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Choosing the right life jacket can save your life

S

SecretAgent

Guest
Chillycraps recently wrote about his concern when another undergraduate drowned during his yacht training. Heavily dependent on a life jacket in my previous employment, I am therefore putting this up as a guide when getting involved with sea sports. Over time, I have “chased” back many sea sports enthusiast for not wearing their life jackets. To them, it’s only a formality issue. To me, it meant the world between life and death.

The first issue that I need to tackle, is changing your mindset about wearing life jackets. They are certainly not for formality sake. A life jacket typically allows you to stay afloat for prolonged periods, anything between 24 hours to 72 hours. This period of time increases the chances of you being spotted and rescued compared to a lone overboard individual without anything to stay afloat with. Also, some modern life jackets are even equipped with GPRS transponders that send out radio signals. These are subsequently picked up to locate your exact location.

Not many people can afford such high-tech life jackets. The most common life jackets should come equipped with whistles and such. What you usually see in cruises, pleasure crafts, or sea sports centres are mostly… very outdated life jackets designs. The selection and usage of life jackets are also paramount factors to determine your survival rate. Do not forget, anything that is inflated can get deflated. It all boils down to keeping yourself as visible as possible for search and rescue parties.

The older type of life jackets are what you see on the left. Look pretty decent, and it’s just a normal life jacket. The three arrows denote the possible reasons why sports person may choose not to wear one afterall. The first obstacle lies in the neck area. I have used this previously, and I find it really difficult to turn my head during times when I need to check sea traffic on either side of my boat.

The second flaw lies in the armpit area. Movement is restricted, as most traditional life jackets are stuffed with foams. That’s to say, it’s a thick piece of foam you are wearing. It seriously restricts your arm movement, so you can imagine how uncomfortable it can be for a sport person. Last but not least, due to the foam thickness, you will find it difficult to bend forward too. The bottom of the life jacket will almost certainly land on your thighs and prevent you from even a simple chore like picking something up from the deck.

Over times, technology of life jackets have improved. What you see on the right here, is an improved version. Most evidently, are the two flaps allowing you to store survival items like emergency flares, ropes for simple chores and first aid kit. These are previously unseen in traditional life jackets.

Yet, the availability of these items meant only one thing. You can’t actually make your life jacket any smaller. True that the inflatable tube had been compressed in this instance, the additional items make your life jacket heavier. I am not saying it is useless, these items can come in handy but only under certain circumstances. In small coastal waters, we don’t exactly need all these. For example, why would you need a locating flag if you are canoeing in an enclosed reservoir? I don’t think you will actually find a helicopter searching for you in Singapore. That’s more probable in open sea.

All the above could be possible reasons why sports person are dumping the life jackets and risking their lives. Most of these sports require the constant movement of the body and limbs, and anything obstructing the movements will affect the performance. In the sports person’s mind, performance in competitions is everything. Ever wonder why Formula 1 cars are shaped so tactically to reduce the drag? Same logic!

So does it mean sports person has no other options? Not necessarily. In my previous jobs, we often conduct raids in small confined cubicles. Mobility is one of the crucial factors. In the environment where I can be bearing 2 to 3 firearms (don’t forget the magazines and tools) at the same time, I definitely do not need any additional load nor obstruction. Hence, this is what I used.

The most obvious improvement is the lack of obstruction. You wear it pretty much like how women wear their bras, and the enormous amount of space you see means your movement is not hindered abruptly. This was what I used to wear for work after the traditional life jackets were phased out. It is very much welcomed by all of us, due to work environment.

It’s what I called… your life in a tube. The inflatable tube is rolled and kept in this outer fabric casing. What you find on such life jackets is similar to other life jackets you see. The CO2 inflating canister and device, option of manual inflation, whistle, SOLAS light etc. I can safely say, whenever I wore one on me, I even forgot I was wearing a life jacket sometimes. Some can be so light-weighted until you barely feel the load.

From the old Punggol Marina to even sports centres today, I observed that most of them actually do not invest in the kind of life jackets that I’ve used. I can understand why, because the life jacket that I used cost double the price of conventional life jackets easily. Some of these associations are totally self-funded, so funding will always be a problem. The mess with traditional life jackets on the other hand, is forcing sports person to embark on their sports without protection. Pretty much like disaster in the making.

Let’s say, if the new life jackets can be introduced into these places, I am sure the sports person will be equally delighted like me back then. It doesn’t restrict their movement, hence it does not affect their performance. How about some government financial assistance to these people, who are also competing for the glory of Singapore? Say, every new life jacket like this is subsidized with 50% of grants. It’s a big costing to do, but hey, I am sure our precious lives are worth more than that. What is $200 compared to a young chap losing his life? I say it’s money well spent, if it ends up saving lives.

While I advocate safety out on water strongly, I also feel we need to relook into the designs of life jackets. Most likely, the design of the life jackets itself is the main factor turning people away from wearing one.

I hope these information will help you choose the right life jackets to use depending on your sea activities. I also hope all of you will make a sound decision whether to wear one when you get involved with water sports. If you’re just a leisure sea farer, a normal life jacket will be good enough. If you’re a competing sea farer, you have other options too. My point is, don’t leave home shore without one.
 
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