Safety gear I carry

Here is what safety gear I have on my ski, as you may be able to tell I'm not a strong swimmer! Let me know if I'm missing anything (seriously).
Some stuff may seem a bit over the top, but is also used on the boat.

On me: Lifejacket with 406MHz GPS Epirb attached
In waterproof compartment: Cellphone, spare GPS batteries, nav light batteries, spare fuses
In glovebox: Handheld VHF, knife
GPS mounted on glovebox lid
Under rear seat: Flares, anchor, tools, waterproof torch, spare knife, fire extinguisher
Front compartment: Various ropes, 2 small buoys, sea anchor, 2 collapsible paddles (coz the missus has got two arms )

Great Scott, you covered more than me. I also recommend a small first aid kit for minor incidents on the water.

Yep, I forgot the first aid kit under the rear seat!

Welldone!!!! The only small thing I can recommend is a compressed air horn. You can buy the mini ones for about $7 and fit in any pocket and are another great option if all others have failed or inactive for whatever reason. Hopefully none of us will never need all the safety gear but it is better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it!! Just like insurance really!!

Yep, got an airhorn too! Guess I should have had a look before I put up the list. I wonder if I would have remembered it was there if I ever needed it...

You are a great example for all. Hopefully the list makes anyone on here that is not so safety first think twice.

So now the challenge is out for all!!!

Can anyone on here come up with some practical peice of safety equipment that CIGAR doesn't have on his ski or body ??????

I also have sunscreen and insect repellent!

One thing I don't have is a second battery. I run the sounder off the ski battery, but always turn it off when the engine isn't running.

On the life Jacket if there isn't a whistle I would put one. Air Horns are great but can run out of air, your whistle is good as long as you are.

The whistle is a good idea, also a lot quicker to get at than the airhorn (kept under the rear seat, which normally has someone sitting on it) if someone is about to run me over!

Think he forgot to add the 40ft launch?

Seriously, this is an excellent topic and I agree with all of the above. We all need to listen to the advice and take ACTION now or it's all a waste of time!

Maybe Andrew could add a section to the Jetski site under rigging a jetski to list recomeded safety gear.

Good list of safety gear, only thing that puts me off a epirb is the cost. another safety item well worth mentioning is coastguard membership and a vhf call sign. These are linked to you and make you easily identifiable and it is good peace of mind and also funds a good cause.

Yes EPIRBs are expensive, and not something I would normally have bought. The one on our boat is an old 121MHz (no longer monitored), and we fish in a remote area of the West coast where there may be no other boats around and VHF coverage is a bit limited, so I considered it worth the expense. As I mainly fish the Firth on the ski, where there are always other boats and good VHF coverage, I would not have bothered with the EPIRB for the ski alone.
I am a Coastguard member, and have a callsign for the ski. The boat has a different callsign, so if I have trouble they know what vessel they are looking for and what gear I'm carrying.
I have also done the Dayskipper and VHF courses, both well worth doing.

Yes EPIRBs are expensive, but consider what your life , and your ski is worth. This goes with any safety gear that you need and and protective clothing.

On my motorbike I put my head in a helmet not worth $100 but $1000.

At the risk of repeating myself, a coastguard membership is a great piece of satey equipment. Headed out today in a well maintained ski that gets started weekly and the battery put on charge regularly. As for any trip I always start uo the night before as well as before I headed to the ramp, straight into life both times, at the ramp, again straight into life...a couple more starts just off shore as I mucked around with my GPS...then off on my mission.

Straight to the Noises, smooth conditions and had a play with a pod of dolphins on the way, was great to see them particularly with a newbie in tow.

heaps of sign, first drift a couple of hits but no hook ups, hit the ignition for another drift and ignition is dead...oh sh*t...conditions were good so not too much of an issue and wasnt drifting toward the rocks..yet.

Anyway to cut a long story short, I used my coastguard membership which was for peace of mind not rescue but anyway I used it. These guys were great, acolades to them, quick response and helpful, not bad at all for an organisation that gets its funding through subs and donations. Even if you dont use them you are contributing to a great cause. These guys are like the AA on the ocean, I have been an AA member also for 20 years and I am a mechanic by trade (cant carry every tool with you and bugger getting my hands dirty these days.

Lucky I didnt need a tow, battery (9 months old) had completely died, no life at all, even with the regular use and charging I had given it. So....all the best planning, maintenance and still a breakdown...

I was always safe due to the following gear...Handheld VHF, Cellphone(in plastic bag), GPS (to give co ords to coastguard), second battery on ski (to power GPS etc) Anchor - this is an essential piece of safety gear, I was in the middle of the noises, rocks all around, an anchor can keep you off the rocks as well as stop you drifting further out to sea. Not to mention the wetsuit, pfd and everything else I carry but the aforemntioned items were what saved the day, I was safe as houses waiting for the coastguard guys to turn up.


Cheers Guys, you will be getting my renewal sub too when it comes up for renewal.

Great points Chris, and shame such a great day was ruined. But this can happen to any of us at any time. The Coastgurad really have trouble getting support and only have around 10,000 members nationally. Do the math...there are a hell of alot more boats, launches, yachts, PWCs and kayaks on the water than 10,000.

Great cause worthy of support.

Last Time I was aware around 7000 of those members are in Auckland so if you break it down even further it's not that great considering the number of vessels we have in the Auckland region alone.

To give you all an idea there are 8 units that look after the Hauraki Gulf to Barrier each of those units usually have one vessel Auckand Coastguard has three an 8.5 soon to be 9.5 a 14.5 and an 18mtr Vessel. Replacement value around the 350 to 450K for an 8.5 to 9.5mtr boat Each unit have to raise the money to purchase these boats they are helped by the regional body and also the national body but each unit still needs to fund raise they also have to cover the running and maintinance costs etc a 8.5m boat has 500+ litre fuel tank that can be easily used in one day durning summer not to mention the huge hours put in by Volenteers for training and crewing the boats.

So if you aren't a member of Coastguard go and join they will appeciate it and it's a very worth while for us as boaties.

Yes I'm involved with the Coastguard. I am a Commercially rated Skipper and also hold a Senior Masters ticket to Skipper Coastguard Vessels and I have 14 years SAR experiance and have been a Tutor with Coastguard boating education.