katy wrote:


That's good to hear. I am always concerned, though, when newbies read
posts in this forum and see that some experienced sailors eschew safety
procedures over comfort or sea conditions.

I'm not eschewing safety at all. I figure if something happens I will
be more usefull in the water being able to swim and dive. Helping
people tangled below is a real factor on a sailboat. Comfort is not my
issue either. Float coats are very comfortable.

Mobility and not getting tangled up in stuff is my issue.

While there is a factor that
experience is a safety factor in itself, there are those unforeseeable
situations when experience doesn't count at all. We've all read the
accounts of famous sailors who have gone to Davy Jones because they
weren't wearing a PFD and were swept overboard.

Yelp, you wanna play the game you might have to pay the price. Best to
stay on the boat.

I can give an example of how not having a life jacket kept me alive.
I've told the story here before of being washed over in the gulf. Seas
at 11-15 ft and I went under the boat. Had I had a life jacket on when
the boat came down on me several times, I would have been hammered and
cut up worse by the bottom growth, since I did not I just flowed with
the action and was able to claw my way out from under the boat.

I would not endorse or suggest that anyone else follow my example, but
I'm not going to change my ways.

Joe