Since the powers that be (spelled USCG) appear to want to require PFD's to be worn at ALL TIMES on various types of boats and watercraft, I find myself being of two minds...
On one side, folks wearing PFD's is no bad thing and I'm sure it would save a few lives in the long run... Really hard to argue that. That said, simply keeping us off the water entirely would save even more lives... Just saying.
On the other hand, USCG approved flotation devices are, as life saving devices go, pretty crude and less than user friendly. Take a close look at your standard type 3 PFD... Hardly inspires confidence does it?
Sadly the USA has lagged far behind other countries in PFD design as bringing a new better PFD to market is such a devious, expensive, and absurd quest through a nightmare of bureaucratic idiocy that it's almost impossible for a better PFD to reach the market. For the sort of PFD we could be using, check here...
Most of the readers here may be too young to remember when the USCG fought tooth and nail to keep that newfangled product "closed cell foam" out of PFD's in favor of kapok and cork, however, most readers will remember how inflatable PFD's took years to come to market in the USA because the USCG would not adopt what had been in common usage successfully worldwide (as well as in the US military) for years. Face it, a bureaucracy that has a history of keeping better products out of our hands does not inspire a warm and fuzzy feeling.
So, my take is I'll start wearing a PFD 24/7 when and if they come up with a better PFD that makes sense...
In the meantime I look forward to seeing the Kabuki of the USCG trying to enforce PFD's on every surfer in the US of A... That is going to be fun!
Listening to Kristin Hersh
So it goes...
