Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

[Blue Crabber]

Just wanted to pass this story on to everyone as a reminder to the importance of life jackets.

We were out boating in Chesapeake Bay Saturday afternoon and heard the Coast Guard announce over the radio they were looking for 2 missing adults in the Gunpowder River. (A popular river the runs into the Chesapeake Bay) Here is the rest of the story:

http://wjz.com/local/drowning.Baltimore.County.2.1035146.html

Evidently they wanted to go for a quick swim and didn't put any life jackets on. Got caught in swift water and couldn't make it back to the boat. No sign of any drinking either.

One rule on our boat is:
If you are getting off the boat into the water, you must wear a life jacket. Doesn't matter how athletic you are or who you are, you must wear a jacket.

I hope this can be a reminder to all of us that safety come first!

Be safe everyone!

 

[dkorzun21]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

Do you really have to where a life jacket just to swim or are you saying it is a good idea.

 

[rrhodes]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

Anyone jumping out of my boat to swim must have a jacket with them. Put it on... Sit on it.. Tie it to your wrist... I don't care but it must be with you. Anything can happen and our lake is deep... I usually anchor in 30+ feet of water and river currents do run in most lakes. Once you are a foot or two below the surface I can't see you anymore.

 

[redone4x4]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

Anyone jumping out of my boat to swim must have a jacket with them. Put it on... Sit on it.. Tie it to your wrist... I don't care but it must be with you. Anything can happen and our lake is deep... I usually anchor in 30+ feet of water and river currents do run in most lakes. Once you are a foot or two below the surface I can't see you anymore.

yep, we always put ours on to swim also. Its kinda relaxing actually to just stop swimming sometimes and float anyways. so it works out good.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

Rule number 1 when boating on tidal waters:

1. Do not ever under estimate the force or speed of a tidal current.

 

[rjlipscomb]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

I use a ball float with 100 ft of line behind the boat. If the current is swift, the line is easy to grab. Note: I'm a diver and avid snorkeler. Safety comes first. If I can't swim along the boat I don't hang out in the water (unless I'm on that line). Just hanging out in the water, I like my life vest because its easier to float and enjoy the water.

 

[Blaze5509]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

hmm...I should put some thought into doing this. I typically just go in to cool off...jump in, swim around for 5 minutes and climb out...but it may be in deep water or near the shore it just depends. The only time I typically wear my vest is if I am being drug behind the boat (tube, wakeboard, etc.)

I guess it really depends on the water/weather? I typically only go out on nice days onto Shasta Lake...which is fairly calm.

 

[vxtech]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

seat belts in most states is law
helmet laws for motorcycles
car seats for children under 5 law
booster seats for kids under 9 law
(LIFE) jackets a precaution- think this one should be law when you look at the rest above

 

[chicknwing]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

One rule on our boat is:
If you are getting off the boat into the water, you must wear a life jacket. Doesn't matter how athletic you are or who you are, you must wear a jacket.

Ditto and if they don't like it they don't ride, at least not on my boat.

TC

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

It may be considered bold to never wear a life jacket(I was a lifeguard for 10 years and I don't even always wear one) and I'm reminded by the old quote

"We have old sailors and bold sailors...but we don't have any old, bold sailors"

 

[jennis9]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

I tie the life bouy on to the anchor rode and it comes out with us. This way if anything becomes adrift, you can pull your way back. It's amazing how fast current can pull it away from you.

Blaze, here's a post I read today - brought tears, but I'm a girl.
http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/showthread.php?t=121964

Make sure you have some way of getting back to the boat -- or at least holding on if you get tossed out. Could make a difference.

 

[Boss Hawg]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

Second post- My wife cnt swim so she wears one anytime we're moving or she's in the water.........
Myself i started out this boat ( been near 12 yrs since our last boat) by not wearing one cause i'm a pretty good swimmer BUT after a very short period the thought struck me-- STOOPID, you're now 59 yrs old & been smoking 40 yrs I doubt i could swim 50 yds without losing my wind
I too wear one when we're moving & i don't get in the water

 

[Bart Sr.]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

That brought tears to me also and I'm not a girl.

 

[jennis9]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

Second post- My wife cnt swim so she wears one anytime we're moving or she's in the water.........
Myself i started out this boat ( been near 12 yrs since our last boat) by not wearing one cause i'm a pretty good swimmer BUT after a very short period the thought struck me-- STOOPID, you're now 59 yrs old & been smoking 40 yrs I doubt i could swim 50 yds without losing my wind
I too wear one when we're moving & i don't get in the water

Boss - good idea. if you were tossed out, your wife may not have the strength to pull you back in.

We discussed this as well -- we night fish. In the cold weather we have the 'deadliest catch' mustangs with beacons. Warm weather, we always put our jackets on to swim -- and also when the chop starts to get rough.

I thought I would be horrified if he went in and I could not turn back quick enough to get him at night. So we decided to get the suspender automatic mustangs for nite fishing and rougher weather. it gets so dark out there and even if I could get back to him, I wouldn't be able to get him back in the boat by myself. So we have been talking about how and what to do in case of an accident.

Hopefully we won't experience this firsthand, but it's good to talk about so we know what we would do..

 

[rjlipscomb]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

Jennis has the right idea. Talk about and plan for as many possible emergencies and contingencies as imaginable while on dry land. Then live your plan and practice what and when you can.

Reminds me of a past experience. My dive buddy and I were off the Pompano coast in about 75 feet of water bug hunting. We had always set the anchor and jumped in the water. If there was a current we would dive down and swim under it while making our way to the anchor (on the bottom). This particular day was no different, except, the strong current extended all the way the bottom. Though we could see it, we couldn't make it to the anchor. We decided to abort the dive and ascend to the surface. We came up 50 yards behind the boat. We struggled to swim to the boat but couldn't get there (I thought we were good swimmers/divers). We floated well beyond visual range of the boat until we were able to flag down a sail boat who returned us to our boat. Simple lesson learned. We were trained to swim on the surface to the anchor line and descend but failed to follow our training. Now, we float a ball and line behind the boat and swim to the anchor line as trained. If we can't swim on the surface, we grab the line and board the boat.

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

When we were in Florida last year, we rented a 21' CC and were out in the bay between Ft Myers beach and Sanibel Island. We were stopped, looking at the gps deciding where we were going, and we heard the faint sound of "HELP! HELP!"

A couple new to boating was out on their pontoon boat, anchored out and decided to go for a swim. Current took them about 100 yards from their boat. Luckily they were smart enough to at least take a throwable cushion, but it really doesn't support 2 people! We gave them a lift back to their boat. I'm pretty sure they won't do that again..


Where we boat, the only place we swim is at a sand bar, and the water stays about 2 ft deep for a good 50 yards out, so the older kids (9 and 13) aren't required to wear pfd's. The 13 year old thinks she is old enough to ride in the boat without one. That ain't happenin!

 

[snmpgh]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

Wise words. Growing up our dad must us wear a pfd in the boat until we could prove we were good swimmers. We had to swimm across the river and back (with a pfd on and him following in the boat). That was about 3/4 of a mile. Even after that, if you were in the water, you HAD to have one on. We used to fight to get the skibelts or the dry jackets.

Now my brother and I have the same rules on our boats. Even the dogs wear them. The Three Rivers here in Pittsburgh may be shallow and not too wide, but the currents can run fast and sometimes a littel funny. Plus now that I have a good fish finder, I can see how weird the bottom is, full of sunken logs, rocks and cars. Enough things to get caught on. Plus, once you see one body being pulled from the water, you get the message.

Mike

 

[fishon13]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

I have two children seven and nine the first thing they do when they step onto the boat is put there life jackets on. It's something I do not do, most of the lake we boat on is narrow and an easy swim even for my children. If i'm going swiming the curents are near nothing and I just take a quick dip. However if i'm going skiing, wakeboarding, or even into some of the large open areas the life jacket goes on. I think it's just a use of common sense if your in tidal or swift current water to use a life jacket. There were many times in the keys we would be draging for lobster where wearing a life jacket isn't an option, but any other time in saltwater I and everyone on my boat wear life jackets.

 

[Nico2112]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

Here in my country there are NO rules, NO law, NO coast guard regulations or patrols around (at least not in any lake or river, they are only patroling the seaside). Whenever you get on the water, you're on your own.

I was very lucky my late inlaw taught me all the ropes when it came to boating. Eventhough there are no rules, a normal dosage of common sense can make it safe.

I have Type III vests for my kids, my wife and I. I always carry 2 throwables, and 7 ski belts (2 for adults and 5 for kids) for the friends I invite to boat with us. I don't force my adult friends to wear their PFD while on the boat, but kids MUST wear it at all times (no exeptions). The lake we boat in is really beautiful, warm waters all year round and a real pleasure diving into. My rule for jumping in the water: NO ONE GETS IN THE WATER WITHOUT A PFD...NOBODY!
I took an American Red cross swimming course while at summer camp in North Carolina back in '84, and I've been an avid swimmer all these years, and you know what? It makes no difference! We must respect nature, it's power, and accept that we are insignificant when mother nature decides to play tricks on us.

I don't need no Coast guard or boating laws in my country to have common sense and play it safe

Nice post Blue Crabber!

Safety issues must be reminded everytime we can.

 

[MudSkunk]

Re: Always wear your life jacket in the water!!!

seat belts in most states is law
helmet laws for motorcycles
car seats for children under 5 law
booster seats for kids under 9 law
(LIFE) jackets a precaution- think this one should be law when you look at the rest above

i do not think the state or federal government has any business dictating what people should or shouldnt do when it comes such things. i think the individuals are responsible. i beleive the state itself should be requiring licensing of watercraft no different than licensing of cars. the difference comes in when you are operating a vehicle without a license you can hurt others, when you are not wearing a seatbelt or life vest your hurting yourself. i think it is pretty stupid not to wear helmets seatbelts PFD but i do not think the state has any right to dictate to the person involved whether they are wearing em or not.

children are not adults and cannot make value judgements on such things so the state has a right to dictate what minors can and cannot do with such things. adults should be free from state interference on personal issues.

i am a big proponent of seat belts PFD helmets. but awareness is what we need, not making more nanny state laws. we got enough of that already. personal responsibility is what we are sorely lacking.