It is questionable that the country's two biggest sailing regattas could differ over a matter as basic as safety, yet separate policy decisions taken by next year’s Cork Week and this July’s Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta illustrate the need for national guidance.
Wearing or not wearing one has always been a matter of personal choice for cruiser class sailors because there is no obligation for them to wear one in either the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) or in law.
The Dragon keelboat World championships, being sailed in light winds on Dublin bay this week has not required them.
But two months ago Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta insisted all sailors must wear lifejackets. The organisers were clear that the entry of 520 boats and 3,500 competitors was a massive responsibility. Managing the racing was one thing, keeping everyone safe was another.
The same approach has been adopted by Howth Yacht Club and Dublin Bay Sailing Club since 2004. They fly International Code Flag Y, a signal in the RRS that the wearing of Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) is compulsory – even in the absence of wind.
The rule is of no consequence to the dinghy fleets, where PFDs are standard practice, but the introduction was not well received across some of the bigger yachts – especially from visitors to the bay – because lifejackets restrict active crewing.
The more serious disapproval for the rule, however, was not based on the physical nuisance of the jacket but more on the contention that by flying Y, clubs remove an age–old individual responsibility on the crews to make their own decision on the matter.
It is just the latest manifestation of 'nanny state' culture taking hold in sailing, critics said, and the rule undermines a basic tenet of racing.
But if competitors refuse to take responsibility for their own actions what should organisers do?
For example, on Dublin Bay this summer in a competition widely publicised to run under 'Y', a competitor from a cruiser class fell overboard five miles offshore and was recovered by a nearby committee boat as he was unable to get back on board his boat. He was not wearing a lifejacket.
Here is a competitor who spent 100,000 Euro on a boat but would either not spend 100 Euro on a lifejacket or ignored the rules of the regatta.
Flag Y will only fly at 2008 Cork Week if conditions such as strong winds merit it, otherwise lifejackets can stay in lockers.
The view in Crosshaven where competitor numbers have reached 6,000, is that personal safety is entirely a matter for each boat.
It is the same in Cowes and at other major regattas across the world.
And with sailing's impeccable international safety record compared to some other adventure sports, it is hard to see why it needs to change.
But change has happened in Ireland because of a string of accidents - some involving yachts and sailing events – and different clubs have responded in different ways to cope with new legislation.
Change has come from the State in the form of the Maritime Safety Act 2005 which makes it a legal requirement for lifejackets to be carried on every pleasure craft. There is irony in the fact that some of sailing's own long standing safeguards to personal freedom now come under this legislation.
In many types of race, ranging from trans-oceanic to short-course day races, six categories are established by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) to provide for differences in the minimum standards of safety required. Not all categories require the use of lifejackets when racing.
Instead of the current split in opinion between clubs it is incumbent on the sailing authority to give a lead to regatta organisers.
The Irish Sailing Association (ISA) says the guiding principle is that a person’s personal safety is primarily the responsibility of that person. It would be of greater value if it went further by adding that that where boats comply with ISAF special regulations responsibility rests with the skipper of that boat.
Given the raft of legislation being drafted for the marine sector doomsayers predict we could end up wearing lifejackets in the bath. The sport quickly needs to make up its own mind on the matter without forgetting the fact that lifejackets are useless unless worn.
