Buoyancy Aids

A buoyancy aid is a very important and key bit of equipment when taking part in any watersports activity.

Buoyancy aids are simply an aid to buoyancy that generally relies on help being close at hand. It assumes that the wearer is able to help themselves to some degree by swimming to safety or by keeping themselves afloat while assistance arrives if required.

We often have conversations with people when it comes to PFDs (personal floatation devices) and when we explain how important they are we get told fairly often that the person is a strong swimmer. In the harsh reality it's great being a strong swimmers but if you are to fall off the water craft and crash into something under the water you could be unfortunate to get into the situation of being unable to swim due to injuries or worse being knocked unconscious where being a strong swimmer will not help you. It's also important to know a PFD is NOT a life jacket. They will bring you to the surface as long as you have one that is the correct buoyancy for you and been fitted correctly but will not keep your head and face out of the water, but bringing you to the surface gives the opportunity to be saved.