What happens when you have a medical emergency when you live on a boat?
It’s not something that people think about much when they decide to live on the water. For us, we thought about it quite a bit after we moved onto the boat. We thought and tried to plan, which was all a bit pointless.
It is really important to know the quickest way to get off the boat in a fire, although it isn’t that difficult! There are doors at the front and back (with keys nearby) and a hatch in the middle. If needed, the windows are easy enough to remove from the inside. We have a smoke/CO2 alarm, fire extinguishers and a fire blanket.
But that is the easy bit! On New Years Day we needed the emergency services to come to the boat. An ambulance, initially.
Calling an ambulance was easy enough… 999, ambulance…address. Hmm. We were moored about half a mile from the nearest road which involved navigating a cow field! We knew the address of the nearest bit of road, so we had the ambulance dispatched there and had someone waiting for it, who led the ambulance crew to the boat.
The ambulance crew needed to take the casualty with them, which was a bit tricky. The mooring was uneven, with a step up onto the land, which the ambulance crew couldn’t manage, and then a half a mile walk through a cow field. They called the Fire Brigade to help. To take the casualty out of the boat we had to remove half of the canopy and turn off the gas supply (in case the knobs got knocked). Once out, the Firefighters carried the casualty between then through the cow field, to the waiting ambulance.
The second emergency we have had was more recent. We were traveling a lot, enjoying the quieter rivers, before they flood in the winter, when a close relative was rushed into the hospital. We moored the boat in a marina, which gave us a base without having to worry about moving the boat every couple of days. We also had electric hook up and water on site, so we didn’t need to worry about things. The BBB probably thought it was having a holiday! Thankfully the relative is home now, and much better, but it started me thinking. When I was researching the practicalities of life onboard I didn’t see anything about emergencies, so I am putting together my own helpful list. Feel free to add to it in the comments below!
- Always have cash onboard for an emergency taxi. Lots take card, but not all. And remember to replace it once it is used!
- Know where the nearest road is. It’s not normally very far, it’s a good excuse for a walk!
- Keep a torch handy. Mobile phone torches are good, head torches even better.
- This is the biggest and most important tip… Don’t let the fear of an emergency stop you! You only have one life, so live it.