BoatUS.com - Seaworthy Magazine

Seaworthy Tip of the Month - "This Little Piggy Fell Overboard..."

All Hams on Deck

Yes. After several anxious seconds, Piggy Sue "rocketed" (Michael's words) to the surface, propelled by her little piggy life jacket and a strong desire to breathe. Michael and his wife, Carol, are both Navigators in the Power Squadron, with full certificates, and both believe strongly in wearing life jackets, especially when seas are choppy or at night. They also think children - Piggy Sue is only three years old - should wear life jackets at all times aboard the boat.

The overboard incident at Port Jefferson Harbor wasn't the first time Piggy Sue had gone overboard. She may be smart and cuddly, but Piggy Sue is also a klutz on a rocking deck. She once backed out of the cockpit into the water. On another occasion, she made a daring leap from the dinghy to the boat, only to fall a few inches - kerplunk - short of the rail. Michael's concern isn't her swimming ability - Piggy Sue is a natural swimmer - as much as it is his own inability to get her out of the water once she falls in. Pigs can be slippery. With a life jacket, getting Piggy Sue back onto the boat is simple: grab the vest and hoist her up.

Piggy Sue is comfortable in her life jacket and is especially happy when the family is together on the sailboat. She'll snuggle with Heather, snooze in her little sleeping bag, and hang out in the cockpit with the rest of the crew. Michael likes to tell the story about the time they were at a gas dock in Falmouth, Massachusetts and a woman on another boat started screaming "There's a pig on your boat! There's a pig on your boat!" It doesn't take strangers long, though, to be smitten by Piggy Sue - her gracious charms and, of course, her intelligence.

Think about it; have you ever seen a chicken or cow wearing a life jacket?

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