Hi,
Wow, lots of good information has been provided.
Here are my thoughts, and what *I* do (which may not work for you):
I always wear an inflatable PFD
I almost always have a hand held VHF connected to the PFD waist belt
My sailing consists of a few different types:
Casual day sails and weekly (casual) yacht racing. - For this I wear a lightweight simple inflatable PFD and I carry a Standard Horizon HX40. I like the HX40 because it is very small, light and has an FM radio as well as VHF. That radio works well for hailing marinas, other close by boats, etc. This sailing is in the Long Island Sound, where I am never that far from land and there are usually boats within 5 miles of me.
Distance Racing - This will include sailing in the ocean, and may be far from land, and will include overnight sailing. I wear a Spinlock Vito deckvest and I carry a Standard Horizon HX890. This is the radio mentioned above and includes GPS, DSC, and distress functions. It's on the larger side, but I like the comfort of having the distress function. The Spinlock Vito is not nearly as comfortable as my other vest but it includes a light, tether attachment point, leg straps, etc.
Two years ago I participated in a Safety At Sea seminar. This included entering a pool in full foul weather gear, with PFD. To make mine more realistic I included my SH HX860 (predecessor to the HC890). I jumped in the pool, my vest inflated, and I comfortably floated around the pool. I wanted to make a VHF call to see how well it worked. The radio was tethered to my vest. I unclipped it, but found the tether was not long enough for me to hold the radio to my face - the bladder on the vest was too large for me to use the radio. I was able to disconnect it and I successfully made a radio call. I put the radio in my jacket pocket because we were doing some in water survival drills. During one of the drills the radio came out of my pocket, AND SANK to the bottom of the pool. I retrieved the radio after the drill. It was full of water and never worked again. So lessons learned. You need to practice your skills and make it as realistic as possible. The SH 860 was probably 8 years old and the gaskets must have deteriorated. Anyway, I will be testing all of my gear at least every few years.
I'm preparing for some more longer distance off shore trips so I will be upgrading my emergency gear. Maybe a PLB or EPIRB or something else. The market is rapidly changing. AIS is great, but not usefull offshore where there are few boats. The 121 and 406 mHZ radios are good, but can't contact close boats. Decisions Decisions.
Barry
Wow, lots of good information has been provided.
Here are my thoughts, and what *I* do (which may not work for you):
I always wear an inflatable PFD
I almost always have a hand held VHF connected to the PFD waist belt
My sailing consists of a few different types:
Casual day sails and weekly (casual) yacht racing. - For this I wear a lightweight simple inflatable PFD and I carry a Standard Horizon HX40. I like the HX40 because it is very small, light and has an FM radio as well as VHF. That radio works well for hailing marinas, other close by boats, etc. This sailing is in the Long Island Sound, where I am never that far from land and there are usually boats within 5 miles of me.
Distance Racing - This will include sailing in the ocean, and may be far from land, and will include overnight sailing. I wear a Spinlock Vito deckvest and I carry a Standard Horizon HX890. This is the radio mentioned above and includes GPS, DSC, and distress functions. It's on the larger side, but I like the comfort of having the distress function. The Spinlock Vito is not nearly as comfortable as my other vest but it includes a light, tether attachment point, leg straps, etc.
Two years ago I participated in a Safety At Sea seminar. This included entering a pool in full foul weather gear, with PFD. To make mine more realistic I included my SH HX860 (predecessor to the HC890). I jumped in the pool, my vest inflated, and I comfortably floated around the pool. I wanted to make a VHF call to see how well it worked. The radio was tethered to my vest. I unclipped it, but found the tether was not long enough for me to hold the radio to my face - the bladder on the vest was too large for me to use the radio. I was able to disconnect it and I successfully made a radio call. I put the radio in my jacket pocket because we were doing some in water survival drills. During one of the drills the radio came out of my pocket, AND SANK to the bottom of the pool. I retrieved the radio after the drill. It was full of water and never worked again. So lessons learned. You need to practice your skills and make it as realistic as possible. The SH 860 was probably 8 years old and the gaskets must have deteriorated. Anyway, I will be testing all of my gear at least every few years.
I'm preparing for some more longer distance off shore trips so I will be upgrading my emergency gear. Maybe a PLB or EPIRB or something else. The market is rapidly changing. AIS is great, but not usefull offshore where there are few boats. The 121 and 406 mHZ radios are good, but can't contact close boats. Decisions Decisions.
Barry
