Quote:
Originally Posted by smackdaddy
Thanks John, I'd not seen it in that thread. So do you think it should be standard safety equipment - at least for sailing north of 30? From the story, it seemed like you'd want to be in one even if you're in the flooded cabin.
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It's hard to say categorically. If you are venturing out in cold waters routinely, far from ready help, it makes sense to have them.
On small boats they are bulky, expensive equipment to have aboard. So I'd weigh the pros/cons/odds. If I had an EPIRB and a good liferaft, and rarely if ever ventured into those waters at that time of year, I'd be comfortable without survival suits aboard.
But if I was a delivery skipper that was often bringing boats south late (or north early) in the season through those or similar waters, I'd give serious thought to investing in a survival suit.
If the boat didn't have a liferaft, and for some reason couldn't get one in time for the voyage, and I had to make the delivery no matter what, I'd definitely want the survival suit as well as a PLB. But that's a lot of hypothetical.
As for those water temps, they may not even have been as warm as the buoy report suggests. I haven't charted their position relative to the buoy, but I seem to recall that buoy is supposed to be in the Gulf Stream, where the water is warmer. But 44004 has been adrift since last March, and I haven't kept track of it's whereabouts.