Familiarise yourself with your Lifejacket

Owning a lifejacket or Buoyancy Aid is not a guarantee of safety unless you know how to use it

If you fall in the water at certain angles wearing foul weather clothing, air can be trapped inside. This can cause you to surface quickly and float on your back. This may cause slow or nonactivation of both standard automatic and Hammar lifejackets, because the auto firing mechanism is not sufficiently submerged. In such cases, either pull the manual firing lanyard to activate inflation, or change your position in the water, so that the front of the lifejacket is submerged sufficiently to cause activation.

1. In an emergency there is no time to learn how equipment works. You should practice putting on your Lifejacket and making the final adjustments for a safe fit.

2. Children should be encouraged to learn how to put on their Lifejackets or Buoyancy Aids for themselves.

3. You should also practice in the water so that you know how the equipment functions and in particular, get used to the flotation position it gives you.

4. Crewsaver recommend the use of thigh straps with all Lifejackets, most versions have these fitted as standard. They make the Lifejacket safer to use by helping to prevent it riding up in the water.