Can you swim in a lifejacket?

Robert Wilson said:
Very informative, and most surprising.
If ever I thought not wearing any form of bouyancy/preserver was a risk worth taking I have changed my mind.

I remember watching a TV programme about the effects of cold water on breathing, and water inhalation. On immersion into cold water the body involuntarily gasps. This (if face in/near water) takes water into the lungs.
The amount of liquid required to "drown" the lungs is frighteningly little, certainly around the volume of onedeep gasp.

Better to stay clipped-on whenever possible.
(Saw the video of crew member undo his lifeline to go below and a big wave rocked the boat - straight over the side from the companionway. Think it was Volvo round-world race).
And of course, even good sailors get tired and lose concentration.
Scary stuff, this sailing lark.
Click to expand...

My first Sunday at Dartmouth in 1968 included the memorial service for two cadets drowned off Jutland on the Tall Ships Race that summer. The two going off watch had unclipped, and the two coming on watch were about to clip on, when a wave washed all four out of the cockpit and overboard. The next wave washed two of them back in again. We sang "For those in peril" with a real feeling that has stayed with me ever since.
 
ronmarson said:
Does any one know of a buoyancy aid with usable pockets for knife/plb/sweets/shackels, etc?
I have seen ones with fiddly little pockets that will take a VHF or a PLB, but I need one for all the bits I might need, rather like the DIY belt with all the pouches for the screws and tools.
Click to expand...

You can get them - search for touring sea kayaking ones. The one I have for sea kayaking has several good sized pockets, plus loops and straps for hanging VHF, compass, etc. from.
 
>The RYA Sea Survival course I attended taught swimming in a lifejacket. Basically, it's sculling backwards with your arms. You won't be able to cross miles of water but it would get you to a nearby liferaft.

We did that course and learnt that too, I would highly recommend it.

We also saw a video of Duncan Goodhew and Sharon Davies swimming in near freezing water. Within a few minutes the were totally uncoordinated. It was reaaly scary, if that can happen to Olympic champions how long would us lesser mortals last.
 
Sidedrum said:
I may take to the buoyancy aid for rowing ashore as well as sailing the Tinker.
Click to expand...

Good choice, I reckon. Also a scruffy old buoyancy aid is less likely to get nicked out of a dinghy than a nice auto lifejacket. I've just bought a set of four from eBay - sun faded and with splashes of old paint, but all sound and undamaged. Much happier leaving those in the dinghy when going ashore to the pub - which was always a temptation not to bother before.

Pete
 
onesea said:
Not disagreeing with any of your post but my answer is if I had an automatic, it would probably of gone of before I had wanted. Leaving me worse of...

I am the one who ends up on a wet fore-deck changing headsails, etc etc

For better or worse it is the risk I take, all the others onboard are automatics.

It has often crossed my mind if occasional sea swimming etc helps to acclimatize your body to cold water.

I used to sail dinghy's in the winter with no wet-suit (braking the on the edge of fresh water lake etc), capsize was often on the menu :o..
Today I have cold water shock just thinking about it :eek:

Swimming in LJ as others have said skull backwards as taught in courses or even forward feet up as wave breaks.

I always found that quite fun as a kid... The trick in my mind is not to fight your LJ/ buoyancy aid but work with it...

As most dinghy sailors will tell you if you DO NOT LET GO of the boat you will not need to swim ;) easier said than done :eek:
Click to expand...

How many times have autos inflated on you whilst working the foredeck?
 
KellysEye said:
>The RYA Sea Survival course I attended taught swimming in a lifejacket. Basically, it's sculling backwards with your arms. You won't be able to cross miles of water but it would get you to a nearby liferaft.

We did that course and learnt that too, I would highly recommend it.

We also saw a video of Duncan Goodhew and Sharon Davies swimming in near freezing water. Within a few minutes the were totally uncoordinated. It was reaaly scary, if that can happen to Olympic champions how long would us lesser mortals last.
Click to expand...

+1. Every one of us should go on one of these courses. Very eye-opening, even to long time experienced sailors.
 
You guys must be packing/re-arming them wrong. A Hammar type needs a static head of about 100mm to fire and a modern standard auto shouldn't go off until around the stage where you're being knocked off your feet by water over the foredeck.

Look at some videos of guys working wave swept foredecks on offshore race boats. There aren't lifejackets inflating left, right and centre.
 
Life Jackets are not intended for swimming.
You can awkwardly propell yourself backwards like an upside down spider.
If you intend to go swimming get a pair of water wings.

I use a BCD (Buoyancy control device) when diving. Again not easy to swim in without fins.

As others have said the true life jacket is required to be able to turn an unconscious person face up. A lifejacket is also required to provide buoyancy for a minimum of 24 hr. be high visibility orange Have a light a whistle retro reflective tape. And a handle to pull someone out of the water.
Trying to do anything other than float in a lifejacket is very difficult.
An odd statistic is non swimmers had a better survival rate than swimmers during ww2. Most succumb to hypothermia rather than drowning. The act of trying to swim moves water around the casualty increasing the rate of cooling.

As a result I would only consider donning a life jacket if I thought sinking or abandoning my vessel was an imminent probability. I would not even bother to by one for my boat. What is the likelihood I or any other sane person would actually put one on.

A Personal Floatation Device or PFD .on the other hand is intended to be comfortable to wear. Be wearable through normal activity on board. Come in a variety of colors.
Back when I was young. I routinely went fishing offshore with my dad and uncles. None of us would have a lifejacket or anything resembling one. Just a pair of wellies and a rain jacket. I never put a seatbelt on or wore a helmet on a bike. (Even I was never stupid enough not to wear on MC)

We eventually wizened up. Now we at least have a PFD with us (f not actually on, not a lot of use) in small boats or canoes.
My kids all ways wear PFD’s on board. Small boats, canoes, kayaks, and when sailing My wife chooses to do so as well I usually wear my old Henry Lloyd with integral harness. Which is not even a approved PFD though it does have floatation. When sailing.

Inflatable life jackets have similar properties to a PFD with the advantages of being an actual life jacket if needed.
The best thing about a PFD is you are actually wearing it when you end up in the water. Sure if you are unconscious you are probable screwed but at least you float.
From time to time I contemplate an inflatable LJ with integral harness. Id pick the auto inflate over non auto inflate but
 
I'm surprised you find that tightly wrapping most of your torso in a thick layer of closed cell foam is more comfortable than wearing a modern lifejacket.

Uricanejack said:
As a result I would only consider donning a life jacket if I thought sinking or abandoning my vessel was an imminent probability. I would not even bother to by one for my boat. What is the likelihood I or any other sane person would actually put one on.
Click to expand...
Could you more clearly explain why it is you think I'm not sane, please?
 
I always swim on my back whether with or without a life jacket or bouyancy aid.As a kid I just couldnt stand the chlorine in the swimming baths so learned to float and swim back stroke where you can breath with ease and if necessary just float and take a rest.
 
I have auto's with harness for use in bad weather on the boat & would part deflate it for swimming if I fell in. For kayaking, swimming, dinghies & dossing around in the water I prefer BA's.

Saw a guy on TV the other day about to jump in the Serpentine with hs daughter, he said that breathing out as you jump in reduces the risk/ effect of cold shock. As a kayaker, I have fallen in near freezing melt water in January. It is difficult to prepare for something so totally unexpected. Well, of course you expect to fall in at some point - it's just such a shock when it does actually happen.

It takes your breath away utterly, but once you get that back, you acclimatise relatively quickly & have a reasonable amount of time to deal with the problem. Once out of the water you do need to get into somewhere dry & warm asap to avoid serious consequences.
 
Simondjuk said:
I'm surprised you find that tightly wrapping most of your torso in a thick layer of closed cell foam is more comfortable than wearing a modern lifejacket.


Could you more clearly explain why it is you think I'm not sane, please?
Click to expand...

I was refering to traditional lifejacket not the moderen inflatable. Its allmost impossible to do anything while wearing one. I choose the foam PFD on the basis of price.
 
Uricanejack said:
I was refering to traditional lifejacket not the moderen inflatable. .
Click to expand...

Ah the good old Mae West! Lovely girl, but as you say the lifejackets were not much good apart from floating. When I was working offshore in the Norwegian sector in the 70's this is what were in the lifejacket stores, so when we had our survival training this is what we wore! As has already been said you cannot swim effectively in these, and even more dramatic is the reduced ability to climb into a liferaft from the water, I NEVER succeeded without help from others!! Thankfully I never had to do it for real, otherwise I would probably not here now. :)

Mal
 
The best thing is to think for yourself do your own informed risk assessment.

I sail off-shore, single handed. The important thing there is, don't fall overboard because if you do, you've had it. So use a harness and clip on.

If I fall in the water when using the tender (which I did once), it's important to be able to swim, and to get back in over the side of the dinghy.

Therefore a lifejacket probably won't help you, and may hinder you, in these situations (despite the fact that it's the law to wear one in Ireland).

If there is a serious likelihood that you will go into the water - off a small boat, or voluntarily, say to help a child, wear a wetsuit. It will keep you warm, afloat, and you can swim and remain very agile.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top