> On the other hand, if I had been unconscious, i believe that the pfd would > have kept my head above water and kept me alive.
This may be the key point. One of the times I have found myself un-expectedly in the water I was knocked senseless or unconscious when I hit my head on the outside of the toe rail on an aluminum Frers 46. It was April in Puget Sound with a water temp around 50F. During a panic, lazy sheet spinnaker drop with an crew of Japanese sailors (their English was limited, my Japanese non-existent) one of the Japanese sailors snubbed down the halyard as I was gathering in the sail near the cockpit. As the sail popped full again I was launched off the deck, my feet tangled in the lifelines spinning me upside down, my head bounced off the toe rail and I fell into the water. No life jacket, full foulweather gear and boots. Fortunately I came to my senses still holding onto the spinnaker sheet and close to the boat. My first awareness that something was amiss was the image of a bunch of Japanese people pulling me up, back aboard. The next was one of them was attempting to stop the blood flow from my head while I returned to gathering in the sail as we still needed it down. I ended up in the ER getting 8 stitches just above my eyebrow later that night. If I had not held onto the spinnaker line I am convinced I would have struggled to stay afloat. My winter weight foulweather jacket was lined and would soak up water. My boots would have prevented much success in treading water. The owner/driver was left onboard the boat that was being blown towards shore by the sudden squall and the out of control spinnaker. He would not have been able to steer towards me until the spinnaker was doused. This experience is one of the main reasons I wear an auto-inflating pfd 99% of the time the boat is underway. Martin DeYoung Calypso 1971 C&C 43 Seattle -----Original Message----- From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Michael Crombie via CnC-List Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2015 11:09 AM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Cc: mcrom...@bell.blackberry.net Subject: Re: Stus-List - Inflable life jacket with harness recommendation I had my jacket inflate this summer. I was helming a J24 in a race on a very light air day and was slouched against the lifeline in a state of sheer boredom...when (i'm sure you see this coming) the shackle gave way and suddenly i was in the water. The jacket inflated like it was supposed to but i did find it very awkward to move around and to try and lift myself back on the boat. I was quite surprised at my lack of mobility. On the other hand, if I had been unconscious, i believe that the pfd would have kept my head above water and kept me alive. Mike Atacama 33 mkii Toronto Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network. Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell. _______________________________________________ Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com _______________________________________________ Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com
