| Swimming at sea is surprisingly hard, and life jackets make a huge difference.
I can confirm this. When I was about 16 - 17 yo (and I was very fit at the time) we went sailing with 2 of my friends on a 8 ft sailboat in Nha Trang, Vietmam. About a mile out from the shoreline the boat capsized.
We were very foolish not bringing any life-jackets. After 20 - 25 minutes trying to swim back to the shore in the afternoon's high tide and high wind one of my friend had a leg cramp. We were so lucky that we had an Igloo watercooler to tether to and relied on the wind to bring us ashore. My friend died 6 months later from cancer in California.
The other guy clung to the capsized boat and also relied the wind to bring him ashore. He ended up 5 miles from the original spot we launched the boat.
First rule: If the boat didn't sink, never abandon it. It is relatively easy for a rescue helicopter to find a capsized boat. Not so easy to spot someone swimming. Also, you can probably manage to stay out of the water on top of the hull.
If the boat sank, stay all together next to the biggest piece of floating debris.
I can confirm this. When I was about 16 - 17 yo (and I was very fit at the time) we went sailing with 2 of my friends on a 8 ft sailboat in Nha Trang, Vietmam. About a mile out from the shoreline the boat capsized.
We were very foolish not bringing any life-jackets. After 20 - 25 minutes trying to swim back to the shore in the afternoon's high tide and high wind one of my friend had a leg cramp. We were so lucky that we had an Igloo watercooler to tether to and relied on the wind to bring us ashore. My friend died 6 months later from cancer in California.
The other guy clung to the capsized boat and also relied the wind to bring him ashore. He ended up 5 miles from the original spot we launched the boat.