We recently had a incident where a boat was racing and one of the crew did not wear a PFD for the entire evening.
Club policy is to have anybody on the Club’s vessels wear a USCG approved PFD that can be visibly seen. Not wearing a PFD is a serious breach in safety protocols, not noticing that a crew was not wearing a PFD is a lack of awareness issue and not knowing if someone is wearing a PFD is highly irregular.
PFD saves lives, we all have the collective responsibility to ensure all our fellow members are following protocols and are safe. Marina and Sail Club staff should not have to police this but as a courtesy to remind guests and members of the protocol but ultimately it is the skipper’s responsibility to ensure PFDs are worn correctly.
Thank you for your attention.