SLAS - Aloof yachties?

I did have a waterproof jacket made by Functional who, at the time, supplied the RNLI. It was useless.
I then bought a Belstead motorbike jacket which had an oily finish & that was definitely waterproof. Our seamstress sewed on button holes & I fitted the padded hood from the Functional jacket & it made a really good set for quite a few years
 
The thought that I might end up in a reality TV show would definitely make me think twice about asking for assistance.

maybe a request to opt out of reality TV should be incorporated into the standard MAYDAY call.

I wonder, if RYA surveyed the members about this, what would be the result?
 
Laser310 said:
The thought that I might end up in a reality TV show would definitely make me think twice about asking for assistance.

maybe a request to opt out of reality TV should be incorporated into the standard MAYDAY call.

I wonder, if RYA surveyed the members about this, what would be the result?
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No one is going to appear on SLAS, or any other RNLI footage where they are identifiable, without their consent.

And that consent can't be given at the time of the rescue. It's RNLI policy that we have to wait at least 24 hours, so that the casualties have had time to properly consider their response.
 
Daydream believer said:
I did have a waterproof jacket made by Functional who, at the time, supplied the RNLI.
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I had one back in the early 70s. It was certainly waterproof, but was before breathable stuff, so you got just as wet with it as without if working hard. Thirty years later, I had a set of Compass breathables that were pretty good, but got scruffy after a few years. I was going off to crew for a group taking blind people sailing, and Madame said, "You're not wearing those!" "Why not, they can't see me?" didn't go down well, so a week later I was in You Boat, trying on their budget kit. I'd pretty much decided on a set, but made a bad mistake. I tried on some Gill Atlantic kit. A few minutes later, I came out of the shop in a state of shock, having spent at least triple what I'd ever spent on a set of clothes in my life. Yes, the difference was that noticeable. Still, they lasted me a good 15 years of being out in all weathers, so I reckon they were decent value for money. I've still got the trousers, but the jacket was replaced by a Decathlon one. I doubt it'll last as long as the Gill, but I'm in my mid 70s so, being realistic, it probably won't have to.
 
Breathables are, forgive the pun, another hot topic here. L8ke Captain Blackbeard on Blackadder, opinions are divided. Maybe into camps according to how much hard work is involved in your sailing. Even in light winds we do enough for our fitness trackers to give us some high heartrate aerobic exercise. A 2 hour race will have me in that zone for maybe an hour. I have no idea how much I sweat. Certainly there’s an outbreak of dampness after unfolding and raising the main on setting out. That vanishes as if by magic after 5 minutes or so. If your boat is gentler, maybe it doesn’t make so much difference.
 
Daydream believer said:
I did have a waterproof jacket made by Functional who, at the time, supplied the RNLI. It was useless.
I then bought a Belstead motorbike jacket which had an oily finish & that was definitely waterproof. Our seamstress sewed on button holes & I fitted the padded hood from the Functional jacket & it made a really good set for quite a few years
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I guess you mean Belstaff jacket? Still available at a price, but top quality. Re-waxing is easy, unlike the hit and miss process with newer materials.
 
Chiara’s slave said:
Breathables are, forgive the pun, another hot topic here. L8ke Captain Blackbeard on Blackadder, opinions are divided. Maybe into camps according to how much hard work is involved in your sailing. Even in light winds we do enough for our fitness trackers to give us some high heartrate aerobic exercise. A 2 hour race will have me in that zone for maybe an hour. I have no idea how much I sweat. Certainly there’s an outbreak of dampness after unfolding and raising the main on setting out. That vanishes as if by magic after 5 minutes or so. If your boat is gentler, maybe it doesn’t make so much difference.
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My Musto Ocean suit was probably twenty years old when I did a trip in September to take my new boat to the SBS. I sailed with a friend and because of a poor forecast we were joined by a delivery chap. It was as humid as only Dover can be and my friend and I in similar kit could only look on with envy while our fellow sat in comfort from the sweaty confines of our suits. I immediately went out and bought a breathable set, I think Musto Offshore, and in spite of being a far from warm person by nature I’ve been comfortable ever since. A breathable replacement for my light waterproof jacket was a similar improvement.
 
Chiara’s slave said:
The only people I know with Belstaff wax jackets are bikers. As all the road filth sticks to the wax, they wouldn’t be allowed in my car whilst wearing it.
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Barbour wax jackets, much loved by Londoners for walking around Hyde Park, are much the same, the wax is liberally transferred to any seating surface. They're fine for days out shooting when the transport is an Ifor Williams sheep trailer.
 
RogerJolly said:
Watching Saving Lives at Sea the other week, seemed noticeable that the yachties rescued off the Goodwind sands didn't make the usual post-event contribution to the program, telling the story.

They probably had good reasons, but did it give the impression we're a stand-offish aloof bunch?

Surely helping out with the program serves as some form of thanks for being rescued.
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No. It only helps out the TV channel.
 
seeSimon said:
T

The oh-so blatant branding thing does make me giggle..."ocean spec" RNLI foulies all done up to the neck...sat in a nice warm, dry studio.
Presumably its contractual?
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you see similar sights at the boat show. Brits love to dress up showing their interests.
 
shanemax said:
If you fall over the side when on your own and the boat keeps going I am of the opinion that you are going to have to start swimming. Non brainer really.
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But where are you swimming TO ? You won't catch the boat. Shore? Obviously depending how close it is, how easy to get out, etc. Assuming you survive the cold shock and are a good enough swimmer, you might make it ashore, but its always seemed a no brainer to me that having the option to hang around in my lifejacket and get rescued, or deflate it and swim and reinflate if tired, might be a better option. I'm not a particularly great swimmer, though and my local waters might be less hospitable than yours - certainly shorts and t-shirt are far from common. I'm not telling you that you are wrong; I just find it odd that you would view anyone wearing a lifejacket as overprepared. I am sure more sailors drown close to shore than in the middle of the ocean...
 
ylop said:
But where are you swimming TO ? You won't catch the boat. Shore? Obviously depending how close it is, how easy to get out, etc. Assuming you survive the cold shock and are a good enough swimmer, you might make it ashore, but its always seemed a no brainer to me that having the option to hang around in my lifejacket and get rescued, or deflate it and swim and reinflate if tired, might be a better option. I'm not a particularly great swimmer, though and my local waters might be less hospitable than yours - certainly shorts and t-shirt are far from common. I'm not telling you that you are wrong; I just find it odd that you would view anyone wearing a lifejacket as overprepared. I am sure more sailors drown close to shore than in the middle of the ocean...
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I would have thought that the longer you just float there in your life jacket doing nothing the more body heat you would dissipate into the water.
Another no brainer.
 
shanemax said:
I would have thought that the longer you just float there in your life jacket doing nothing the more body heat you would dissipate into the water.
Another no brainer.
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Have you ever tried swimming in your clothes? It’s amazingly hard. And even for those who never leave the Solent, they might spend much of their time a mile or more from shore. I wouldn’t expect more than a dozen or so forum members to be able to swim a mile in a pool, let alone in waves. We wear lifejackets from about 12kn of wind upwards, and tethers from about 20 upwards especially if offshore.
 
shanemax said:
I would have thought that the longer you just float there in your life jacket doing nothing the more body heat you would dissipate into the water.
Another no brainer.
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The advice from the experts is it is generally best to float and conserve energy rather than swim! Now every situation is different 100m from shore at dusk with minimal wind and waves, and nobody knowing where you are swimming might be your best bet but 500m from shore in an gentle offshore breeze and I wouldn’t bank on many forumites swimming long enough to get rescued/self rescue.
 
shanemax said:
If you fall over the side when on your own and the boat keeps going I am of the opinion that you are going to have to start swimming. Non brainer really.
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Yes but where would you swim too?
I remember my swimming test in the RN, trying to swim a length of the pool in overalls, I was a good swimmer but exhausted at the other end
I must admit that I never wore a lifejacket, I used a short Tether when offshore going up on deck. Last thing I wanted was to fall overboard on my alone watch with a lifejacket on watching the boat sail away. I'd rather go straight down.
 
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