Hey Rob more good thoughts.
First I don't think your out of bounds on the white water tied up thing. Getting rolled with a tether is a bad thing. I don't use 'em either. I tried them and found it not to my tastes. Holding on to the boat and paddle is indeed the lesson of white water. Its all that will save you from a strainer. Been der done that too. Setting up a Yosemite haul rope to pull someone off a mess-o-sticks is hard work and a lot easier with a boat under them. Usually the force of the water on the boat pulls them off. However, I think holding on to your stuff in the ocean is even more important then in a river. Lose your boat and you lose your visibility.

The problem is it happens. Folks lose a grasp on there boat. I hauled a guy out of cold water a few years ago. Cold water, No wet suit. Storm imminent No reentry. To weak even for the assisted. Storm coming in. At the point he was, losing his boat and towing him to the nearest island was a very credible option. I have seen folks lose grasp on their boat and seen other Yakers chasing it. Fortunately we happened to be coming from the other direction....

In my canoeing travels and in my professional maritime days I saw folks lose there boat and have to find there rescues without their boats. In the BWCA it was bears and rapids. On the ocean it was a variety of things that put folks in the drink. For me the worst case scenario is your sitting in the water, your boat heading to the horizon or broken up into little pieces on some shoal And you still have the goal of surviving. I plan for that.

Having said that, your question of were do you put it is right on target. My biggest struggle has been wear to stow my ditch kit in a yak.

My first bail out kit was one I developed for the BWCA. IT was based on the thought that if I lost my boat and had to walk/swim out alone. In the end I grew so reliant on my bailout kit it that I decided to really try it out once. I went 11 weeks in the BWCA through September with just it a paddle a boat and my cloths and life jacket and my bail out kit. I have modified this concept for both the alpine and cave environments. I actually have several bail out kits. One for the BWCA one for mtneering and one for caving. I tested out my cave bag and lasted 7 days before I got to craving sunlight and left for the entrance. For canoeing I put the entire contents in a small stuff sack. I hang it off my belt through the draw string. between two barrel locks. Great for a canoe but in a yak....

My marine kit doesn't work there. Your right Rob it hampers my ability to wet exit. It gets between my legs and I have to reach back in move it out of the way in order for my legs to slip out. Obviously I had to find another place. I have tried putting it under my spray skirt in a flat pouch, on the back of my life jacket, on top of my thigh. The thing that has worked the best is a small fanny pack above my spray skirt. Its out of the way, but I can twist it to my front when I need it. It actually increases my comfort by supporting my upper back. I think its found its final home.

As for books: I haven't found the end all end all book either for sea kayaking. The answer I think is in many books. Wilderness foraging shelter building outdoor EMS SAR all have a corner on this subject. Most books and magazines on the subject address signaling adequately. What is missing is the cold water survival skills. Most of that is in the swift water rescue courses.

The biggest part of outdoor crisis management after you have gotten into trouble is thinking in terms of survival is learning not to pack for the environment but use the environment to get what you need. In emergency situations that paradigm is essential. The best teacher of that philosophy Bare none is Tom Brown of the Tracking School in NJ . His books Wilderness survival and Urban survival are both excellent ways to learn both the skills and the paradigm. The knowledge base in his book is enough to keep most anyone alive for a very long time until help arrives.

As an example of this way of thinking and a little survival trick. We are taught that there is no fresh water in the salt water ocean. In fact its obvious. However, I got to looking around and found if you find a metal navigation aid The morning dew you can sop off the cold metal is in total quite a bit. I tested this theory on a Red Return navigation structure and got nearly a quart off of one structure. The more surface area the better. A floating solar still on hot day at sea can make a lot of fresh water much more then the desert environments they are usually tested in. I have found that everything you need to live exists out there. You just need to look for it in different places.

I can't tell you how often folks get in trouble up here in the White Mts for lack of shelter.... They are sitting in the big wind in mega below zero with their keisters on many feet of snow....... One of the best insulators around. My kids and I had an igloo toasting to 72 degrees this winter. IT was 12 below out side with a stiff wind. Folks that look at snow not as cold ... but warm go home. Its a matter of knowing the resources around you. Looking for what is possible.

Another marine example: in a storm if it gets to wild and you can't make shore.... Find a kelp bed. The kelp absorbs a lot of the energy of a wave thus flattening the ocean in the patch. Its like a giant fabric damper that trucks use to keep liquid cargos from sloshing around Kelp will usually hold a boat. Its also warmer. Kelp holds in heat of the sun and radiates it at night. try it on a calm night the air above a kelp bed will be a few degrees warmer. It may sound odd but I've been known to nap in kelp beds.

OK enough on that paradigm. I also think anyone headed into wilderness adventures should read and digest Medicine for Mtneering. For backcountry medicine its still the bible.

OK about the suggestion that I list the contents of my bail out kit. I have an idea.

I would like to propose the first ever KBBS survival l bowl, (don't worry no one gets voted off) A prodromal phase game actually.

I'm going to list the contents in my marine bail out bag. I know there are lots of fresh water paddlers here so I have noted fresh water additions and deletions to the marine bail out kit, and......I'm going to post this list without the what fors and reasons and what each thing can be used for.

I think the better part of safety instruction is when we teach a paradigm. For most of you I'm guessing there is probably no new paradigm here. But for some it might be useful. Still even for the seasoned it might be a fun joint exercise that flexes a valuable skill. Think of it as Kayak Talks answer to Click and Clack over at Car Talk's Puzzler.

So take a gander at this list. Read my prior post Then Under each item list off all the possible emergency uses you can think of. Now to be honest I've got my list but given the very inventive nature of this group I am looking forward to seeing what else you come up with. I'm figuring I'm going to learn some things too. Feel free to add suggestions of must haves (remember no power tools ) to the list but if you add try to trade something off. In the end I've got my kit. Think about what you would want in yours for where you paddle.

As a final thought. If you had too priortize Find 25 items you would delete from the ditch kit if you had too. Remember there are no right or wrong answers. Its your choices based on your comfort and trust in the items listed.

OK Rather then fill Nicks board with returns just e-mail them direct to me.

I'll collate all the possibilities giving credit by name for all suggestions. I'll add those possibilities I have come up with and I'll note those I hadn't figured on. I'll post the results in one month on a web site. Come on it will be fun for all and good for each.

OK any integrated system is designed based on a certain set of assumptions and givens. My marine bail out kit is based on the following givens. I am paddling mostly in cold water. with islands and navigation aids. There are long crossings and long shore paddles as well. I intend to be able to survive 2.5 days in the water. Perhaps not all in one shot. It may be in and out sort of stuff, but In day 3 I hope to have reached some means to get above water. or land on a remote island or strip of land. Another given is I expect to find useful bits of sea trash washed up on the beaches. We all paddle past similar stuff. Commercial fishing gear lost, garbage and other flotsam and jetsam.

I plan for the following scenarios: swamped boat unsuccessful reentry, broken boat, boat gone, Radio Alert made,/Radio Alert not made. Radio not working or lost. I assume I have in most scenarios lost the contents of my boat. I assume storms, lightening, dry islands. Very hot and very cold. Worse case scenario I assume I am solo or lost my party. I assume potential for crush and concussion injures and burns as being highest but am preparing for other possible medical emergencies.

Here is the list:

Cordage
1) 6 lengths of parachute cord daisy chained to conserve space orange and white
2) 2 lengths bungee cord daisy chained
3) 1 section of red flat webbing load strap (Fresh water Delete)
4) 4 mm perlon prusiks
5) surgical tubing in colors
6) Fishing line clear Nylon 35 pound test (Fresh water Delete)
7) small roll of 1 inch duct tape crushed
3 small wire hangers
9) 3 carbineers
10) small Hone stone (shortened)
11) leatherman tool both kinds of screw driver and pliers in paraffin wax
12) Shortened Hack saw blade (Fresh water Delete)
13) steak knife blade (no handle)
14) 9/16 socket 1/2 inch socket with 4 holes drilled in each (Fresh water Delete)
15) round file shortened
16) floating knife
17) cable saw
18) Piece of 80 grit sand paper
19) Steel wool
20) 2 part epoxy and #6 0z glass
21) Small quantity of flexible wire
22) Tube of oil based orange paint (Fresh water Delete)
23) sand netting
25) Foil
26) small can 10W-40 (Fresh water Delete)
27) iodine (Fresh water Delete)
28) space blanket
29) mole skin
30) Advil
31) small garbage bags 1 large garbage bag
32) Q tips
33) 7 Chemical Heat pads (Fresh water Delete)
34) small thing of sun block in Vaseline base
35) rag and sponge (Fresh water Delete)
37) 2 red & white red devil lure 4 hooks
38) 2 spice cloves
39) a garlic
40) film canister of peanut butter, (fresh water reduce to much smaller amount)
41) a small squeeze tube of honey
42) 2 vitamin C tablets
43) 2 Vitamin B complex tablets
44) In my fresh water dumpkit a small vial of salt (salt water Delete)
45) Diariah tablets,
46) coffee filter (Fresh water Delete)
47) 5 coffee beans
48) signal mirror
49) compass with mirror
50) metal match magnesium fire starter
51) magnifying glass lens
52) birch bark paper small tube fire ribbon
53) Barn burner matches in a metal canister
54) Lighter in a block of paraffin
55) Emergency candles
56) 2 packages of Heat tabs
57) 2 oz bottle of DEET
58) 9 volt transistor battery in paraffin
59) 7 M80's fire crackers in paraffin (where legal)
60) small water proof flash light extra batteries in paraffin
63) 2 cylume light sticks
64) Old drivers license with 4 quarter s and 2 dimes duct taped to the back
65) Laminate card with health info
66)Laminate picture of family
67) religious totem
68) Pencil water proof Paper zip lock bag
69) small inflatable ring (Fresh water Delete)

On my life Jacket
VHF radio
GPS
Strobe
hand flares
signal mirror
Smoke and dye
compass
canister air horn (Fresh water Delete)
2 canteens of water
list of tides for the next seven days (Fresh water Delete)
List of safe vectors across the day

Good luck let the games begin

!RUSS