Possible proposal for AGM

Hi boys.... am considering submitting the following propsal at the AGM.....
that all life jackets MUST be worn whilst Launching or Retrieving,,,,
the reasons are many fold..i think soon it will be mandatory by law anyway,,for safety reasons alone i think we shoulld do,,the new Lifejackets we wear are now far more easier and comfortable to wear compared to the old ones.... and most of all,,IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!...

i really cannot see any reason why we shouldnt adopt this rule, but i wanted to hear other peoples opinions first...i dont just want to impose this without discussing it with other members first....
apart from the cost ( which is about £50 for a new one) i dont see a reason not to wear them..

ok peeps,, over to you,,,, DONT JUST BROWSE THE POST, HAVE AN INPUT,, THIS IS IMPORTANT!
doesnt matter if you are for or against,, lets hear your view !!!!

Totally agree with you Keith. I wear one when fishing from a few shore venues, after 10 mins you dont notice it. I would vote for this

totally agree its a great proposal, whats £50 compared to your life

Keith i would rather NOT wear a life jacket, BUT when you think about it its very possible that the powers that be are going to close the Coast Guard station soon it could be some time before anything happens,stuck in the water, i had better get used to wearing one, the only thing is ? will it work with chest waders on ? having no experience falling in the water with either on whats the thoughts on this, Tim.

hi tim
on a personal note, i never fish with waders on as i think it is too dangerous but thats me,,having a life jacket on doesnt get in the way of either launching and retrieving..the guy who fell overboard in Ireland last year really brought it home how dangerous our sport can be,,,he was in open ocean,, if we fell in in the mersey, even on a small tide, the chances of survival WITHOUT a life jacket would would be NIL.as the tide race is so fast. The life jackets today are more like little vests and to be honest once you get used to wearing it you dont even notice you have it on.. I think it will only be a matter of time before it will be law here as it it in Ireland,, so maybe we better get used to the idea whether we like it or not.. After all ,, whats the price of a life? £50 for a Life Jacket???

I have no problem with the proposal it gets my vote

Keith thanks, but like yourselves i only wear waders when launching, was wondering what the life jacket would be like with them on if i was to fall under any ideas thanks Tim.

hi tim,, your life jacket would still work/inflate with or without your waders on...i personally have waders that are 1 size too big. so if i did fall in i could get out of them very quickly...however we are talking about wearing the lifejacket when launching and retrieving, so really if you did fall in the water shouldnt be too deep....i know other people who wear their lifejacket all day long even in the mersey and they say they dont even notice they have it on after the first outing or two... i also know of one particular boat that took a bow wave off the sea cat whilst fishing the rough ground,,, he now ALWAYS wears a lifejacket no matter what....lesson learned? i think so...the new Crewsaver Lifejackets are like tiny waistcoats and i think even you will agree that no fish is worth a life,,,,especially in the Mersey and the rate that it flows,,, without one you will be toast in seconds,, we only have a few small boats in the club,, and i want them all to stay safe whilst fishing....

Hi Keith,

I think it's safe to say you've got the full backing of the Small Boats Section on this, myself included, and I'm sure everyone will show their willingness to comply with your proposal if/when we ever get out fishing again.
However I don't think you need to make it a rule of the club as such; as this could well open a can of worms, there is an argument for the wearing of life jackets at all times for instance? Which is fine, though you know it would be almost unenforceable and all of us are experienced enough to know when it's sensible to put on life jackets and when it's appropriate to remove then (Ok I know this is going to take some imagination, but these days did used to occur...occasionally) 80 degrees sun beating down, laying at anchor in a mill pond of a sea or in the Rock Channel for instance - now you try and stop Tim from stripping down to his Calvin Klein's (Ethel Austin's actually) - I made him put shorts on for that photo of his Bass!

Just to comment on Tim's point regarding waders, you'd obviously stand a much better chance of survival if you've got a life jacket on. If you were to stumble, an inflated life jacket would keep your head above water whereas without, the tide would catch your chesties and turn it into a sort of wind sock.... dragging you down to Davie Jones' locker, oooo aaarrrhhh!

PS. Weather permitting - anyone fancy a pleasure bash this Saturday?

Hi Martin.. totally agree with what you are saying,, but if you read the propsal i suggested, it was for when we are Launching Or Retrieving,, i never suggested keeping your Life Jacket on all day...that would be impossible to enforce, so i never suggested it... Its entirely up to each Captain to decide if he and his crew wear a Life Jacket for the duration of the trip..if you choose to remove yours whilst you are fishing thats entirely your choice,,not mine..............My suggestion covers to me the most dangerous parts of the trip..Launching and Retrieving,,,,..once you are afloat the rest is up to you,,,, as long as you have it back on when you come in..thats all i ask,,,,
As for fishing this saturday,, your crew (and you ) are total let downs yet again! This saturday is the Cod Cup. one off match this saturday only,,,,you really do need to keep up to date ( or Tim off the bottle) ..Single biggset fish as usaul, fishing 8am till 2pm....I know you are both old codgers but you really do neet to keep up to date with whats happening with the small boats..
Everyone will have their own opinion on Lifejackets and thats what this forum is for,, i didnt want to put a proposal to the club without the members having their say first..some for . some against,, thats called democracy and thats what our club is all about,,discuss and decide,,not dictate .....

I read an article in sea angler this months copy - Fladden have now for sale a waterproof jacket with removables arms - a lifejacket which inflates when falling into water cost £125.00 but has two purposes ie jacket and lifejacket...of interest only .
last year I purchased a flotation jacket that is also usefull when onboard - loads of pockets but not inflatable but foam lined enough to keep an adult afloat ...cost £65.00....of interest only

Don't think anyone has opposed your proposal Keith, so it's unanimous.
Regarding fishing this Saturday, thanks for reminding me and putting the mockers on our chances, I'll not bother getting any petrol until Friday night then! :-)

Totally in agreement with wats been proposed Keith - no great hardship and it WILL save ur life, common sense prevails See u all Monday night
Pete (Blu-Noze)