South East England
Appeal for lifejackets
Langstone Harbour Board appeals for public to wear lifejackets through its local Notices to Mariners
A recent review of drowning incidents by a panel of UK experts found that lives might have been saved in 69% of incidents had the person been wearing a suitable lifejacket or personal floatation device.
The Langstone Harbour Board supports the national lifejacket awareness campaign that has been launched by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in collaboration with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the Royal Yachting Association. It is strongly recommended that all recreational boaters wear a lifejacket that is maintained, correctly worn and fit for purpose whilst at sea.
Local Notice No.2 of 2006 contains further safety information for small craft. More information is available at:
www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/leisurenandtheseaside/
www.rnli.org.uk/what_we_do/sea_and_beach_safety/sea_safety/
www.rya.org.uk/safety/lifejackets/
www.langstoneharbour.org.uk/boating/boating.htm
editor's footnote:
I think recreational boaters should be mindful of the fact that since ReedsOnline has been in existence, three major lifejacket manufactures have issued urgent recall notices and one them was successfully sued over a malfunctioning lifejacket which caused the loss of someone's life. Interestingly, the common factor here is the automatic inflatable lifejacket, which is the most commonly worn The RYA has also given out mixed messages by advising boaters to “Wear a lifejacket or buoyancy aid unless you are sure you don’t need to”. I can appreciate and understand the motives behind the RNLI lifejacket campaign - it's in their interest to do so - but combined with the recent court case which awarded over £400,000 in damages over a faulty lifejacket, its making the manufacturers quite twitchy at the moment. I rather side with the RYA's advice, which basically says apply common sense.
