Life jackets in the past and today
History of the buoyancy aid
Life jackets have been saving lives for hundreds of years. Even in the Middle Ages, the first attempts and progress were made to make seafaring safer and to reduce the number of casualties from shipwrecks by developing safety devices. A first variant were jackets filled with cork, cork belts or inflatable hoses made of animal skins, which the shipwrecked person could use as a floating aid. But they didn't have much in common with today's safe life jackets. With the invention of inflatable rubber hoses and other materials such as plastic foams, ever more handy and safe life jackets could be developed. Nowadays even light automatic vests are used offshore, which inflate automatically after sufficient water pressure on a membrane in an emergency and thus keep the head and body above water.
The first really safe life jackets
In 1854, Captain Ward developed the first real life jacket. The inspector of the still today existing British sea rescue company RNLI developed a solid life jacket made of cork, which was equipped with a collar, which in addition to the body also kept the head above water. This vest became a box-office hit and the standard equipment of seafaring. At the same time, the French technician de Ropp presented the first self-inflatable life jacket. As soon as it came into contact with water, a gas was introduced into the vest, which provided the buoyancy. Both variants of life jackets are produced, further developed and used today according to the idea. Only the material types and gas types have changed. Today, polystyrene or PVC foams are used instead of methyl chloride and lithium.
Statistics prove Life jackets save lives
Life jackets are still not worn all the time when you are on the water, despite all the horror stories and statistics. So it is not surprising that few of the sea dead listed in statistics wore a life jacket. One thing is clear: A life jacket saves and helps only if it is worn and not lying below deck or on land in a box
Regatta vests
Regatta vests are a special form of life jackets. They are not designed to float with their heads up in the water for long periods of time. It is assumed that there will be teams on site to help at short notice during a regatta. For this reason, regatta vests pay more attention to freedom of movement and reduced weight. In addition, the life jackets are equipped with reflectors so that the needy person can be found more quickly. Regatta vests serve to keep the sailor afloat when you float unconscious in the water, but at the same time let you perform athletically on the ship. In addition, these vests are equipped with other security features such as a pocket for safety knives or the like.