Lifejackets

[jon and michie]

Hi - We are currently based on the River Crouch and the weather has been very good the past few weekends and therefore a lot of activity on the river from canoeing to motor boating etc but is it just me and the swmbo and a couple of boaters that wear life jackets ??

Majority of users we have seen don't wear them although I thought a lifejacket is your Last form of safety.

Jon

 

[sailorman]

All down to personal preference

 

[FulmarJeddo]

I grew up in sailing dinghies and wearing a bouancy aid was compulsory as far as my parents were concerned and now I feel uncomfortable if not waring a Lifejacket. I can never understand how many people at our club don't wear LJs even in the tender trip out to the boat. Earlier this year a club member capsized his dinghy whilst transferring to the boat late at night. His boarding ladder was tied up so couldn't get aboard. Cutting a long story short, he was dragged from the water about 2hrs later by Sheerness RNLI. He only survived because he was wearing a well fitted LJ with crutch strap. We have seen a marked increase in LJ use at the club since this.

 

[DavidofMersea]

I was dinghy sailing for many years and always wore a life jacket. Then I started sailing a Pandora and I no longer felt the need for a LJ. One day my skipper looked up at the burgee, lost his balance a fell overboard .... But for the grace of God go I. I now always wear a LJ even on he Pandora

 

[pvb]

It has to be personal choice, based on a personal assessment of the risks involved. Simply wearing a lifejacket automatically in all circumstances may imply an inadequate assessment of risk, and an assumption of invulnerability, which is not to be recommended.

 

[MoodySabre]

Calm sunny day just wearing shorts and t-shirt 'I could swim for a while in this'. Cold water, wrapped up 'hmm I wouldn't survive long in the water'. Sometimes a LJ, sometimes not. Crew capability also a factor 'if I fall in can they get me back?'

 

[Boz]

It has to be personal choice, based on a personal assessment of the risks involved. Simply wearing a lifejacket automatically in all circumstances may imply an inadequate assessment of risk, and an assumption of invulnerability, which is not to be recommended.

Agreed on every point, however always at night and include 'Clipped on' if alone on deck....

 

[pvb]

Agreed on every point, however always at night and include 'Clipped on' if alone on deck....

Which broadly ties in with my description of a "personal assessment of the risks involved".

 

[PaulRainbow]

I'm also in the "varies" camp. Locking in/out, always. At sea will vary depending on conditions and crew. If i'm single handing then it's always LJ and clipped on.

 

[Ali-alshira]

We seldom used to wear LJs. Then we went to the previous man overboard practice ( look at the posts about the one in a couple of weeks time, and maybe come along). We were so shocked at the difficulty of getting someone back on board that we always wore LJs. That lasted a few years, then our new boat feels much safer, and we have reverted to wearing them very seldom. Always at night, in fog, in the dinghy, and when it gets rough, but I am slightly ashamed to say that we clamber around the deck, miles from anywhere in quite choppy conditions, without thinking of a LJ or harness. We saw many more people wearing them in Europe than we do here.

 

[stranded]

Always offer them to guests. Virtually never wear them ourselves - couple of times maybe in 4 years of coastal sailing. Don't fit with my idea of what sailing should be about. Same with cycling helmets. The measure of a life is not how long it lasts but how much fun you have living it.

 

[Tam Lin]

Always wear life jacket in the tender as it is some distance to the mooring. Always wear it when singlehanded and 90% of the rest of the time. I am not a strong swimmer.

 

[TheEcho]

I am generally a safety conscious person. I don't wear a life jacket on the yacht when it is calm, good visibility, lots of people around, other folk on the boat, and the water is warm enough to voluntarily swim in. The Crouch has fitted that description recently. I am a confident swimmer, although a bit sensitive to the cold. However I still wear a buoyancy aid when kayaking, because I am often practising self rescue.

 

[CalicoJack]

As I said to my son, who swims sub 60 seconds for 100m, which would have won him an Olympic gold back in 1930, how fast are you when you are unconscious?

 

[Sniper]

Always wear life jacket in the tender as it is some distance to the mooring. Always wear it when singlehanded and 90% of the rest of the time. I am not a strong swimmer.

That fits exactly with my practice as well.

 

[Bru]

Always wear life jacket in the tender as it is some distance to the mooring. Always wear it when singlehanded and 90% of the rest of the time. I am not a strong swimmer.

Likewise. Closer to 100% of the time in fact (once in a very long while, on a really hot calm-ish day, I may remove it for a while but never on deck, only in the cockpit)

 

[Marmalade]

We don't wear LJs in the cockpit as a matter of course - we have some rules which are mostly stuck to...
Always wear LJ if out of the cockpit when offshore or rough
Clip on if out of the cockpit offshore or rough
Clip on if alone esp at night
Never leave cockpit if alone on deck (again esp at night) - always call someone to let them know you're going for'ard

Like Ali - the previous MOB day was thought provoking - our response was mostly - don't fall off whatever you do!

 

[Plum]

Always wear life jacket in the tender as it is some distance to the mooring. Always wear it when singlehanded and 90% of the rest of the time. I am not a strong swimmer.

+1 and also have a PLB inside lifejacket.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[jon and michie]

Thanks for the mixed opinions - mine and the swmbo 's rule is to wear them all the time whilst sailing unless one of us has to go in the cabin then the jacket would be removed.
Our experience is we used to work on ships and I now work offshore so maybe it's down to our training/experience.
Thanks again
Jon

 

[Saguday]

Bit late, but always wore buoyancy aids sailing dinghies and now always wear lifejackets on the big boat.

Sailing with small kids from the start you always tell them to wear theirs and we find it hypocritical not to do the same ourselves, so we always have done. It's automatic, like putting a seat belt on in the car and with modern designs there's no comfort reason not to. The only time we ever relaxed this was motoring in flat calm waters in 90degC heat, as long as everyone stayed in the cockpit.

Another rule is always clip on when outside the cockpit and underway, now also automatic for all of us.

To each their own I guess.