When most people think of boating safety, the first safety device that comes to mind is the PFD or “personal flotation device,” also referred to as a “life jacket.” The U.S. Coast Guard and state marine patrol agencies require PFDs to be carried aboard all boats for every person on board, and for good reason. PFDs save many lives in all sorts of boating emergencies ranging from capsize and sinking to people falling overboard. PFDs should be worn whenever conditions warrant, and even when not worn should be close at hand in a location known by and accessible to everyone on board.
Boaters who prefer wind-driven vessels, however, will need another device that is even more important for safety than the PFD, especially if they sail alone or far offshore. While a PFD will keep you afloat if you fall overboard, this will do you little good if you are alone on your boat and no one can turn it around to come back and get you or even if there are other crew members but the seas are so rough they either cannot spot you in the waves or cannot maneuver the boat back to your location. All sorts of scenarios are possible, and every offshore sailor dreads going overboard hundreds of miles from land, and watching his or her boat sail away over the horizon.
Many modern sailing vessels are equipped with autopilots and the sail control lines are cleated off during a passage so that the boat will continue sailing with or without its crew. Don’t be among the unfortunate sailors lost at sea who fell overboard during such a passage. You can easily prevent this from happening with a simple safety harness that should be worn at all times. A safety harness is a device made from strong nylon webbing that passes over your shoulders and around your chest and features steel D-rings in front for attachment to a safety tether. The tether is a relatively short length of equally strong webbing or cord with shackles on both ends so you can attach one end to your harness and one end to a strong point on the boat. In the event of a fall or a sudden lurching of the boat that can cause you to lose your balance, the safety harness and tether will keep you securely attached to the boat, even if you go over the rail and into the water.
Sailors are especially susceptible to falling overboard because sailboats require lots of movement on deck while handling sails. Some of these operations require the skipper or crew to go forward to the narrow foredeck or at least to the mast and in rough conditions these decks can be pitching wildly. The decks may also be awash with waves in severe conditions making it difficult to stay on board. Don’t even think about doing deck work without a safety harness. Even in calm conditions a safety harness should be worn if you are alone or sailing at night. Don’t take anything for granted and always be aware that you can slip and fall even in the best conditions.
Just as important as the harness and tether is the attachment to the deck. Sailors have been lost at sea when they fell overboard and the hardware or other attachment point their harness was tethered to failed by breaking or pulling out of the deck. Install strong U-bolts or strap eyes to your deck for this purpose and make sure they are through-bolted to the deck and mounted with a proper backing plate on the underside to prevent the bolts from pulling through. Such strong points should be placed conveniently close at hand in the cockpit where you will be steering the boat and on critical areas on the forward decks where you must carry out sail handing tasks. To facilitate movement from the cockpit to the foredeck, well equipped offshore sailboats have “jacklines” stretched between strong points. A jackline is a steel cable or length of nylon webbing that runs fore and aft the length of the boat. You clip your safety tether to this line and then you can move the length of the boat without unclipping. This is a great safety aid that assures you will always be attached to the boat, even while moving about.
Never underestimate the importance of a safety harness for every person on board when you are sailing. Far from land, the safety harness is much more important than the PFD, since survival requires that you stay on your boat rather than afloat in a PFD. Perhaps the best type of safety harness is the type that is built in to an inflatable PFD. These PFDs are designed to be worn at all times and do not interfere with your movement while deflated. The integral harness is incorporated in the PFD straps, allowing you to be tethered to the boat and wearing a PFD at the same time.
