Questioned by RNLI re not wearing lifejacket.

I think I've been accosted by the same RNLI guy in Dartmouth as longjohnsilver. He is indeed a bit nosey and brusque. He sits up in a little RNLI hut across the bowling green with his binocs waiting for people just like you!
I arrived at the pontoon in my yacht. We had come down river about 1 mile from our up stream mooring. One of my 11 year old kids jumped on to the pontoon to tie up without a lifejacket and this guy was over like a shot. I was quite offended really as I consider myself to be quite cautious regarding life jacket wearing. He certainly wound me up the wrong way. I decided he's probably still recovering from dealing with drunken morons over regatta week.
 
This thread is a perfect example of why professionals and people who can contribute something of value or interest never visit this forum.

*shame*
 
Polarisation of opinion

I've followed lifejacket debates on this and other fora for quite some time.

Regardless of the "should we be made to wear lifejackets" argument (of course the answer is clear to me - we should not), have you noticed how the polarisation of views is broadly similar to those in various "do lifejackets save lives?" discussions?

Interesting that those who claim they do save lives are, in the main, the experts who have conducted in-depth studies over lengthy periods (notable Tipton/Golden, the UK and USA Coastguards, the RNLI, the RYA etc etc), and as far as I can see, no-one who has studied the subject in depth claims the opposite.

Interesting too that few of those expert bodies or the official spokesmen for them states the view that lifejacket wearing should be enforced ... except perhaps the Irish and US coastguards in certain circumstances

If this observation is true, then it's completely understandable that those who doubt that lifejackets save lives should resist compulsion to wear them. However, maybe if they made a more careful study of the expert opinions they might voluntarily choose to wear them more often.

Just an observation, from someone who is quite vehemently anti-compulsion but pro-lifejacket
 
DogWatch said:
This thread is a perfect example of why professionals and people who can contribute something of value or interest never visit this forum.
Click to expand...
Oh but they do. It's just that people like you ensure that the signal to noise ratio is so low that their contributions are drowned out by your prejudices.
 
Doghousekeeper said:
I've followed lifejacket debates on this and other fora for quite some time.

Regardless of the "should we be made to wear lifejackets" argument (of course the answer is clear to me - we should not), have you noticed how the polarisation of views is broadly similar to those in various "do lifejackets save lives?" discussions?

Interesting that those who claim they do save lives are, in the main, the experts who have conducted in-depth studies over lengthy periods (notable Tipton/Golden, the UK and USA Coastguards, the RNLI, the RYA etc etc), and as far as I can see, no-one who has studied the subject in depth claims the opposite.

Interesting too that few of those expert bodies or the official spokesmen for them states the view that lifejacket wearing should be enforced ... except perhaps the Irish and US coastguards in certain circumstances

If this observation is true, then it's completely understandable that those who doubt that lifejackets save lives should resist compulsion to wear them. However, maybe if they made a more careful study of the expert opinions they might voluntarily choose to wear them more often.

Just an observation, from someone who is quite vehemently anti-compulsion but pro-lifejacket
Click to expand...

Straw man fallacy.
 
toad_oftoadhall said:
...and that looks a Fallacy of Distraction to me.

Are you planning to keep commiting logical fallacys all day? Please do, I really enjoy them.
Click to expand...

You're just too quick. That post was only there for about 30 seconds while I worked out how to delete it. My apologies, it was rude and uncalled for
 
At the end of the day it is surely up to the individual to decide to wear one or not? I tend to put one on when it gets to first reef time or if it's dark, don't normally when in the dinghy, but perhaps should at times!
However, I am a reasonable swimmer & wonder how many people have tried to swim in an inflated lifejacket?
As an exercise I jumped over the side a couple of years ago, let myself drift about a length away from the boat & tried to swim back to it -
Could I hell :eek:
Removed the lifejacket a did it easily !
I know about the cold reaction etc. but if I fell out of the dinghy on my own with a lifejacket on I would simply drift off until someone found me, unless I could remove it in time to swim back to it (yes I do always use a killcord).
Does make me wonder :confused:
 
How about a buoyancy aid? You can still swim to some extent in them.
I am not a wearer of life jackets, but do have buoyancy aids on board (inland lake) and offer people them if they want. I have even been known to wear one when I feel the need.
That is when it's a bit chilly, they are wonderful gillets.

Oh, and when I was experimenting with my trimaran. I could see there may be an enforced dunking with complications in that situation.
 
SimbaDog said:
At the end of the day it is surely up to the individual to decide to wear one or not? I tend to put one on when it gets to first reef time or if it's dark, don't normally when in the dinghy, but perhaps should at times!
However, I am a reasonable swimmer & wonder how many people have tried to swim in an inflated lifejacket?
As an exercise I jumped over the side a couple of years ago, let myself drift about a length away from the boat & tried to swim back to it -
Could I hell :eek:
Removed the lifejacket a did it easily !
I know about the cold reaction etc. but if I fell out of the dinghy on my own with a lifejacket on I would simply drift off until someone found me, unless I could remove it in time to swim back to it (yes I do always use a killcord).
Does make me wonder :confused:
Click to expand...

We do people regularly assume you can't drown in daylight?
 
DogWatch said:
This thread is a perfect example of why professionals and people who can contribute something of value or interest never visit this forum.

*shame*
Click to expand...

timbartlett said:
Oh but they do. It's just that people like you ensure that the signal to noise ratio is so low that their contributions are drowned out by your prejudices.
Click to expand...

toad_oftoadhall said:
+1.
Click to expand...

Fascinating, I didn't pick out anyone in particular, but the two moronic trolls chose to take my statement personally.
 
DogWatch said:
Fascinating, I didn't pick out anyone in particular, but the two moronic trolls chose to take my statement personally.
Click to expand...

I hadn't realized it was aimed at me, I merely agreed that your original comment was off topic 'noise' which made the useful posts harder to find.

....and now I've let myself get trolled into an off topic digression so I won't be responding to your off topic stuff again. Back under your bridge.
 
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