Lifejackets Required?

L

l_bones

New Member
Hi All - we are organizing a sunfish regatta and having a slight opinion difference. One person says we should make life jackets mandatory. I believe they should be mandatory for juniors and optional (but on board) for adults. Obviously in prevailing winds or stormy weather they would be required, but where we are sailing is very sheltered and not high winds normally. There will also be many motorboats around. Whats your opinions? :confused: Thanks!
 
RACING RULES OF SAILING
PART 1 - FUNDAMENTAL RULES
1 SAFETY
1.2 Life-saving Equipment and Personal Buoyancy
A boat shall carry adequate life-saving equipment for all persons on board, including one item ready for immediate use, unless her class rules make some other provision. Each competitor is individually responsible for wearing personal buoyancy adequate for the conditions.
 
In my club they are required for everyone. I feel that it's just the safe thing. You never know in heavy air when the boom is gonna hit you, and it could knock you off your boat. I always wear mine no matter if its mandatory or not. A lot of regattas make it mandatory, and a lot of clubs don't. But even if you don't a lot of people will probably wear one anyway. As the regatta head, its up to you.
 
I always wear my lifejacket while sailing my Sunfish & Laser. I've gotten to the point where I don't even think about it, even when it's hot out. I've been knocked off my Laser by being hit on the head with the boom and was glad for my lifejacket. That can happen on the Sunfish too, in fact I have fallen off my Sunfish going up wind in during a windy regatta with lots of wind shifts. The wind shifted so much I was all of a sudden going directly into the wind and I did not have time to get back into the boat from a fully hiked out position.
 
Dude,

Its a no brainer. Plus, think about the example your leaving to the junior sailors. Make it second nature to be safe by example.
 
l_bones said:
Hi All - we are organizing a sunfish regatta and having a slight opinion difference. One person says we should make life jackets mandatory. I believe they should be mandatory for juniors and optional (but on board) for adults. Obviously in prevailing winds or stormy weather they would be required, but where we are sailing is very sheltered and not high winds normally. There will also be many motorboats around. Whats your opinions? :confused: Thanks!
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1. Whether experienced or not, heart attacks happen even when the conditions are 'easy'. A tragic example occurred at the most recent Sunfish Worlds: http://www.sunfishforum.com/showthread.php?t=1762

2. Legal liability; just imagine being sued after an accident for not having the life jacket requirement in the sailing instructions
 
I've always been one to wear a floatation device of some kind when sailing; no matter what the conditions. I have been knocked out of the boat twice. Once was a heavy air gybe where I lost my balance and was rising up to regain it when the boom took me out.
The other believe it or not was with less than three knots of wind and temps in the low 90's and I was just thinking of pulling the life jacket to help with cooling me off when a power boat pulled one of those sweeping turns right behind me generating about a 4 foot wave that sent me into the rigging and actually knocked me out. I came to in the water and was VERY glad I had not gotten around to removing the life jacket.
 
Spend some money and get a good fitting life jacket that you will like to wear and is comfortable. It makes all the difference in the world. Mine stays on all the time.
 
I agree with Tim. There are so many types of PFD's that it is easy to find one that is comfortable and does not hinder your movement when racing. In addition you may need to observe your individual state's regulations. In PA for example if you are under the age of 12, you must wear a jacket at all times. In addition if you sail on a lake that is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers in PA, they require jackets to be worn by everyone in a boat that is under 16 feet in length.
 
I have to admit, in my younger days sailing a Sunfish (40 years ago) I seldom wore a life jacket. At that time the jackets were pretty bulky, mostly the orange 'horse shoe' style. Many people wore the old "ski belts" ( a flotation ring buckled around your waist) when sailing but now the life jackets are much improved in style and function and it is foolish not to wear one. I wear mine 100% of the time now, as being older you always worry about medical issues and also, being on a larger body of water, the wake of a 30 footer going by.
Some of the freakiest things can happen on water. Two year ago a young lady decided to take off her life jacket and float, sunning herself on her wave runner. She got hit with a boat wake and rolled off. For what ever reason she was not able to climb back on the wave runner, and was nearly exhausted, barely able to hold on the wave runner before she was pulled out of the water by a boater. All this time her life jacket was neatly hanging on the handle bars ofd the wave runner. She was lucky, but she would not have been in nearly as much danger if she had the jacket on. Better safe than sorry.
 
I've been sailing about 25 years, from Hobies, to racing 22 catalinas up to 25' O'Day, and now a sunfish, and as mentioned if you get hit in the head and knocked out while overboard it will save your life. They make a pfd that is approved called Sospenders that will inflat when you hit the water or a cheaper type with a pull cord. Probabley good for Kayaking but a GOOD body type would be best for sailing. I always use one.
 
I death rolled my laser some years back and watched it sail away from me on its side. I was very tired and know that life jacket probagly saved my life. While I nearly always wear my life jacket and think its a good idea to do so, I disagree with making in mandatory via the sailing instructions. My reasons are:
1. Wearing a lifejacket is not required by law in most states. It is only required that you have one aboard and it is left up to you to wear it or not.
2. You have probably asked a competitor to sign a waver of liability, left the decision to race entirely up to them, and now you are taking responibility for their safety by requiring the life jacket. Mixed message that leaves you vulnerable.
3. What happens when the person gets their life jacket caught on the boom, flips the boat, suffers serious damage or injury and then sues you for making them wear the life jacket?
 
Hi Foxy I do agree about what you are saying about the liability end of it . It is a catch 22 situation. I also ride motorcycles and have been for years, some states require Helmets and the state of Florida does not. I have always worn a good helmet required or not. I have seen many a deceased rider with a blown away head from not wearing one. One of my friends hit a dear two weeks ago and his helmet saved his head for sure. I have gotten lines tangled in my pfd. I also carry a Divers knife on my jacket just in case. In our riding club we all agree to wear a helmet, if you don't you don't ride, so you agree on your own, it's verble and understood.
 
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