What does sailFar wear to prevent separating oneself from the boat, and if so, to keep oneself afloat and with enough gear to last a few days in the wilderness?
Safety harness
personal flotation (CG approved)
pockets to hold a vhf radio, knife, flashlight, cash, water bottle, lightweight rain gear and insulation
I am thinking a vest for night passages, or any time really. Also for dinghy adventures, where I might even consider carrying ultralight backpacking gear, maybe in a separate small backpack.
Is there a vest on the market that does this?
What would you put into it if you had one?
Here is what I use;
(http://nrsweb5.richfx.com.edgesuite.net/image/media/40028_01_2157_red_front_032912_1000x1000.jpg)
NRS Clearwater meshback cVest
I do have a harness also, but have yet to be in conditions that required it.
I keep both a survival kit and first aid kit in waterproof bags, there is a pocket for the radio, I put a CRKT Bear Claw knife on it ;
(http://nrsweb5.richfx.com.edgesuite.net/image/media/2765_sheath_111105_1000x1000.jpg)
http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=2765&utm_campaign=shop_comp&utm_source=shopzilla&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=sz_CRKT_Bear_Claw_Knife-2765
There is also a strap for a beacon.
I have an SOSpenders self inflater, with built in harness. On Tehani I installed a hard point just outside the companionway, where it can be reached from below.
The tether reaches below, so I can lay on the settee, the mast, so I can reef or hoist sail, and into the cockpit. It does NOT reach aft of the cockpit.
Offshore I rig a jack line from cockpit to bow.
If I am offshore, or sailing at night, I'm clipped on. Motto is
"DO NOT fall off the boat- if you do, you are dead" 75 miles out into the gulf of Mexico, single hand, if you do fall over, might be better to not have the PFD
A Spinlock harness/PFD
A Mustang PFD and a separate harness
Dual tethers about 3-1/2 feet long, eye spliced to a lock gate `biner
Folding pad eye in forward face of cockpit
Four pad eyes on coach roof - two either side of mast, two either side of companionway
Jack line is 1/4" Amsteel with eyes at both ends inside 1" hollow webbing
Jackline runs from aft coachroof padeye through forward pad eye to foredeck cleats
Lockgate `biners with a 31kN break load clip through jack line eyes onto cleats and pad eyes
I can reach everything, but I can't get past the lifelines unless the harness cuts me in half... and then, well... it probably won't matter ;D