Sea clothing and safety risks

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Author: Eric, Design 4 Sea 2014 07

Sea clothes present collateral risks. Here is a short review based on personal experience, experiments conducted at Academia Naútica Probanza and discussions with experienced sailors, fishermen, tug crews, etc.

Sea boots: potentially lethal when overboard.

In case of fall overboard, 1) the boots full of water pull you down 2) you can hardly swim and 3) you cannot flex the ankles, which makes difficult using stirrups and ladders (from personal experience). Solutions:

Sea boots 2 sizes larger. Kick them off ASAP (source: fishermen, tug crews, experienced skippers).

Diving shoes. (source: personal experience, nautical guide: Rolfo Ardrizzi (2007) Patagonia & Tierra de Fuego)

Good adherence on deck, warm, decent protection and most important: they float.

Inconveniences: leave black marks on deck, rinse frequently otherwise they stink

Deck shoes even in bad weather. Better wet than dead (source: Jacques Riguidel, other skippers).

Inconveniences: shoes remain wet during long periods of time.

Barefoot for short interventions on deck and/or in warm weather (source personal experience).

No loss of time, you keep your shoes dry, and a short exposure to cold, even intense, won't affect you.

Inconveniences: risk of lesion if you kick anything. You must know your deck perfectly.

Gloves: crippling when overboard.

Gloves are essential to work in cold, otherwise your fingers become numb very quickly. However, in water, gloves make you clumsy and they may slip. Solution:

Gloves that can be removed with the teeth. Example: fishermen rubber gloves.

Multi layer clothing: crippling when overboard.

For instance, a waterproof jacket (for fishermen, motorbikes) over a warm jacket. Very convenient, but when you are soaked, you can hardly flex the elbows and the knees (personal experience). Solutions:

Warm AND waterproof sea clothes.

Inconveniences: specialized clothing, therefore expensive. Frequently damp clothes (water always finds a way to get inside).

Waterproof clothes only, for short interventions on deck (source: personal experience).

By doing so, you keep your warm clothes dry. Short exposures to rain and cold, even intense, won't affect you. Furthermore, waterproof clothes cut the wind (lower wind chill).

Open jacket: dangerous when overboard.

Any jacket totally or partially open behaves like a sea anchor when the boat is on course. The drag of the water is very hard to overcome. Solution:

close your jacket completely, including the pockets.

Recommendation. Direct experience is priceless: jump in water with your usual sea clothes and observe what happens. Indeed, do it on a warm, quiet day, in presence of people that can bring you aboard.

My preferences

heavy weather: diving shoes or barefoot, only waterproof clothes for short interventions on deck, fishermen rubber gloves (plus inner polar gloves when too cold) and never going out with an open jacket.

normal conditions: deck shoes, multilayer clothes (motorbike waterproof clothes outside).

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