Re: [Paddlewise] kayaker lucks out

I disagree.  A 'Life Jacket' or 'Life Vest' is a specific designation  
for a type of personal flotation device that is designed to keep you
floating face up, even you are unconscious.  A 'Personal Flotation  
Device' is not designed to do that.

It is a term that has entered the public vernacular and is a remnant  
of a time when 'life jackets' were bulky, kapok &/or cork (or  
similar, bulky & buoyant material).
A 'jacket' would have flotation material in front, back, and sides. A  
'vest' would just have neck and front.  A somewhat bulky neck collar  
and a crotch strap would
help secure the garment to its wearer.  Again, the idea is that, even  
unconscious, you would be more likely to be kept afloat, head up and  
face out of the water.
The 'Mae West' used air to achieve the same end while remaining un- 
bulked until needed....so pilots and others could wear them while  
performing tasks requiring
greater agility than a bulky jacket or vest would allow.

Life Vest or Life Jacket implies that the device WILL, in fact,  
contribute greatly to preserving or saving your life.
That's just not true about PFDs. They will help keep you more  
buoyant.  They may also provide some insulation,
or allow you to carry signaling and survival gear on your person.   
But they will not contribute to preserving or saving your life.

PFD is NOT "typical government bureaucratic gobbledygook' any more  
than using GPS is to distinguish that particular device from an  
'electric compass'.
Their use, application, and functions do overlap in practice and  
theory...but they ain't the same.
Many of the laws and regulations regarding the naming of things such  
as PFDs do result from regulations and legislation...but before  
pointing the finger
at red-tape bureaucrats, it might be worth noting that MOST of those  
laws and regulations were initiated at the behest of corporate  
insurance companies
to limit their liability...and NOT as the result of frivolous law  
suits, either.  Maritime Laws evolve, too.

I think the reporter of this event went for a singular angle and  
missed the more significant story.
People make mistakes all the time, misjudge, miscalculate, misread,  
and miss the obvious significance of their actions.
These are events, but rule and not the exception...so not much 'new'  
in that 'news'

People overcome extreme trials, adverse conditions, improbable odds.   
These are dramas and,
well, if it bleeds it leads....so it sells air time and print inches.  
But, again, a formulaic tale at best.

If news is meant to inform (and, no, I don't mean 'lecture' or  
'drone'), then this reporting fails.
It glosses over obvious inconsistencies in the victim's statements,   
fails to place the event in any larger, social context
(how many people in that area take to the water in similar craft,  
under similar circumstances? Bet more than a handful...),
and makes no effort to make even a precursory investigation into the  
'sport', the 'craft', or the victim's claims.

It's a disservice and one that most kayak related reporting entails.   
Sea Kayaker and other publications practice a much
stronger, substantive, and dispassionate approach to such  
reporting....much along the same lines as Accidents in North American  
Mountaineering,
or the NTSB's reports of aircraft incidents.

I write this long response to suggest that it's in best interest of  
our larger community that we address these issues...contact
the paper in question, suggest ways that story might have been better  
handled, and suggest ideas for a follow up story about
kayak safety....one that get's it right....that distinguishes between  
a 36-year old, leaky SOT 'kayak' and a well-maintained craft
designed for use on large, open ocean waters.

-Will



On Aug 13, 2007, at 3:31 PM, Nick Schade wrote:

> On Aug 11, 2007, at 12:09 PM, Will Jennings wrote:
>
>
>> 2) no PFD (would an experienced kayaker call it a 'life jacket' or is
>> that reporter speak?),
>
> I have been paddling for 30 years and prefer to call them "life  
> jackets". I really don't like the acronym "PFD". It is typical  
> government bureaucratic gobbledygook. "Personal Floatation Device"  
> doesn't really tell anyone what the thing is. "Life Jacket" seems  
> to me to be a much better.
>
> The only reason I can think of to call them a PFD is as jargon to  
> separate those in the know from newbies. A reporter trying to  
> inform the general public about what he was (or wasn't) wearing, is  
> doing the correct thing to call them a life jacket.
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