Surviving Survival School

I kicked my feet as hard as I could—fighting against the incredible buoyancy of my survival suit—trying to right myself. With wet, freezing fingers I struggled to wipe the salt water from my face. My eyes adjusted and through fogged up, crooked sunglasses I spotted our liferaft in the distance.

- Daniel Harding Jr.

I never thought I’d find myself in this situation, treading water in Long Island Sound on a 38-degree day (with 36-degree water) in February. Thankfully, this exercise was planned; five colleagues and I were neck deep in an at-sea survival course taught by Survival Systems USA in Groton, Connecticut.

Our morning began in the classroom, where we were led through survival theory and preparedness lessons, complete with an exam at the end. The afternoon portion was handson—or rather survival suit-on—instruction during which we practiced various drills. We arranged ourselves in a “carpet formation” in the water, which involved holding one another’s legs close to our chests. There was also the chain formation, which involved wrapping your legs around the person in front of you and paddling in unison with your arms. I like my coworkers but I (and our HR department) hope we don’t get any closer.