PFDs, Children and a Sudden Squall
You are on a 6 m half-cabin cruiser with four adults and two children aged 6 and 9. It is a warm, calm morning on a coastal estuary. The children are wearing lifejackets while underway, but one adult has taken theirs off to sunbathe on the back deck. You are 2 km from shore in about 8 m of water when a squall line approaches faster than forecast: wind jumps from 8 to 30 knots in minutes, the sky darkens, and short steep chop builds. The boat begins to take spray over the bow and the children are frightened. The engine is running and you are making headway.
1. What is your immediate sequence of actions, and why does order matter?
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First, get everyone into lifejackets - including the sunbathing adult - before doing anything else, because a person overboard in 30 knots is the highest-consequence failure. Second, slow down and turn to take the chop at an angle rather than head-on at speed, to reduce slamming and spray; reduce speed enough to stay in control. Third, get the children low and centred, ideally in the cabin or seated on the floor, and have an adult with them. Fourth, check the bilge and secure loose gear. Order matters because the lifejacket step protects against the worst outcome if a wave or a turn throws someone, and slowing down reduces the chance of injury or swamping while you sort out the rest. Only then do you consider whether to run for shelter or hold position.
2. Should you head for shore immediately or hold position? What factors decide it?
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It depends on which option reduces exposure fastest and most safely. Heading for shore means crossing 2 km of open, choppy water, possibly beam-on to the squall, and arriving at a lee shore where waves break - a lee shore is dangerous. Holding position or slowly working into the wind keeps you off the shore and lets the squall pass, which is usually short-lived. Deciding factors: the direction of the wind and the nearest sheltered shoreline, the sea room you have, whether the boat is handling the chop comfortably, and the state of the children and adults. With 8 m of water and a short squall, the safer default is often to keep the bow into the weather at low speed and wait it out, provided you have sea room, rather than run for a lee shore in 30 knots.
3. What should you do about the adult who removed their lifejacket, and what does this reveal about your briefing?
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Direct them firmly to put it back on now, and do not proceed until they have. In worsening conditions a lifejacket is not optional for anyone on deck. The fact that an adult felt free to remove it reveals that your pre-departure briefing did not set a clear rule: lifejackets on for all persons whenever underway, or at minimum when conditions are uncertain, with no exceptions for comfort. The lesson is to state the rule explicitly and apply it to everyone, because adults are as capable of going overboard as children and are often the ones moving around the boat.