When the sun comes out, out goes safety..

[Boatnomad]

Originally Posted by willk

...and I'd second that. Unfortunately the next new thread will probably be about insurance, tube cleaners or "which SIB?"

Need a RIBnet "Let me google that for you"

[A1an]

I've been on car forums for years.

I don't think I've EVER seen a thread about a driver not wearing a seatbelt.

[Dirk Diggler]

Originally Posted by A1an

I've been on car forums for years.

I don't think I've EVER seen a thread about a driver not wearing a seatbelt.

[stevedonna]

As a relative newbie to having a rib and being on this forum (6months) . I have found some of the safety threads useful maybe not the original 'look at these idiots' but the follow on comments have taught me stuff .

When I eventually become a hardened sinic and these threads become monotonous surely rather than add fuel by commenting about them I will just ignore it and leave it for newbies .or add something that may help newbies .

I do for what my I experienced view is worth think the photo of these guys put on here was wrong . If you are that annoyed then you should have challenged them there and then .

Would the car driver that you flashed for cutting you up give you the v sign if it happened on foot ?



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[ShinyShoe]

Originally Posted by willk

...and I'd second that. Unfortunately the next new thread will probably be about insurance, tube cleaners or "which SIB?"

I heard a rumour that a RIB owner who posts on here a lot actually bought a HH VHF without posting on here first. Clearly I've had a word and I think he understood the error of his ways...

[stevedonna]

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

I heard a rumour that a RIB owner who posts on here a lot actually bought a HH VHF without posting on here first. Clearly I've had a word and I think he understood the error of his ways...

I was thinking of getting one .. What do you recommend ?
Sorry


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[stevedonna]

Just had to look up dilligaf ... Get it now . See you can get something from every thread .


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[Bigtalljv]

So would this be the wrong place to bring up that is legal to drink and operate a boat in California as long as you don't go over the .08 blood alcohol level?

[jyasaki]

Didn't know that about the enforcement across the waters interesting.

To clarify: Federal Law in the US says that every child 12 and under on a vessel underway must wear a properly fitted USCG approved flotation device, unless said child is below decks in a berth or in a cabin. There are exclusions for passenger ferries and such, but for recreational, they must have them on.

As of yet, there is no requirements for adults or teens to wear them (though local or state laws may overrule that); but the vessel must have at least one Type 1 (offshore, 22lb buoyancy), 2 (nearshore, 15.5lb), or 3 (buoyancy aid, 15.5lb) PFD on board for each individual who is not wearing a Type 5 (Special Use) PFD.

Local and State laws may restrict usage (mandating usage to higher degree then the feds require), but they cannot relax the Federal requirements.


jky

[Daibheid]

Wow - lots of discussion and several people have already responded well to some of the questions and points raised but let me try deal with a few points directed at me.
First I did hesitate about posting a picture of people going about their business and I know most people on here don't question the sense about wearing PFDs. However some of the comments show a few people believe there are circumstances where they're not required.

The original photo is very high resolution and the people would be easily identified but I reduced resolution and blurred out all the faces. I also didn't leave any landmarks in the photo nor did I say where it was taken. I thought it worth sharing to help reduce the risk of complacency when the sun shines.

Would I be pissed if someone posted a photo online of me being a prat about safety? Probably but it might make me reconsider what I was doing as a skipper with responsibility for my crews safety. Whether he was likely to be on Ribnet and see the photo I don't know but it might encourage someone on here to take stock.

I've been involved in a couple of SAR operations - the most recent being where a couple of people made a mistake about what was safe to do and paid the ultimate price and I think bugging a few people off with a photo is preferable to wringing hands after a minor error results in a punishment that doesn't fit the crime.

I have another photo of the boat about 500metres offshore inbound so confirm absolutely there were no PFDs being worn. As Wilk pointed out in Ireland it is the law but not why I wear one nor should it be why any skipper enforces them.

I suppose I could have gone down and had a word with the skipper but in no particular order, it was a very hot day, I had a nice cold drink in front of me, it was shot from about 400 meters away on a big image stabilized lens and I doubt my public observations would have been welcomed, plus it wouldn't have helped much if there were no PFDs on the RIB.

On the question about whether I've fallen out of a RIB at 20+ knots, No - not yet. However I have hit the water at 20-30 knots off wakeboards, skis, sailboards and donuts. Generally when the angle of incidence to the water is shallow I've skipped or bounced but sometimes I've gone very deep indeed. I've often been properly winded afterward and damn glad of a PFD. I have seen people on at least three occasions fall out of a planing RIB. Twice just wearing Diving Semidrys which are very buoyant and once wearing a PFD. In each case the height of the tubes on a planing RIB added to the bounce height that sent them out meant they plumbed deep into the water and scared the wits out of everyone with how far the boat had traveled and how much time elapsed before the MOB surfaced.

Regarding wearing a PFD for short row to a moored boat on a sunny day, if you could walk out then a PFD is probably a waste of time ( maybe the dinghy is too!) However a local incident happened a few years ago where a man rowed his dinghy to a mooring not 50 feet from the quay while wearing an autoinflate jacket hardened my attitude to short distances. The man toppled out of the dinghy while grabbing his mooring and drowned in front of his wife watching on the quay. It turned out the jacket had been damaged during manufacture. It was sunny day and he did everything right.

So I have my reasons for posting the picture - I don't expect everyone to agree - it'd be a boring forum if we all did agree. But I did want to raise awareness but relax I'm not going to say " and if even one person...."

[HUMBER P4VWL]

What a stupid comment from the MP, no surprise. That's like saying more commercial air passengers die in planes than than those who jump out as a hobby, so why enforce jumpers to wear parachutes with an emergency chute. Stat's are pointless without perspective.

[Jim Robinson]

Out of interest, I've chartered a 42 ft yacht in Greece in August. My children 13 x 2, 10 and 8 yrs ,will be on board it will be 30 degrees and calm, do you think we should we all wear a life jacket?

[HUMBER P4VWL]

If you're under way and they aren't in the cockpit, yes.

If they slipped in and banged head on way under guard rail, you may not see or hear them and not notice they're gone until too late.

Each to their own though.

It also depends if they can swim!!!

Hard to keep an eye on 4 sprogs when sailing, motoring easier, but still keep them cockpit bound. At anchor, keep an eye on them if on deck.

[Dan Gurney]

Originally Posted by Jim Robinson

Out of interest, I've chartered a 42 ft yacht in Greece in August. My children 13 x 2, 10 and 8 yrs ,will be on board it will be 30 degrees and calm, do you think we should we all wear a life jacket?

I spent many holidays at that age with my folks on charter boats (albeit in the West Highlands). The rules were: beyond the companion way we had to have a lifey on, outside the cockpit we had to have a lifey and a safety line.

[indaba1991]

Whitbread Round the World Race boat (twice) - and winner. Er - any PFD's on board lads?

[indaba1991]

Originally Posted by indaba1991

Whitbread Round the World Race boat (twice) - and winner. Er - any PFD's on board lads?

And here

[jumpinjack]

Your point being?

[Poly]

Originally Posted by MustRib

IMHO the UK, Like Ireland, should legislate for lifejacket use,however my thoughts would be to start by legislating for the compulsory use for children 17 years and under. I think few responsible boaters would argue with such legislation for kids. US studies show that children who grew up having to wear a lifejacket, will be much more likely to wear one as an adult.

I wonder if it becomes a "right of passage" not to have to wear it any more when old enough? Could it even have an adverse effect where wearing one becomes associated with children and thus "grown ups" who might voluntarily opt to use one, elect not to? I would be sceptical about applying an age limit - the evidence would suggest comparatively few children die in boating accidents, and that actually adult males are the likely victims.

WillK - who regulates and enforces lifejacket use in Ireland?
Are there any statistics to back up how effective the legislation in Ireland has been?
Do you read of any prosecutions?
Legislation is toothless unless it can be enforced effectively.

actually that is not necessarily the case, plenty of laws are rarely enforced (or practical to enforce) but the existence of a law is enough to encourage general compliance.

Originally Posted by HUMBER P4VWL

What a stupid comment from the MP, no surprise. That's like saying more commercial air passengers die in planes than than those who jump out as a hobby, so why enforce jumpers to wear parachutes with an emergency chute. Stat's are pointless without perspective.

Actually struck me as a remarkable piece of understanding evidence based policy making. Your analogy seems a little odd. Is it even true? Your Chances of Dying & Other Health Risks

[stevedonna]

Originally Posted by Jim Robinson

Out of interest, I've chartered a 42 ft yacht in Greece in August. My children 13 x 2, 10 and 8 yrs ,will be on board it will be 30 degrees and calm, do you think we should we all wear a life jacket?

May I suggest that you allow them to be free of LJ,s and I come with you to help keep an eye on them



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[Jim Robinson]

I will ,worked with a major flotilla for 12 years and the block solas LJ are miserable, never saw a client wear one and never had a an incident.LJ's wearing is down to common sense. Flying along in a rib Absolutely, sitting just off shore enjoying a the sun why?