What if you were stranded several miles offshore in cold weather?

Because it is getting dark, your options are limited, for now, to the EPIRB, flares and horns.

Both boaters and pilots use EPIRBs. A modern EPIRB is a sophisticated device that contains:

Once activated, both of the radios start transmitting. A GOES satellite 24,000 or so miles up in space in a geosynchronous orbit can detect the 406 MHz signal. Embedded in the signal is a unique serial number and, if the unit is equipped with a GPS receiver, the exact location of the radio. If the EPIRB is properly registered, the serial number lets the authorities know who owns it. Rescuers in planes or boats can home in on the EPIRB using either the 406 MHz or 121.5 MHz signal.

After you have activated the EPIRB, start sounding the horn intermittently. Next, look around the boat for flares. If you have enough, you can set off a flare every 15 minutes for an hour in hopes that a passerby might see your distress signal. However, don't waste your flares if it seems too late for other boaters to be out and about. Save them to use when other boats are likely to be nearby. If you haven't been found by morning, you can incorporate other methods into to your routine -- such as removing the vanity mirror from the bathroom to signal others of your trouble.

Keeping hydrated

You're supposed to have between eight and 10 8-ounce glasses of water a day, so that's about 64 ounces, or half a gallon. Your roommate brought a gallon-sized jug of water on board that morning, but he's been drinking it all day. Luckily, the boat you're on probably has a tank. For a 28-footer, you can expect there are about 24 to 32 gallons of potable water in the tank. If for some reason the tank is empty, you can look inside the emergency kit that accompanies the life raft for water purification tablets and filters to create your own drinking water.

If you're on the ocean, instead of a lake -- and you're lucky -- you'll have a solar desalination kit. If not, you have a real problem. Never drink seawater, as the salt will only hasten dehydration.

Although you can survive for several days without food, you'll probably want something to eat. After searching the boat, you discover that you've only got a few packages of beef jerky that you brought along for a snack. Instead of giving in to your pangs of hunger by eating all the jerky at once, you should ration out portions for you and your friend and leave some out to use as bait. Using the dental floss you find in the bathroom, along with some discarded fishing hooks, you can fashion a rudimentary system to catch fish.

Now that you have food and water covered, the remaining concern is the weather. If you have one on board, you should listen to the radio to monitor the weather. With or without a weather report, you should anticipate and plan for the worst. In this area, a daytime temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15.5 degrees Celsius) is certainly out of the norm. The average temperature for the month of November in Alpena, Mich., is:

This means that overnight temperatures could easily be in the 30s. Factor in the wind chill, and the temperature could feel closer to something in the teens. If you don't find a way to keep warm, you'll be at risk for hypothermia. You can use any tarps or canvas you find (remove seat cushion coverings if necessary) to make a big blanket or tent. You and your friend can huddle together under the blanket or in your improvised tent to stay out of the wind and share body heat. If it's particularly windy or it starts to rain, empty out the storage compartment under the bow or huddle up in the bathroom, making sure to take turns going out on deck to look for rescue planes or boats. Have flares handy, so you can signal if someone approaches.

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