Thread: Life Jacket Use

Thanks for posting this. I, like a lot of people, have mine buried in a dry storage compartment. No way I could get to it if I had to in an emergency. Will be buying 2 self inflating ones this weekend and wearing one every time I hit the water from now on. Once again, THANK YOU!! Glad you made it out safe!

Thank you for your post. I am still not 50, but I don't think accidents are particular about age. After reading this I picked up two onyx jackets from academy with a gift card. Refills are $14 and the jacket is highly rated. I wore it today, All Day! I never knew I had it on.

i wear my auto inflate vest from the second i leave my dock to the second i return. we never know when something might go wrong.

Originally Posted by Gansett

I am 75 years old and grew up around the water in Rhode Island. I learned to swim when I was 4 or 5 years old. I was in the Coast Guard. I have no fear of the water and have nothing but confidence in my abilities on and in the water. Just five days ago I was crappie fishing from my boat on the Alabama River at Millbrook, Alabama where I have been hundreds of times. I was in the middle front seat of my boat and leaned to my right to get a minnow from the bucket. No more than one second later I was under the water as the base plate for the seat that is secured to the deck with six screws, just pulled completely off the deck. Seriously, no more than one second. I did not feel any panic, my thought was; well, I’m in the water just swim up and get to the boat. But as I started to swim up I realized I was still going down! My wet clothes were weighing me down. I redoubled my efforts to get to the top. I was making progress; however, remember I said it took about one second to fall into the river? Well that meant I did not have any time to take a good deep breath before going under. As I looked up I began to wonder if I had enough air to make it. Now my chest is beginning to tighten and my brain is telling me I need to breathe and I need to do it right now. It would have been so easy to do that. Even as I write this I recall how easy it would have been to take in a big lungful of water. Obviously I held my breath and made it to the surface. So, to THE MAIN POINT FOR WRITING THIS. DO NOT BE LIKE ME. WEAR YOUR LIFE JACKET. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DO SO. DO NOT FOR ONE SECOND THINK YOU WILL HAVE TIME TO PUT YOUR JACKET ON. I CERTAINLY DID NOT HAVE ANY TIME TO DO SO, AND THERE SAT MY JACKET ON THE DECK, NEAR MY FEET AS I FELL INTO THE RIVER.

This is probably the best testament for always wearing a PFD that I have ever read. I will try and always remember this post if I ever want to get lazy about wearing one.

You very well may have saved someone life with this post. Good job!

Thanks for kind words Slow and especially for wearing your PFD in the future. That's why I posted my experience. Pass it on to fellow fishermen and fisherwomen.

I always wear my inflatable when the big motor is running and made a good friend of mine mad when I made him put his on. He refused and I said that's fine we aren't going fishing then. He did put it on but want happy about it. I know I should wear it all the time and I do if I'm alone or the conditions are bad. AS far as getting back in the boat with out a ladder stand on your outboard and trim it up that helps a lot.

This post is a good reminder to all of us who fish from a boat. We all get lax...and I'm thankful for this reminder. Having gone over the side one time I have become much more aware that a life jacket isn't worth a dime laying in the bottom of your boat. I fish a lot by myself and I'll be 80 next month. Wearing my PFD gives me confidence and with the good Lord's blessing I'm able to continue doing what I love, fishing the river.

Incidentally, when fishing in your boat with a friend that means you are the captain and have a certain level of responsibility. It's important to protect yourself, but doubly important to protect your friend....so have them wear a PFD. Am I right or wrong?

Just bought two new self inflatable this week.