Re: [Paddlewise] kayaker lost off Galveston

The PFD discussion always brings out a lot of hot debate.

This past year I have been carrying an inflatable PFD and am impressed with
them for a number of reasons.

1. Mine seems amazingly comfortable and cause absolutely no binding in the
armpit area.

2. They provide lots of ventilation in hot weather.

3. Putting them on in an emergency if you haven't been wearing it seems
easy for most people.

4. They will float you with your head up. I could not get my head to stay
under with mine inflated no matter how hard I tried.

5. They provide more flotation that typical kayaking PFD.

6. They need not be inflated and that can make self re-entry easier than
with normal PFD that I find  bulkier.

7. The CO2 inflation is quick and apparently reasonably fool proof. The
oral back-up is there if all else fails.

Julio wrote;

> Here goes a question for all paddlers in this list.
> Have any of you ever been in a situation where you would have perished
> without a PFD?

I have been in situations where I would have perished even with a PFD. Does
that count.

Rich wrote;

>Then you need to read any of the multiple volumes of Charlie Walbridge's
>River Safety Reports, which are available from the ACA.  The lack of
>a PFD is clearly the primary cause of *many* fatalities.  (Including the
two
>bodies that I assisted in searching for on the Lehigh three years ago.)

I think the Coast Guard reports the primary cause as the event or events
leading up to the accident. They also list secondary and tertiary causes.
They provide the report with the additional information of whether a PFD
was worn or not. It may not be easy to determine the actual primary cause
in this case. I suspect it was lack of experience although a coroner's
inquest may reveal other factors like alcohol or a lack of proper cautions
on the part of the company renting the boat.

For 1996 12 percent of all drownings reported wore life jackets. In other
words, a life jacket increases your chance of survival but does not
guarantee it. This may be the reason why the Coast Guard does not list it
as a proximate cause of drowning. In 85% of fatalities the operator had no
reported boating education.

The file can be obtained at http://www.uscgboating.org/stats.html

Cheers,
John Winters
Redwing Designs
Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft
http://home.ican.net/~735769/



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