SURPRISING RESULTS FROM LIFEJACKETS AWARENESS DAY – OR WERE THEY?
Several years ago Marine And Safety Tasmania conducted a lifejacket awareness day. Now those of you who have attended a Border Boat Licence theory course will know I spend a fair bit of time on lifejackets and the pros and cons of each different type, that is foam jackets Vs inflatable jackets.
Having worked some long days on the water in temperatures nudging and even exceeding 40 degrees, inflatable life jackets are awesome, especially if you are in a position where you are legally obliged to wear a lifejacket. The thing is though, it is not impossible for an inflatable lifejacket to fail or due to the wearer panicking or being unconscious, a manual inflate jacket is at even more of a risk of not being activated. A foam jacket on the other hand are not as comfortable to wear but they are inherently buoyant and when worn correctly, that is it should be nice and snug, preferably with a crotch strap, the foam life jacket it should always work as they were designed to work for you.
Please take 5 minutes and have a look at the video on the lifejacket awareness day. As they say, a picture tells a thousand words.