Why is the liferaft's sea anchor (drogue) important beyond just stabilising the raft?

A. The sea anchor exists purely for occupant comfort and has no bearing on search and rescue effectiveness

B. It significantly reduces drift speed and distance, which helps keep the raft closer to the vessel's last known/transmitted position — this matters directly for search and rescue, since searchers will be looking around that last known position first

C. The sea anchor is only useful in completely calm conditions and should not be deployed in any wind

D. Deploying the sea anchor actively speeds up drift to help the raft reach shore faster

A. The HRU is simply a decorative bracket with no functional release mechanism

B. The HRU only operates if manually armed by an officer before each voyage

C. The HRU automatically releases the liferaft from its cradle if the vessel sinks to a set depth (typically around 4 metres), allowing the raft to float free and inflate even if no one has manually launched it — a critical backup if the crew cannot reach the raft in time

D. The HRU prevents the liferaft from ever being launched manually, for safety reasons

A. Throw the raft container into the water first, then worry about the painter line afterwards if there is time

B. The painter line should be cut immediately after the raft inflates, to allow it to drift freely

C. Check the area below is clear, secure the painter line to a strong point on the vessel before releasing the raft, throw or lower the raft container into the water, then pull the painter line firmly to inflate it — never let go of the painter line until the raft is confirmed inflated and the line is needed to bring the raft alongside

D. Inflate the raft while it is still in its container on deck, then carry the inflated raft to the side