John Belton of PWCOFFSHORE speaks off the cuff on PWC safety, an interesting perspective (picture of Belton on 10/26/2008 on the backside of Catalina Island)
"I have been hedging for years if should get an EPIRB or not. This letter has just pushed me to get one. You know one thing you touched on, which I would like to elaborate some more on is Seamanship. And just what is that? Good seamanship starts at the Ramp or in the garage, it plays a role when you are washing your craft down. When I am washing my pwc off, It is not just for cleaning purposes; I am also looking for things that might be wrong. Loose wires, hose clamps, nuts bolts, etc. When I am done cleaning my boat, I remove every drop of water out of the bilge area. The bilge area is the lowest point in the hull so likely any loose "parts" will find their way there. If I find a broken zip tie down there, I find out where that zip tie came from! Alot of people treat their pwc's like they are "dirt bikes on the water". Nothing could be further from the truth. Alot of accidents at sea can be prevented by keeping the pwc as mechanically "ship shape" as possible. Of course there will be some breakdowns here and there; a pwc has alot of moving parts so some mechanical misshaps will happen. But if thru good Seamanship some of those can be prevented, I think that's a good thing."
SAFETY IS ALWAYS FIRST, Never ride in the ocean unless you are prepared.
"I have been hedging for years if should get an EPIRB or not. This letter has just pushed me to get one. You know one thing you touched on, which I would like to elaborate some more on is Seamanship. And just what is that? Good seamanship starts at the Ramp or in the garage, it plays a role when you are washing your craft down. When I am washing my pwc off, It is not just for cleaning purposes; I am also looking for things that might be wrong. Loose wires, hose clamps, nuts bolts, etc. When I am done cleaning my boat, I remove every drop of water out of the bilge area. The bilge area is the lowest point in the hull so likely any loose "parts" will find their way there. If I find a broken zip tie down there, I find out where that zip tie came from! Alot of people treat their pwc's like they are "dirt bikes on the water". Nothing could be further from the truth. Alot of accidents at sea can be prevented by keeping the pwc as mechanically "ship shape" as possible. Of course there will be some breakdowns here and there; a pwc has alot of moving parts so some mechanical misshaps will happen. But if thru good Seamanship some of those can be prevented, I think that's a good thing."
SAFETY IS ALWAYS FIRST, Never ride in the ocean unless you are prepared.
