Every spring for as long as I can remember, I have brought our life jackets home from Whimbrel for a clean and service.

We keep two spares for people coming aboard for day sails or for longer.

I wipe the outer covers using a scourer and cloth using a spot of lemon surface cleaner and anti-bacterial type fluid mixed together.

The gas cylinders are inspected along with the actuator units. The latter, I was told by an ‘expert’, will last a year beyond date safely. Sometimes the change by date falls in the year!

The jackets are inflated by filling via mouth piece and left for twenty-four hours. Rarely have I had one that loses air of any consequence.

The seams, webbing and whistles are inspected before the fun of squeezing all the air out takes place.

This year two of the actuators were in need of replacement.

I have purchased these from chandlers in the past, not always being satisfied with the life time left on them. Going on line was interesting with dozens of chandleries and other on line outlets offering replacements.

Trawling through I came across Marine Warehouse of Swansea. They had a raft of offers, depending on the stated/stamped life left on the device.

See: www.lifejackets.co.uk

For around six quid a unit with at least a year could be chosen, and so on, up to units that must have recently been manufactured. These were stated to be February 2029!stamped.

I ordered two in a jiffy…

A few days later they duly turned up, in a Jiffy Bag!

Now, I wonder how many of us check the time on items being bought.

Some while ago when purchasing new lifejackets, I asked for updated actuators as the fitted ones barely had eighteen months of life!

As I say, I have purchased an older unit, but I was stuffed, having a life jacket that had self inflated and an immediate need for new cylinder and actuator kit…

Marine Warehouse seemed to be the only supplier giving life dates of items being purchased by us, the consumer!

Perhaps chandleries need to be more honest about this aspect…