Sailing outerwear

[Santiano]

Originally Posted by rbk

Just don’t look at the casualty numbers of AK fishermen. Most don’t wear floatation.

Injuries and death come far more from machinery+fatigue than drowning. I don't know of any drowning deaths in my fleet since I worked seiners. Most I know got sucked into the anchor roller or deck winch, crushed by pots/ loaded nets, or pinned by a tow line.
I did take a 30 foot flight overboard when a towline got caught on the stern rail during a turn, then came free just in time to catch me across the shoulders. Water was cold enough to bring me back to consciousness, luckily enough, and the adrenaline rush got me back on board quicker than I'd have thought possible. Floaties would've been more hindrance than help there, as well, unless I didn't wake up.
Sailing offshore, I'm religious about tethering in out of the cockpit or in a blow. But no floaties there either in the normal course of things.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by Santiano

Injuries and death come far more from machinery+fatigue than drowning. I don't know of any drowning deaths in my fleet since I worked seiners. Most I know got sucked into the anchor roller or deck winch, crushed by pots/ loaded nets, or pinned by a tow line.
I did take a 30 foot flight overboard when a towline got caught on the stern rail during a turn, then came free just in time to catch me across the shoulders. Water was cold enough to bring me back to consciousness, luckily enough, and the adrenaline rush got me back on board quicker than I'd have thought possible. Floaties would've been more hindrance than help there, as well, unless I didn't wake up.
Sailing offshore, I'm religious about tethering in out of the cockpit or in a blow. But no floaties there either in the normal course of things.

There's a bunch every year, mostly on smaller family owned gill net operations which don't really make the news outside the local circles. Most go over the back with the net. With most inside fishing there's guaranteed to be current, you go in, you pop up twenty feet away so there's no grabbing the boat. I've had personal experience with a few and wont go into details out of respect but some of the stories are heartbreaking and chilling, more so with family operations.