Destin Boat Sinking and Rescue Overloaded Boat

[Beachbummer]

I admit having grown with great access to the coast and weekly trips to the beach, I may have a different perception of what it means to be able to swim.

If you cannot swim underwater to overcome a 6 feet floating obstacle, or remain for several minutes above choppy surf when it's deeper than you can reach, in my book, you don't "swim" for purposes of passing on a PFD.

This all goes out the window if you are hit or become unconscious, but to me, with my risk/reward as an adult, I don't wear a PDF when boating. I do wear one when engaged in watersports, (In Texas is legally required, and an very good idea. I won't tow anyone without a vest on.)

This made me curious on how many here actually wear a PFD while boating. In the area I boat, as far as adults, it's 5% or less that wear one.

 

[HangOutdoors]

@Beachbummer
I wear my mustang survival auto inflatable Always and require passengers to put on a vest, if I am in any decent chop, in low visibility, and at night or in a rain/storm or unpredictable conditions. If you can't swim and want to be on my boat you are wearing a one of the PFD's. I carry 5 Mustang Survival Auto inflatables so it is comfortable for passengers to wear. Also I wear it when I am fishing and casting off the back swim platform by myself or with other in the boat. One wave I don't see and I fall and hit my head and go in it could be Game Over. No reason not to be prudent and safe.

Also, I am a very strong swimmer. I was a competition swimmer and diver, so no issues of swimming in a lot of water conditions.

EDIT: I do a lot of boating in Lake St. Clair where the chop is 1-3' a lot of the time and some of the big yachts easily kick up 3-4'+ waves rolling by not to mention tankers. Back in the coves where it is calm I am a bit less stringent especially in shallow water.

 

[AZMark]

You don’t see many people in PFDs on boats out here but it’s all calm lakes and we don’t get much weather.
The people I hang out with are all strong swimmers as most ride stand up jet skis too. I’ve never even thought about having someone on the boat that couldn’t swim - that would definitely make me a little nervous.

 

[johhnyboat]

You don’t see many people in PFDs on boats out here but it’s all calm lakes and we don’t get much weather.
The people I hang out with are all strong swimmers as most ride stand up jet skis too. I’ve never even thought about having someone on the boat that couldn’t swim - that would definitely make me a little nervous.

You NEVER see anyone besides children in the Chesapeake Bay wearing PFDs and that is because its the law. I was a beach lifeguard and still think I am a pretty strong swimmer, but I have heard a lot of drownings from "strong" swimmers" are because the person hits their head or is stunned in a collision. I was thinking about that when I was driving last Saturday night at 11:30pm going 30mph... got out the PFDs to be safe. It was just me and the wife in the boat, i wouldn't go that fast if it was a boat full of people, I hadn't gone the route a hundred times and it wasn't dead calm.