Personal choice. That said anybody who reads the thread about the guide who fell over iin Kyuquot would think twice about not wearing a life jacket.
That guide is one of my oldest and closest friends. I honestly don't know of anybody that has a healthier respect or love for the ocean. No need to elaborate on the story anymore, but I can tell you this. He has worn pfds consistently for the majority of his career on the water. He actually had one on just prior to going over, but had put it on his elderly guest because of the weather and the old guy's difficulty in maintaining his balance while fighting fish in those seas. Complacency played a role that day, so did luck, so did something else intangible, but miraculously he came out the other side of it. One more stupid, unenforceable law, shoved down our throats for our own safety, would not have prevented that incident, or many others for that matter. It's illegal to drink and drive, but there are a hell of a lot more than 100 fatalities a year caused by alcohol and automobiles.
So, that being said, I don't always wear one on my boat. Neither do my passengers, IF they are old enough to be responsible for themselves. If the weather dictates it, they go on. I always inform people that haven't been on the boat where all the safety gear is located before I even fire up the engine. All strategically placed to be accessed quickly. Life jackets under their respective seats.
Children have two options, elected on the dock; you wear it or we go home.
So, with all that being said, I sure have thought about it a lot since the day he went in the water. When I'm by myself, I do wear one at the request of my wife. Really, I wear it only out of respect for her, lol.
The nanny state is getting way out of hand. It seems to be relative to the number of #*%*ing idiots that are kept from injuring or killing themselves. The more of these morons that we save, breed and produce more, so we, as a collective are saddled with the responsibility of protecting them at no cost to themselves. Any member on here that works "in the field" will understand! The biggest waste of skin on just about any job site is going to be the 'safety' person. Now these idiots (not every single one, but greater than 90%) are actually 'educated' but absolutely useless. I have more respect for teachers (again not every single one, but waaaay up there) and we all know the saying there! So it's not bad enough that these morons are actually on sites, but they've been given relative power.
I could go on more about this, but I won't. It's only a metaphor for the modern world we live in; all about shirking responsibility (cleverly called Limiting Liability) instead of actually accepting responsibility for one's own actions.
How many of us remember riding in the back of pickups with six or seven of the parents' friends' kids on the back roads, while there were no seatbelts in the cab where the dads sat? We slept in tents then too, actually camping.
Remember when the only people on the ski hill that wore a helmet were the racers?
Remember when you could actually just do something without having to cover your butt six ways from Sunday because you could do things without being sued for a freakin hangnail?
Even better, remember when you could operate a boat without having to spend fifty bucks on a cheesy little card, that doesn't mean anything because the 'training' is a joke. No accountability, just a cash grab. Again, a metaphor for our 'modern' society.
I remember when people had thicker skin and actually took responsibility for their own actions and safety.
Those were the good old days alright. People were tougher and generally more intelligent. A sharp contrast to the vast majority of bubble wrapped cattle mindlessly bungling their way through life today.
