Yachting and Boating World forums: "Liferaft" is it needed for coastal cruising in UK

Do you:

Wear a crash helmet, knee and elbow pads whilst walking down the road? You could be hit by anything or trip over a stone so you should really.

Put your lifejacket on and inflate it before going afloat? What if the gas bottle fails?

Do you have a LR in your tender? What if that sinks on an ebb tide ....

Put your lifejacket on and have your survival suit ready when walking along the beach? What if a rouge wave comes in?

Have a full first aid kit complete with leg splints and defib unit about your person the whole time? What if you fall off a curb and have a heart attack?

Is there a Fire extinguisher and blanket ready for deployment when you light a BBQ or operate any electrical equipment? It could catch fire ....

Am I saying that you shouldn't have a liferaft? No ... of course not ... but it is dependent on your perception of the risk. I'm one of those reckless individuals that doesn't wear their LJ all the time - I didn't even put it on last weekend - we don't have a liferaft either - with the sort of sailing we do this chances of needing one are so slight that I'd rather spend the money on items that may actually see some use - ensuring that we don't need the LR to start with ....

A lot of sailing is about risk management - do you have a safety line on when going up the mast - are you expecting the main line to fail? If not, could the spare line not fail too? Should you put a 3rd line on?

Should you be going out in weather where you deem the LR to be of importance - are you expecting your boat to fail - if so, shouldn't you look at resolving those issues first ... what would cause a boat to sink?

1) Mast coming down and puncturing the hull - check the rigging - replace it, have a redundant spare, have bolt croppers to get rid of it as quickly as possible
2) Keel falling off - buy a boat with an encapsulated keel
3) Seacock / Skin fitting / Pipe failure - get the highest possible quality fittings, inspect often, replace before they need it, have bungs/padding available, have suitable pumps and buckets at hand
4) Collision - difficult to mitigate against - could be you are hit by another craft or you hit a submerged object in the water - for the first, make sure you have RADAR and know how to operate - take avoiding action as early as possible, for the second - how about considering making the bow section a sacraficial bow - fill in the forepeak stowage with suitable buoyancy - make the door to the forepeak watertight. Have a keel and rudder design that won't fall off when hit
5) Rolling/pooping - don't go out in weather (or forecasted weather) conditions that would make this a possibility ...
6) Fire - Have additional automatic fire extinguishers onboard in the likely places, make sure all your electrical items are suitably protected, remove gas appliances/bottles, do not allow smoking on board.

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And all this is relevant is it?

looks exactly like preaching to me.

"Me.... I am an adult, I can make my own decisions"

Seems to me, that you are making decisions for other people, who have no choice. Next time I get on a ferry in the Solent, I'll suggest to Whitelink, that they could save lots of overhead costs by leaving their liferafts ashore. Probably allow more passenger room as well.

"I wouldn't think we'd be in the water for more than 30 minutes, and we quite often go for a swim anyway ... so no real issue there ... "

So, if you can guarantee that the survival time for 'everyone' on your boat if they are in the Solent at present must be at least 30 minutes, then not much point in any rescue services hurrying is there.

"My crew are all adults "

You still have a duty of care, regardless of their age.

"My Priorities are ensuring that our vessel and crew DO NOT encounter a situation where a liferaft is required."

So sadly, the Ouzo went down, with 3 crew dead, even though they would obviously have had similar priorities to the one your giving. Just proves, that thinking you have a priority doesn't eliminate risk. I assume you have not got any lifejackets either, since with this ethos, you will obviously never need them.

"but don't consider me (and thousands of others) an idiot just because I don't concur with your way of thinking."

1) don't consider that you speak for or represent thousands of others!
2) I didn't specifically mention you were an idiot, however if its a term you wish to adopt, feel free to use it.

In the end, if you are prepared (as you obviously are) to compromise on safety, I sincerely hope you continue to have such luck.