilly, the water temperature 16 degrees.
Once moored in the bay of Versoix, we launched the life-raft and watched as it deployed perfectly. Not even capsizing!
Skipper Paola immediately jumped overboard and swam to the raft, while Maria and Elena rescue swam the casualty, Helen, who banged her head on the boom as she jumped off!
When we were all inside the life-raft it was time to check that we had the knife to cut the painter, and find the paddles to get us away from the sinking or burning boat. Our grab bag included the radio and comms equipment and we did a practice Mayday to get help, and continued bailing out the water from the bottom of the raft.
After all that, time for tea! The emergency rations included chocolate. This is Switzerland!
We also figured out how to use the drogue. The raft was surprisingly warm and cozy, definitely reassuring in case it’s ever needed for real. And should we ever be in that situation, the training will kick in and help us not panic and focus on what’s needed.
Photo credit: Mike Struik
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© Polarquest Association