by Davenz » Sat Aug 01, 2020 11:18 pm
The first pilot coat I was issued with (in 1983) was black - ideal colour for spotting someone in the water, especially at night - and inflation was via a tube which you had to blow into to inflate the coat. If you were unfortunate enough to come off the ladder, probably hitting the pilot boat in passing, you then had to remain conscious long enough to pull down the zip, pull out the tube, blow frantically in to it, seal the top, tuck it away, do up the zip again and then pray for rescue. Fortunately pilot jackets have improved somewhat over the years.