Do you think lifejackets should be compulsory at all times?
Following the recent tragedy during the Flinders Islet yacht race when two well-known sailing identities, Andrew Short and Sally Gordon, lost their lives, the NSW Government is reviewing its lifejacket laws and is calling for public comment.
The full proposal is described in the News story on this website (click on News in the header bar to find the story). However, essentially it's proposed to bring the regulations closer into line with Victoria and Queensland.
The changes that would most affect yachties would be a requirement to wear a PFD “in heightened risk situations” such as at night, when alone and on ocean waters. At this stage it appears that NSW is only proposing this for vessels less than 4.8 metres in length, whereas in Victoria it applies to all vessels in these circumstances.
The danger of regulations that are too strict is that people stop sailing. The opposite end of the scale is that if regulations aren't strict enough, people can lose their lives.
We'd be interested to hear from sailors all around the country, but in particular from people in Victoria as to how the regulations that were brought in in 2005 have worked, and from people in NSW as to what they think the regulations should be in their state.
