Throughout history, lanyards have been used to help sailors. In fact, it is the sailor who is attributed with inventing the lanyard. Today the modern boater can still make use of this item whenever they are on the water.
Personal water crafts are among the most popular boats. Both the Jet Ski and the sailboard have gained an enormous following in the last few decades. These crafts, however, present a number of very real safety concerns for the user.
There is very little, if any, storage on these boats. As a rider you will not have access to many of the most basic safety pieces of equipment. Additionally, even if they do have storage areas many people have fallen off their crafts and have been unable to get back on. Jet skis are programmed to circle if the rider does fall into the water but if there is any kind of problem with the boat you may find yourself adrift with no help around for miles.
One of the things that are recommended by the coast guard is to always have a sound device with you when you are out on the water. This device can be a horn or a whistle, but it has to be something that can be heard by other boats that may be in the vicinity. If you are riding on a jet ski you may fall into the water and may not be able to reach either the boat or the horn if there is even room to pack a horn on the craft. To make certain that this never happens to you, get a lanyard and attach a sound device. Lanyards even can be equipped with a flotation device to ensure that it will not sink.
Another concern is where to keep any documents. Many of the crafts do not have a place to keep any kind of ID. This includes a boating licence or your driver’s licence. A lanyard pouch can ensure that you always have some kind of ID with you no matter what kind of boat you are operating.
The lanyard pouch is also great because it is waterproof. This means that you not only can store your ID in the pouch you can also keep various electronic devices in it. Even if you do not want to make any calls while you are boating you may need to make an emergency call if you do get into trouble. Many phones are equipped with tracking devices. If you do become separated from your boat you can be found quickly regardless of the weather conditions. Another alternative is to carry a GPS unit with you. This simple but invaluable device will ensure that no matter where you are on the water you can be found in a mere matter of seconds if there is any kind of an emergency.
Every year thousands of people are out on the water and many of them will get into accidents. Some of these accidents will be fatal and many of them could have been prevented had more people used lanyards. Who would have guessed that a device that was a hundreds of years old would still be saving lives of boaters?