A helping hand.

[paulowen123]

Hi guys as a few of you may know i kayak fish alone quite a bit on the menai straghts . Now in the line of safety i have a GUL garment. How ever the inside of the GUL garment it says the folowing: this garment is not a life jacket it cannot be considered as a safety vest or life preserver to witch i thourt ho sh*t! . I have been useing it all this time over a year and now i notice this tut tut ive been in the drink/sea with it twice now and cant say it had realy helped me stay afloat to be honest. And so i have new cause for concern as safety on the sea is paramount as we all know!.Now in the 2nd line of safety i have a have a mobile phone in a good waterproof bag that is trustworthy should i end up in the drink .I have kayak paddle leash and would not lose any gear if i went over rods (eg) now im thinking i should go and get a pfd sorted and a vhf radio too and still carry the phone as a precautionary principle. Ive just started to dout my safety at sea there for this needs to be adressed before i go out again. Could anyone advise me on a vhf that would not brake the bank and a good pfd. ive seen a few things on amazon but still not 100%on witch one would be better for me with what i do. And also any other safety gear or advice you could possibly give i would be very thankful guys . P.S Hope you all had a good new year too

[izzetafox]

VHF? Stick to the major brands from a UK dealer. Icom and Standard Horizon come to mind. Don't be tempted to buy cheap off EBay. Your life may depend on it.

PFD? A PFD is not a life jacket! The flotation is different between the two. A life jacket whether an inflatable or foam filled is designed to totally support the weight of an unconscious person and to keep their face upwards and above water.
A PFD is designed to assist in supporting a conscious person. That is why when you look at the supporting capacity most life jackets will be in excess of one 100 Newtons and usually around 150 Newtons, whereas a PFD will usually be between 50 and 80 Newtons.

Hope this helps.

Terry

[BUDDY]

Spot on Terry.

[paulowen123]

Thank you for this Terry Had a look at an Icom M71 Handheld the other day.

[izzetafox]

Icom are an excellent and highly respected brand you will not go far wrong.

Terry

[Narcan]

HM Coastguard use Icom IC M71 radios, if it's good enough for them it's good enough for me, that's what I have, and it has never let me down, it also has a huge battery life, and is waterproof too! Like mentioned before, your life might depend on it!

[paulowen123]

Think it will be the Icom IC M71 radio for me to be fair also think the water draining support function is cool Will start saving up now . Also there are cources you can take for this type of radio anyone done one on here? or know how much it would cost eg?? its something im very keen to get under my belt.