Re: Broads Tragedies; was Re: Dangers to children


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Posted by Jonathan Labaree on October 24, 2003 at 14:38:28 from 207.5.234.19 user JLabaree.

In Reply to: Re: Broads Tragedies; was Re: Dangers to children posted by Laurence Monkhouse on October 24, 2003 at 11:17:17:

my opinion that in normal circumstances the beastly things increase the chance of an accident by making you clumsier has been reinforced.

I can certainly appreciate the sentiment, Laurence, but I wonder what sort of life jacket you were wearing. As kids, we wore the big orange ones that were very inhibiting indeed. We were very motivated to pass my parents' swim test (swim across the cove and back) so that we didn't have to wear them, which we achieved when we were about 10, I think. In Maine, regulations say anyone under 10 must wear one.

Whenever I am in a canoe now, however, I wear a very tight-fitting affair that leaves plenty of room for moving the arms, etc. The vests my nephew and niece wear are much more convenient – they actually seem to enjoy wearing them (and why not, it means they get to go out sailing!). My parents have now taken to wearing the self-inflatable ones that are very small and not in the way at all.

It's very much worth spending the money to buy the good life vests - the less hassle they are to wear, the more likely you are to wear them. I think as kids grow up used to wearing vests, they adapt to them and it isn’t as big a deal for them as it is for those of us who aren’t used to them. It’s a bit like bicycle helmets.

Having (self-righteously) said all that, I have to admit that I don’t wear a life vest in normal circumstances and if I were rowing a sound boat around a lake, I almost certainly would not. I do wear one when things turn a bit squirrelly, when I’m quite alone out there, when I'm pretty far from land, and always in winter (and always in canoes or kayaks). I try to be sensible and I find myself wearing them more and more often.


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