hellwoman
01-16-2007, 09:36 PM
A Lifejacket for Towsurfing? You Bet!
By Shawn Alladio
My professional goal is supporting boating education, safety and enforcement. I am certified by the National Safe Boating Council as an instructor, and PFD use is the beginning foundation of recreational boating education founded by the NSBC. The standard motto is "Boat Smart from the Start". Without the support of a PFD, drowning can occur.
The difference between traditional boating drownings in relationship to PWC fatalities; is there are far less PWC drownings due to the use of a PFD compared to other vessels. PWC operators use their lifejackets, as required by law, and that includes the occupants on board (passengers).
Towsurfing is an evolving sport that is emerging in the boating community, and derived from surfing and water skiing. There are vast differences between 'boating' and 'surfing'. Boating education and operational knowledge come first prior.
Boats do not venture into unsafe surf zones, nor are they permitted by boating laws to do so due to the high risk of loss, damage and potential loss of life or serious injury. This includes sending our rescuers to respond to these situations, it also places their lives at risk.
Surfers are not used to wearing lifejackets, so the acceptance of PFD use has been a slow progression. Some athletes were wearing additional flotation forms under their wetsuit to aid in bringing their bodies to the surface to help prevent a serious ‘hold down’, prior to adopting USCG approved PFD’s.
Your personal safety and those onboard your vessel are your number one priority, personally and legally. These types of standards do not exist for the enjoyment of surfing, but there are good reasons why they do for towsurfing.
Let's focus on the importance of the lifejacket issue:
For those of you who participate in white water sports, you understand the inherent safety feature of a whitewater PFD. These lifejackets are bulky, due to the additional flotation needed in the white water portions of the river. It is also important to keep your body in an upright position on the surface flow of the water to avoid any strainers, or objects that your body could be wrapped or pinned within, resulting in death by drowning.
In aerated water for example, depending upon how much air is mixed with the water, BUOYANCY is the governing safety factor of a proper PFD 'type' and body weight. The more air mixture, the less buoyant the object.
In extreme water conditions, your basic Type III PFD may not be sufficient flotation to keep your airway above the water line, as your body weight and the mass of air mixture with water will decrease your ability to stay comfortably on the surface. However, the disadvantage is the increase of material needed for construction and reduced mobility. You really cannot ‘duck dive’ below the surface wearing a PFD. That alone takes some getting used to!
If you’ve had any type of impact injury or passed out due to oxygen deprivation, your PFD will not help keep your airway above the waterline unless you are using a PFD with a built in flotation device on the rear neckline, designed to roll your face into an upright position. We also need to address the hydrology and wave velocity, currents, impact zones and underwater terrain, in relationships to the whitewater action (aeration) of surf waves. If you do not have this type of PFD, your head will act as dead weight and fall downward, with your shoulders on the surface of the water, head slunk down. Even in such dynamic water, there is no guarantee these ‘types’ will work properly due to heavy wave action and body rotation.
Inflatable chest harness PFD's are not recommended, due to the fact that you must be physically capable to pull the lanyard to activate inflation. They can inflate accidentally by the pull cord catching on a fixed object. Once inflated, these types of PFD's are extremely bulky. They can puncture and you must properly maintain them. Some designs have a dissoluble tab that eats away once contact is made with the water and they inflate automatically.
Obviously if you are a heavyset person, you would need to factor in your weight versus the water conditions and if that PFD can effectively keep your airway above the water line in case of injury.
The fit of the PFD is especially important, it must be properly sized, and not rise above your shoulders or armpit but stay firmly affixed to your upper torso. PFD’s have a lifespan, they must be replaced as needed; the foam itself can lose its buoyancy capability if compromised.
Towsurfing is a sport designed with speed in mind. The speed of the wave, matched by the speed of the vessel used to be towed into this wave energy. A lifejacket is required in the State of California to be worn at all times by those using an aquaplane device, unless under permit by a special event and the safety guidelines. The activity of towsurfing requires that this athlete must be wearing a United States Coast Guard approved flotation device appropriate to 'type' for this activity use. The comparison is often water skiing or wake boarding. Kite boarders also could benefit with PFD use.
Wearing a properly fitted, sized and USCG approved lifejacket has certainly saved lives for the activity of towsurfing. In the formative years of the sport, only highly evolved professional and seasoned athletes were involved with the practice of this sport. These individuals did not at first use lifejackets. Their wave knowledge was excellent and their hours in heavy water conditions proved critical to their decision making process. Nowadays with a new community of users in this activity, that invested ‘big wave’ knowledge is no longer the foundation this sport was built upon.
You cannot rely solely upon a PFD to compensate for your lack of heavy water knowledge. Only experience and proficiency will assist you when you need to make critical decisions. Lifejackets are savin
By Shawn Alladio
My professional goal is supporting boating education, safety and enforcement. I am certified by the National Safe Boating Council as an instructor, and PFD use is the beginning foundation of recreational boating education founded by the NSBC. The standard motto is "Boat Smart from the Start". Without the support of a PFD, drowning can occur.
The difference between traditional boating drownings in relationship to PWC fatalities; is there are far less PWC drownings due to the use of a PFD compared to other vessels. PWC operators use their lifejackets, as required by law, and that includes the occupants on board (passengers).
Towsurfing is an evolving sport that is emerging in the boating community, and derived from surfing and water skiing. There are vast differences between 'boating' and 'surfing'. Boating education and operational knowledge come first prior.
Boats do not venture into unsafe surf zones, nor are they permitted by boating laws to do so due to the high risk of loss, damage and potential loss of life or serious injury. This includes sending our rescuers to respond to these situations, it also places their lives at risk.
Surfers are not used to wearing lifejackets, so the acceptance of PFD use has been a slow progression. Some athletes were wearing additional flotation forms under their wetsuit to aid in bringing their bodies to the surface to help prevent a serious ‘hold down’, prior to adopting USCG approved PFD’s.
Your personal safety and those onboard your vessel are your number one priority, personally and legally. These types of standards do not exist for the enjoyment of surfing, but there are good reasons why they do for towsurfing.
Let's focus on the importance of the lifejacket issue:
For those of you who participate in white water sports, you understand the inherent safety feature of a whitewater PFD. These lifejackets are bulky, due to the additional flotation needed in the white water portions of the river. It is also important to keep your body in an upright position on the surface flow of the water to avoid any strainers, or objects that your body could be wrapped or pinned within, resulting in death by drowning.
In aerated water for example, depending upon how much air is mixed with the water, BUOYANCY is the governing safety factor of a proper PFD 'type' and body weight. The more air mixture, the less buoyant the object.
In extreme water conditions, your basic Type III PFD may not be sufficient flotation to keep your airway above the water line, as your body weight and the mass of air mixture with water will decrease your ability to stay comfortably on the surface. However, the disadvantage is the increase of material needed for construction and reduced mobility. You really cannot ‘duck dive’ below the surface wearing a PFD. That alone takes some getting used to!
If you’ve had any type of impact injury or passed out due to oxygen deprivation, your PFD will not help keep your airway above the waterline unless you are using a PFD with a built in flotation device on the rear neckline, designed to roll your face into an upright position. We also need to address the hydrology and wave velocity, currents, impact zones and underwater terrain, in relationships to the whitewater action (aeration) of surf waves. If you do not have this type of PFD, your head will act as dead weight and fall downward, with your shoulders on the surface of the water, head slunk down. Even in such dynamic water, there is no guarantee these ‘types’ will work properly due to heavy wave action and body rotation.
Inflatable chest harness PFD's are not recommended, due to the fact that you must be physically capable to pull the lanyard to activate inflation. They can inflate accidentally by the pull cord catching on a fixed object. Once inflated, these types of PFD's are extremely bulky. They can puncture and you must properly maintain them. Some designs have a dissoluble tab that eats away once contact is made with the water and they inflate automatically.
Obviously if you are a heavyset person, you would need to factor in your weight versus the water conditions and if that PFD can effectively keep your airway above the water line in case of injury.
The fit of the PFD is especially important, it must be properly sized, and not rise above your shoulders or armpit but stay firmly affixed to your upper torso. PFD’s have a lifespan, they must be replaced as needed; the foam itself can lose its buoyancy capability if compromised.
Towsurfing is a sport designed with speed in mind. The speed of the wave, matched by the speed of the vessel used to be towed into this wave energy. A lifejacket is required in the State of California to be worn at all times by those using an aquaplane device, unless under permit by a special event and the safety guidelines. The activity of towsurfing requires that this athlete must be wearing a United States Coast Guard approved flotation device appropriate to 'type' for this activity use. The comparison is often water skiing or wake boarding. Kite boarders also could benefit with PFD use.
Wearing a properly fitted, sized and USCG approved lifejacket has certainly saved lives for the activity of towsurfing. In the formative years of the sport, only highly evolved professional and seasoned athletes were involved with the practice of this sport. These individuals did not at first use lifejackets. Their wave knowledge was excellent and their hours in heavy water conditions proved critical to their decision making process. Nowadays with a new community of users in this activity, that invested ‘big wave’ knowledge is no longer the foundation this sport was built upon.
You cannot rely solely upon a PFD to compensate for your lack of heavy water knowledge. Only experience and proficiency will assist you when you need to make critical decisions. Lifejackets are savin