You always want to give the people you love something that they really need, and that will remind them of you for a long time. For boaters, nothing fills the bill better than a PFD. Not the type IIs that everybody has on their boat stuffed in a closet or in a bag hidden in the center console. No, what they really need is a PFD they can wear the entire time they are on the water and will save their life in the event of an accident. I have an automatic inflatable PFD because if I go in the water unconscious, I want to have the PFD inflate without requiring any action on my part. The PFD will inflate even if I am already dead, so the Coast Guard won’t have to spend much time finding my body, and my wife won’t have to wait very long to collect on my life insurance policy. The auto inflatables are not cheap. Expect to spend at least $200 for a good one, and even more for what they call the offshore models. Not quite sure how far offshore you have be to need the offshore model, but if I can’t walk to the beach I am certainly far enough offshore to need a PFD. My PFD is so light and comfortable I often forget I am wearing it. A few years ago, after a fishing trip, we stopped at a Wawa to fuel the boat. I went in the store for a cold drink and some guy asked me if I was expecting a high tide. It took a minute to figure out what he was talking about, then I remembered I was still wearing my PFD. Another type of PFD that is very comfortable is the vest. These are much less expensive than the inflatable, but must be worn, like the inflatables, to count as a PFD in a Coast Guard inspection. You can get the Plain Jane models for less than $50 or opt for a fancy model that looks like a fishing vest and has enough pockets and zippers to make a fly fisherman’s heart beat faster. When my boys were young I had them wear vest-type PFDs. They never complained and wore them all the time, and that was before there was a law requiring children 13 and under to always wear a PFD when on the water. There a few things you can do to make the PFD even better. The first is put some reflective tape on both sides of the PFD, and attach a waterproof strobe light to make the person even more visible. Last summer, a young lady fell off a boat in the Upper Bay just at sunset. Her friends tried to find her, but could not in the gathering darkness. She was able to swim to an island that was part of the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, where a couple of very surprised Army guys found her. Some reflective tape and a strobe light would have made her visible in the dark. So you may ask, ‘why is a PFD the gift that keeps on giving?’ The Coast Guard reports that 80 percent of fatalities related to boating accidents were drownings. In all of these events the victims were not wearing a PFD. I can understand someone not wanting to wear one of those bulky Type II models, but if they had something to wear that was comfortable (and even a bit fashionable perhaps), they might keep it on and not have to dig through the junk in the cabin or closet in an emergency. For those who haven’t been on a boat when something very bad happened, believe me, you will not have time to find the PFD. You must have it on to avoid being part of the 80 percent. Another great safety device is the EPIRB. This device lets the Coast Guard know when you are in trouble and also gives them your location. I am constantly surprised that more people who travel offshore don’t have one of these. You read repots about a search and rescue mission that goes on for days, finally locating the boat somewhere in the Gulf Stream. With the EPIRB unit, the mission would have been short and the outcome much better. These units are also not cheap, with most selling somewhere north of $400. When you consider the cost of a boat capable of running offshore, that $400 wouldn’t pay for the counter top in the galley. Merry Christmas! by Eric Burnley