Safety requirement for racing

Being very new to this sport I try to meet the requirements set down by the race comity.N ow I just finished my first big ocean race on Sunday the King of the Coast and I did race the Wave Break classic both of which were fantastic.Organized well,very friendly and inviting to new comers.But it was a topic of conversation after the race that the safety requirements seem to be inadequate and or disregarded by many.Safety leashes were mandatory.Not all paddlers had them.PFD's were mandatory but not all wore them.True,paddlers didn't have to wear them just have them accessible.Id hate to see a person in distress trying to free their PFD from the gray gaffer tape with which they taped their PFD to the back of the boat.I'm thinking they would down before this happened.So the outcome of this would be a dead paddler and all of the horrors associated with such a tragedy.And then on the other side the sport would have bad press,the organizers would have to explain why the paddler didn't have a PFD on.End of a race end of a company and all of the associated personal cost of emotion and distress. So what to do?PFD's must be worn.If no DQ.Leashes must be on the boat an attached.If not DQ.If required by race comity mobile phones in possession.If not DQ.Not that hard to enforce and would only take a few DQ's around the races to get compliance.

I personally hate PFD's, but think that fair enough let's all wear them.
But I would like to see a new class of PFD that is designed for racing that is not as bulky or hot.
There is no need for a jacket that you can survive a week in for racing, just a little help if you got clocked on the head or busted a shoulder or like so that you don't expire before a rescue boat gets to you.

For much longer paddles in open water with a spread out field, maybe a full version.

But if they are to had to enter the race, they achieve nothing if not worn. Either have them or not, no half ways.

I think a leash must at least be present but you be allowed your own judgment as to when to wear them.



P.S. Try using paragraphs, it makes for much easier reading.

Draftbuster - many of us debated this - at length - approx 18 months ago.

In short, in South Africa, no l/jacket means not allowed to race/no result.

Just like crash helmets on bicycles, you should not keep it for 'in case' - it needs to be worn!

And just like crash helmets on bicycles, once they were mandatory (and ALL the pro's had to comply), then the wearing of them became a non-issue, and anyone NOT wearing a crash helmet at a race would look stupid indeed.

From then, they spread in to everyday-wear, and I rarely see anyone not wearing a crash helmet.

Cheers

Apology for my lack of paragraphs.
It seems that it wouldnt be that hard to introduce the mandatory wearing of lifejackets.The race directors need only to enforce the rule,and we the paddlers need to comply.
Helmets were brought into cycling because of unnecessary deaths on the road.
When first introduced a lot of the pro's were up in arms,but now its not an issue.
Life jackets would be the same.No life jackets,and its only a matter of time before someone drowns.