How do life jackets save lives?
By providing buoyancy:
- if we unexpectedly end-up in the water.
- if one jumps into the sea to save someone else in need.
- if we end up in the sea due to an accident, if we are injured or cold and not able to swim due to fatigue.
- if we are feeling weak.
What should we know about life jackets?
The best life jacket is the one we wear.
The life jacket is designed to save our life, but this will happen only when we are wearing it.
Life jackets are designed to keep our head out of the water and help us stay in position so we can continue to breathe. Some life jackets are not designed for weak or non-swimmers and therefore we should carefully read the label of the life jacket we choose to wear during a trip. On a boat, the life jackets for crew and passengers must be approved by the Coast Guard and have the appropriate approvals, per type of boat or water sport.
Adult life jackets are NOT suitable for children.
Children require their own specific life jackets according to their size.
Worn or damaged life jackets will not operate when needed and must be replaced with new ones.
The boat must have as many life jackets as required by its license from the Port Authority as well as some for children.
Most adults need life jackets that provide buoyancy from 50 to 100 Newton (*), so they can keep the head of the person wearing it out of the water.
Life jackets must be maintained according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Automatic life jackets must be inspected twice a year with regards to the state of the air filling vial when in contact with water.
We must ask for a demonstration, if we are not familiar with how to wear a life jacket or a floating aid. If not worn properly, it is most likely that it will lead to our drowning.
Life jackets must:
Be the right size to fit properly.
Be in excellent condition.
Have the required approvals from the Coast Guard.
Be suitable for the activity we are conducting at sea (sailing, water skiing, boating, kayaking, sup boards etc).
Fit properly after being adjusted accordingly.
Have been successfully tested, if they are floating aids especially with automatic air filling cylinders.
Where can I find the life jacket?
At specific points on-board the vessel, such as rails. They are accompanied by a special rope and flagpole, so that we can throw them into the sea for immediate rescue of a person who fell into the sea with or without a life jacket.
In special cases on board, easily accessible to all.
If we are accompanying a child under the age of 13, we make sure to find the special junior life jacket and adjust it properly to the child’s body, explaining at the same time that he/she should not take it off during the entire trip.
We wear a life jacket BEFORE we start any water sport.
We request a life jacket from the captain of the boat IMMEDIATELY upon boarding, and we adjust it to our body.
How do we choose a life jacket?
We choose a life jacket according to our body type and specifically our chest dimensions. The purpose is for the life jacket to fit properly to our body, so that it keeps us afloat when we fall into the sea, until help arrives.